Thanksgiving week is an obvious time to roll out the liberal media's tradition of exaggerating the hunger problem in America.
On CNN This Morning, host Audie Cornish kicked off the segment by claiming:
"One in five children in the US experiencing hunger right now."
Utterly false.
Her guest, Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, the head of the "Feeding America" organization, cleaned that up a bit. But apparently not wanting to call Cornish out on her gross misrepresentation, Babineaux-Fontenot said:
"You said it before. One in five of our children are food insecure."
No, Cornish didn't say before that 1-in-5 children are "food insecure." She said 1-in-5 are "experiencing hunger right now." At best, a misstatement. At worst, a flat-out lie.
And "food insecurity" is a catchphrase of the hunger lobby that covers many issues unrelated to actual hunger, including cultural inappropriateness of available foods, lack of knowledge to prepare healthy meals, and feelings of stigma related to food assistance.
And check out the screencap, which shows vehicles lined up to receive food [the segment showed volunteers loading boxes and bags into the vehicles.] Only in America! People requesting food assistance own or have access to such an array of cars! Pretty sure that in impoverished Third World countries, people lining up to get food don't tend to arrive in such vehicles.
Babineaux-Fontenot said that the fastest growing group of people experiencing food insecurity "don't even qualify for SNAP." There are many reasons someone might not qualify, including gross income more than 130% of the poverty line, being an illegal alien, or refusing to work despite being physically and mentally able.
Other interesting factoids, per Grok:
- In the United States, obesity is a more prevalent and chronic public health issue among low-income people than hunger.
- Longitudinal studies (e.g., from Tufts and USDA) show almost no children in the U.S. experience prolonged hunger.
- The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations removed the U.S. from its main “undernourishment” map years ago because prevalence is statistically indistinguishable from zero (<2.5%).
- Today, obesity is far more prevalent among low-income households than underweight or stunting. Average calorie availability per person is ~3,800 kcal/day (USDA ERS), higher than almost any country in history.
Note: Compounding her cluelessness, Cornish introduced the segment by saying that Thanksgiving is "obviously all about sharing a hearty meal." Uh, no, Audie. Sure, turkey and all the fixings are part of it, but the holiday's name should provide a clue to what it's really about.
Here's the transcript.
CNN This Morning
11/24/25
6:20 am ETAUDIE CORNISH: So, Thanksgiving is just days away, and it's obviously all about sharing a hearty meal. But as the country emerges from the government shutdown, millions of families are still struggling to put food on the table.
We're talking about 14 million kids. That's one in five children in the U.S. experiencing hunger right now. SNAP recipients may only get partial benefits this month, and local food banks are feeling the pressure.
FOOD BANK WORKER 1: I've been feeding a community since November 1st all the way to the end.
FOOD BANK WORKER 2: We are tremendously impacted right now. We had so many new clients, so many people calling. These are just unprecedented times. People are hungry.
CORNISH: Joining me now to discuss, Claire Babineaux-Fontenot from Feeding America. She's the CEO there. Good morning. Thank you for being with us.
Thanks for having me back.
CORNISH: So let's start with the partial benefits with SNAP. Can you talk about how that has had a ripple effect heading into the holidays?
CLAIRE BABINEAUX-FONTENOT: Well, every little bit helps. But what your audience may not be aware of is, before the shutdown, we're experiencing the highest rates of food insecurity in a decade. And the biggest growing segment are people who don't even qualify for SNAP. So this country is in the middle of a hunger crisis. And this helps a bit, but it certainly doesn't solve the problem.
CORNISH: You said that food shouldn't be a bargaining chip. So to you, what's the most sort of urgent thing that you want lawmakers to do? You want lawmakers to hear?
BABINEAUX-FONTENOT: Well, that it should not be a bargaining chip. The whole country does better when everyone gets access to the food that they need to thrive. It shouldn't be a partisan issue. It shouldn't be a bargaining chip. These are real people, real lives, real kids. You said it before. One in five of our children are food insecure.
. . .
CORNISH: How can people help? We're sort of in a tale of two economies. There are some folks who are doing well, and then other folks, as you've pointed out, there's a growing need. Is it better to bring food to a food bank, to give money? Is there anything particular for Thanksgiving?
BABINEAUX-FONTENOT: Yeah, so all of the above and anything that you can would be what I would say. But I will share that those food banks have been doing this for a long time, and they're very efficient. They have relationships with grocers and manufacturers. So $1 to them is not exactly the same as the people who are watching going out to the store. So the most efficient way to help is to provide them with money donations.
