Charity is one of those remarkable words that helps to identify the fault lines of a culture.

By defining the problem as “hunger,” the emergency food system is helping to direct our attention away from the more fundamental problem of poverty, and the even more basic problem of inequality.

Charity erodes the cultural prerequisites for a vigorous democracy.

We believe that only government has the capacity–not to mention the political and moral responsibility–to promote the general welfare. Father Kramer as quoted in Sweet Charity?

Emergency food has become very useful indeed, and to a very large assortment of people and institutions. The United States Department of Agriculture uses it to reduce the accumulation of embarrassing agricultural surpluses. Business uses...