The late, great stand up artist George Carlin got it exactly right some years ago when he held forth on society’s tendency to restructure verbal phraseology to make it easier on the ear, to render it less offensive, more comfortable.

He famously offered several examples of this, including what happens to combat veterans after the fighting stops. In World War I, he said, the condition was called shell shock. Short, direct, it almost sounds like the guns themselves, he said. Since then, shell shock has evolved into something called post traumatic stress disorder. All of the pain, trauma, indeed, the humanity, has been stripped away and what’s left is little more than a sterile phrase.

That’s sums up our long-standing complaint about food insecurity. Why not call it what it is? It’s hunger, nothing less. People going to bed hungry. Kids depending on hot lunch at school to get by. Long weekends with little in the refrigerator. Apparently, it’s easier to live next door to food insecurity than it is to hunger.

The people and organizations who battle hunger in Superiorland and elsewhere are nothing less than heroes, as far as we’re concerned. It is, after all, mostly behind-the-scenes thankless work.

An example of this involves Marquette’s own Superior Health Foundation, long known for its good works promoting the health of Upper Peninsula residents. SHF, in partnership with the United Dairy Industry of Michigan, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Cross Complete of Michigan, are accepting applications for the fifth year to help local food pantries offer more nutrient-rich, fresh foods. Since its launch, the program has benefitted 220 food pantries across 54 counties, serving 93,000 people each month, a press release states.

Here’s how it works. Food pantries can apply for a refrigeration unit worth up to $7,000 to improve access to healthy foods like dairy, fruits and vegetables. Recipients will also receive technical support to improve pantry operations and nutrition education such as healthy eating guidance, recipes and meal planning to share with their community.

Megan Murphy, SHF chief executive officer, said in the U.P., hunger and geographic isolation “create compounding barriers to good health. This program puts the infrastructure in place so pantries can offer fresh, nutritious food that makes a real difference in people’s lives. Superior Health Foundation is proud to be a partner in this work and support the communities we serve together.”

Grant applications are due June 22. Visit the Food Pantry Grant Program webpage (https://milkmeansmore.org/dairy-in-the-community/food-pantry-grant-program/) to access the online application, eligibility information and complete grant requirements.

We applaud SHF’s involvement in this program and recommend local food pantries investigate if the program can help them.

In the land of milk, honey and plenty, it is disgraceful that so many of our fellow citizens are without decent nutrition, clothing and quarters. Yet so many are. That fact alone should haunt all of us.