Contrary to the claims of many, charitable giving by individuals and foundations would not be sufficient to replace cuts in government funding for hunger and anti-poverty initiatives should a budget proposal passed by the House of Representatives in March become law, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

At a time when poverty and hunger are on the rise, the House proposal would reduce benefits provided through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by about 18 percent, or $135 billion over ten years. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), the author of the budget, and many conservative activists, would prefer to see charity "fill in any holes that develop." But decades of charitable giving data suggest that that is a remote possibility. In each of the last forty years, for example, annual giving by individuals and foundations has totaled roughly 2 percent of the nation's gross domestic product — a level that remained unchanged even after the Bush tax cuts were enacted in 2001 and 2003.

Indeed, the difference between public- and private-sector giving for hunger and anti-poverty efforts is stark. The federal government spends some $105 billion a year on food programs, including nearly $80 billion for SNAP (which provides food-stamp benefits), while the remaining $35 billion is divided among the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), school breakfast and lunch programs, and other initiatives. In contrast, Feeding America, the nation's largest food charity, spends about $5 billion annually on its programs. And while the roughly $300 billion a year that individuals and foundations give to charity may sound like a lot, the lion's share of it supports religious organizations (including programs for the poor), hospitals, educational institutions, and cultural groups, with only a fraction going to help the poor directly.

"Americans are very generous, but people don't appreciate the scope of poverty in the United States," Kathy Saile, director of the office of domestic social development for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told the Inquirer. "The amount of hunger reduction by the federal government dwarfs what charities in the faith community are doing."