Hunger is the most extreme form of poverty. The hopelessness it brings is truly unimaginable. And yet, for 26 million Americans, and nearly 2 million Californians, the unimaginable would come crashing down on them were it not for our federal food stamp program.

One has to wonder, though, with a national average food stamp benefit at $94.05 a month, how is it possible to eat nourishing food and avoid hunger? From my experience, it's not possible. Earlier this month, I accepted the "Food Stamp Challenge." I lived on the national average food stamp benefit -- $3 a day for a week or $1 per meal.

I shopped carefully for food that I could prepare quickly and easily, using only $21. I opted for soups, cereal and milk. Foods I normally eat such as yogurt, brown rice, whole grain bread, fruits and vegetables were too expensive. I couldn't afford to be label conscious; I needed foods that would fill me up. This became clear midway through the week when I needed more carbohydrates and protein, so I traded some soup for nutritient-deprived white bread and peanut butter. It's no wonder that 64 percent of California adults who report going hungry are also overweight or obese, according to one study from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Throughout the week, hunger gripped me. It greeted me each morning when I awoke and was never more than dulled by what I could afford to eat. As I looked forward to completing the challenge, I knew the week's end meant nothing to the child forced to live constantly in such a state or the parent who must work long hours on an empty stomach. For these families, the food stamp program must be a godsend. But as I learned, we can be doing much better.

In the midst of this challenge, on Hunger Awareness Day, my Assembly colleagues voted to pass Assembly Bill 1382, which would cut unneeded bureaucratic red tape for millions of hungry Californians, while recovering billions of federal dollars. Its next stop is the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The fix is simple -- to join 48 other states that fight duplicate-aid fraud without finger imaging every adult household member to qualify for food stamps.

It's a dirty little secret that while some states such as Missouri and Tennessee enroll more than 83 percent of eligible residents in their food stamp program, California ranks last in the nation with only 46 percent. We lose more than $2 billion in federal funds per year that could be going to eligible California families and fueling our local economies.

Why does California rank last even though the federal requirements to qualify are the same everywhere? The answer is our own poorly conceived policy requiring unnecessary layers of bureaucracy that discourage and prevent our citizens from participating in this valuable program.

Coincidently, just a few weeks ago, New York's governor, by executive order, announced they would remove the requirement, leaving only two other states still using the outdated practice -- Texas and California.

In recent years, the Food Stamp Program has taken strong action to improve efficiency. Gone are the actual stamps, replaced by bank debit cards that reduce fraud, which is virtually nonexistent today.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that it takes an average of five hours and three trips to the food stamp office to apply for food stamps. For many working poor, it's impossible for every adult household member to take time during work to complete this requirement.

Removing this outdated requirement would encourage counties to conduct better outreach efforts, such as stationing workers at schools or health clinics or allowing families to apply on-line or through the mail.

Hunger has a lasting legacy. Children who go to school undernourished are more likely to fail, putting them at greater risk of dropping out. Students who drop out before high school graduation are seven times more likely to be incarcerated. At the same time, it's estimated that more than half of all Americans will receive food stamps at some point between the ages of 20 and 65.

How can we as a society not afford to help our fellow Americans get on their feet with this most basic necessity?