To the editor:

I was dismayed and nauseated by the article about widespread hunger in our nation complete with a “pie” chart showing 12 million families went without. Meanwhile, the article printed directly underneath it proclaimed the happiness that $100,000 had been granted to fix up some old house in Lawrence, the Hobbs Park Memorial house where apparently an anti-slavery activist once lived. I believe if this humanitarian were alive today he would say, take your money and feed, clothe and house the community. I believe freedom from want is a better tribute than fixing up a shack.

Lawrence has debated in recent weeks, yet again, on the plight of the homeless, the hungry and the uninsured. There have been newscasts, newspaper articles and “task forces” to study the problem. The problem is homelessness, hunger and poverty. The solution is house them, feed them, and catch people slipping through the cracks. A start would be examining priorities and making the government work for the people instead of using it as a source for decorating money.

Cynthia Daniels,

Eudora