Heat or Eat Dilemma Becomes Problem For Poor Households

from The Food Research and Action Center

Here's a link to a report from the Food Research and Action Center. The report focuses on the decision many have to face in the winter months. FROM: infoshop.org, December 15, 2006 Over the next few months, many poor households will be facing the “heat or eat” dilemma, illustrating the challenge of meeting one basic need by suppressing another. The U.S. Department of Energy forecasts that a typical household will pay roughly $940 for heating home from October through March, which is well above the $700 annual average from the previous five years. Meanwhile, Congress proposed $2.1 billion for LIHEAP, the federal Low Income Heating Energy Assistance Program, for fiscal year 2007, a $1 billion decrease from 2006, and about $3 billion short of what state energy assistance directors said was needed to cover growing need.

FRAC analysis, “Heat and Eat: Using Federal Nutrition Programs to Cushion the Shock of Skyrocketing Heating Bills”