Sasha Abramsky, an accomplished author, teacher, and senior fellow at Demos think tank in New York City, posed a tough question yesterday at his book launch party for Breadline USA: The Hidden Scandal of American Hunger and How to Fix It, hosted by the UC Center of Sacramento. "How do you feed people who are hungry in a country with an abundance of food?"

The question is one he explores in Breadline USA. Abramsky's book documents the stories of several American families and their struggle with finances and food.

During the late years of the Bush administration, Abramsky described an increase in attendance at breadlines, lines of people waiting to receive food from a charitable organization. Companies were deliberately going bankrupt in order to avoid pension payments, Abramsky said. Angst developed as working class people were falling into poverty.

This paradox of working class America, not "hoboes and vagrants," gradually falling into despair and scrounging for food was what inspired research for his book. Abramsky describes the new working poor, "men and women who have played by the rules their whole lives," as frequenters of food pantries and soup kitchens across America.

The reality: Approximately 25 million Americans depend on food pantries and charities for sustenance. Millions still need access to such programs, but are not getting help because of a lack of knowledge, or embarrassment. A hefty portion of those at risk for hunger every day are children, says Abramsky.

Moreover, the food that many of the underserved have access to is not the most nutritious. He raises Pollan-esque concerns about the food production industry and the output of unhealthy foods. What Breadline USA does, Abramsky asserts, is extend the dilemma of "what food to eat" to the wallet — how to afford healthy food, and how to afford enough of it.

In order to fully grasp the hardships of working-class individuals, Abramsky constructed a budget and expenditure list of a McDonald's employee for two months. At $8.23 an hour for 40 hours a week, he subsisted on a working-class budget.

Every week would bring a different imagined obstacle to the budget, from a doctor's bill to a rise in gas prices. Abramsky found that he was often left with less money for food than those on food stamps. His budget and transportation capabilities limited him to cheap and filling food from stores in impoverished neighborhoods.

"The working poor are more vulnerable than people on food stamps at this point," Abramsky said in a phone interview with The Sacramento Press. "In that kind of situation, the default is to do what's quick and easy. You fall back on food from a local corner store. People end up eating terrible food. At a certain point if you run out of options, you have to fall back on charities."

Abramsky pointed out the policy decisions that have institutionalized poverty in America and the need for reform at a federal level. Though he commends charities for their efforts to alleviate hunger, the model is no longer as effective in the current economic atmosphere. He says, "charities rely on surplus and we just don't have that now."

The American Dream, according to Abramsky, is in reverse. The narrative is now of "diminishing possibilities and increasing obstacles to success, a saga of exodus rather than influx." He hopes the chronicle of families' struggles in Breadline USA sheds light on hunger in America.

"As long as there is a growing degree of hunger, there are two ways to tackle this," Abramsky said. "One way is through the government, one way is through charity. They work in cooperation. What I document in this book is you can't approach the problem simply by a food program, you actually have to approach it sideways on."

Abramsky remarked, "When people go hungry, it has profound effects on many aspects of their lives. I want people to get a sense of empathy, this is something that's out there."

You can read Sasha Abramsky's blog here: http://www.sashaabramsky.com/