America’s hunger crisis, and why Washington ignores it

There’s the 99% and the 1%, and then there’s the 16%. The latter number is the proportion of Americans who don’t have enough food to eat, according to the most recent figures on food insecurity.

In absolute numbers, nearly 50 million people in this country—including 16 million children—currently lack sufficient food to live a healthy life.

The numbers are striking on their own, but what’s even more striking is how little attention the problem has received in Washington.