BOSTON -- Heat or Eat: That's what it may come down to for many of our neighbors this winter. As the temperature falls, and crude oil prices hover around $100 a barrel, some predict home-heating oil will soon hit record prices.

With 250 gallons needed to fill the average tank, and two to three tanks needed to get through a New England winter, the price of adequate heat is increasingly being weighed against putting food on the table.

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The elderly on fixed incomes and poor families with young children are the first to cutback on groceries. But without adequate food, it's harder for the body to create the energy needed to stay warm.

Boston Medical Center reports a 30 percent increase in the number of underweight babies and toddlers brought to the emergency room after the harsh winter months. Half the homes in New England burn oil for heat compared to 1 out of 20 homes for the rest of the country. While fuel prices have doubled, the Bush administration has cut fuel assistance in half.

A typical Bay State winter easily outlasts the almost $700 in federal assistance offered to qualified families. We urge legislators to accelerate efforts to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. In addition, the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program must be restored to $5 billion.

No one's neighbors should have to choose between staying warm or staying fed.