On this holiday, in almost every community across America, there are service groups and sometimes individual families who have made a tradition out of preparing and serving Thanksgiving dinner to anyone who would not have the means to provide such a dinner for themselves. In some communities, the same service groups have sustained this tradition over decades and decades, and it remains one of the singular demonstrations of our continuing sense of community and our continuing commitment to social justice.

But the gap between what those service groups are able to provide on a single holiday and what our community food pantries are able to provide year round demonstrates the limits in privately provided safety nets for the impoverished. The commitment is much more consistent than the available resources.

Given the rising rates of income inequality and working poor in this country, the funding for SNAP, more commonly known as the food-stamp program, should be expanded and not reduced. Here is an infographic and a chart that factually demonstrate the scope of the need and that expose the ideologically driven lie that this safety-net program is somehow rife with abuse and therefore over-funded.