Delmar Stone

Cheers to the Idaho Press-Tribune for running this column on hunger assistance from National Association of Social Workers Idaho Chapter Executive Director Delmar Stone.

Some members of Congress are calling for cuts in social service programs, including government food and nutrition programs.

Stone argues these cuts will result in even more hungry people. And although some fraud may exist it is unfair to abolish a whole program because of a few bad apples, he said.

“While there are, undoubtedly, some folks who take advantage of these programs, no one is getting rich off them, and we certainly shouldn’t eliminate any because a few dishonest people are abusing our nation’s safety net,” Stone wrote. “Instead, we should continue to expand the programs that have been proven to work and increase efforts for fraud prevention.”