According to Bread for the World, around 795 million people in the world are affected by hunger; nearly 16 million of those people are children from the United States. Bread for the World, also referred to, as “Bread” is a Christian based, grassroots lobbyist group working alongside community members and active Congressman to eradicate hunger not only on the home front but also around the world. Rev Art Simon and other church leaders in the community started bread in 1974 with the mission of ending hunger by influencing members of Congress in Washington, D.C. Their grassroots network was then kick started with “Project 500”. The goal of this project was to acquire 500 advocates for the cause. In 1975, Bread started its first letter writing …show more content…
A big step in the process to get rid of child hunger was the passing of the Improving Child Nutrition Integrity and Access Act of 2016 by the Senate Agriculture Committee. This bill allows children to have access to food during the summer along with allowing states to give summer EBTs to a limited number of children. Although it does not seem like much, summer time lasts three full months. When I was in grade school, I remember a kid telling me that he only eats at school. I found that hard to believe given that I grew up in a family where we were not concerned with putting food on the table. I can’t imagine what that kid felt when school got out and he had to worry about where his next meal was coming from. I always assumed food was not a problem in our nation because of the many charities and food drives. I was shocked when I read in an article by Bread, that only one out of every 20 grocery bags that feed the hungry come from charities or churches. Obviously we are not doing enough since nearly 16 million children are still uncertain where their next meal is coming …show more content…
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimated that nearly 233 million people in the sub-Saharan region of Africa are suffering from hunger. This number might not be too shocking to some people but when you see that the population of this region is 974 million people as reported by The World Bank, you’ll see that nearly 1 in 4 people are starving. The severity of this issue can be better seen with figure 1 provided by Welt Hunger Hilfe. Bread believes that the best way to get rid of hunger in this part of Africa is to exterminate poverty. To try and bring Africa out of poverty, they have been pushing for the renewal and expansion of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). This act offers incentives for countries in Africa to open their economies for free trade. This bill provides Africans with a more reliable income, in 2013 exports from the sub-Saharan totaled nearly 27 billion dollars (Bread). With more income coming to these countries, the people will be able to afford many different products that will help them sustain a healthy
According to the “Hunger and Poverty Fact Sheet” on Feeding America’s website, in 2014 there were over 48 million Americans living in food insecure households, which included 15 million children. During the school year, these children rely on free or reduce breakfast and lunch. When the summer vacation months arrive, these children loose the security of these meals. Feeding America, working alongside the United States Department of Agriculture, provide free summer meals to these children. Unfortunately, not all children and families are aware that these programs are taking place; therefore missing out on a vital resource to help stretch their food dollars throughout the summer
The Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act has taken over schools nationwide and needs to be stopped. There are more negatives than positives that go along with this act and there needs to be an end. Schools should not have to waste money on expensive food to have it not be eaten. Students should be able to enjoy what the lunchroom has to offer. The students do not buy these lunches so the food goes to waste. In 2012, when the Healthy Hunger Free-Kids Act was made students stopped eating their school lunches and schools began to lose great amounts money. It 's beneficial to encourage healthy eating habits with schools but this act needs to be reformed.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that nearly 870 million people of the 7.1 billion people in the world, were suffering from chronic undernourishment in the years 2010-2012. Ellen Gustafson has spoken in ted talks on the issue of Obesity plus Hunger equals one global food issue. One the main issues Gustafson speaks of is world hunger and how to end it. She also speaks briefly on obesity and how in comes into play with world hunger. Even though some people would argue that there just is not enough food in the world, world hunger and obesity can easily be prevented and eliminated with proper knowledge and programs.
Child hunger is a major struggle for many families. The article “School's Out for the Summer”, by Anna quindlen explains when school is let out for the summer there is less food for the kids who need it. The problem is we don’t recognize that this is happening within our country.
In the year 2015, around 40 million U.S. citizens were food insecure (Randall para. 3). Food insecurity can be defined in paragraph 3 by “[having] difficulty at some time during the year providing enough food for all their members due to a lack of resources. This 12.7% of American citizens also contains another group - children. Aged 10-17, 6.8 million adolescents struggle with a food insecurity. There have been several years of cuts to the social programs designed to help these people, along with the Great Recession continuing to leave an impact on the U.S. economy (para. 6). Under the Obama administration, $8.6 billion was cut from the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps. From 1993-2001 under the Clinton administration, former President Bill Clinton’s administration “gutted the welfare system” (para. 15). Because of these budget cuts, the families who rely on food assistance from the government have been allotted less throughout the years. From a sociological perspective, the concepts of sociological imagination, class stratification, and social location are in effect when it comes to child hunger in the United States. Being hungry is an issue larger than any one individual can control.
Food insecurity is an issue faced by millions of Americans every day, and the biggest group affected by this is working families with children. Food insecurity is so big that the United States government has now recognized it and provided a definition for it. The United States government has defined food insecurity as “a household level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food” (USDA.gov). Food banks and anti-hunger advocates agree that some of the causes of food insecurity are stagnant wages, increase in housing costs, unemployment, and inflation of the cost of food. These factors have caused food banks to see a change in the groups of people needing assistance. Doug O’Brien, director of public policy and research at Chicago-based Second Harvest says “’we’ve seen a real shift in who we serve. A decade ago, it was almost always homeless, single men and chronic substance abusers. Now we have children and working families at soup kitchens’” (Koch). These families that are feeling the effects of food insecurity will not be only ones affected by it, but all of America. Studies have shown that there is a link between food security, performance in the classroom, and obesity. If this issue is not faced head on, America will have a generation of children not fully prepared for the workforce and high health insurance rates due to obesity health issues.
When considering the topic of poverty and hunger, many Americans look outside the borders of the United States. However, food insecurity is an issue that plagues millions of American households each year. The United States Department of Agriculture found that 14.5% of American households faced food insecurity during 2012. These households were defined as having “difficulty at some time during the year providing enough food for all their members due to a lack of resources” (Nord, Singh, Coleman-Jensen).
For the past five years, I have been an advisory board member for C the Difference: Cory Cares, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. Cory had asked me to help out in 8th grade, and after viewing a documentary called “Hard Times: Lost on Long Island”, I couldn’t refuse. I was 12 at the time, in an utter shock at the fact that people on Long Island, in my town, and even in my school were hungry. I had felt hungry many times, like if my mom forgot to pack me a lunch, or if I had “no food” in my fully stocked cupboards at home, but I quickly realized that hunger was a whole different feeling than a hunger sensation. I had never felt what a stomach on a week with no food felt like, what it felt like to be reminded by the salty taste on your lips
In conclusion, Child hunger is prevalent in the United States. As of 2012, there are over sixteen million children suffering from Child Hunger in the US. While there are many solutions in order to solve this problem, it still persists. This issues needs to be continued to be looked at and dealt with our policy makers as they ultimately hold the key.
Worldwide, 870 million people — about one in eight— are hungry. That is nearly three times the population of the United States. It is hard to imagine in the modern world that a country cannot feed its people, but in 1984, the Ethiopian Famine took over one million lives. There were many causes that contributed to the complications faced in Ethiopia. These problems received major attention in the global Community.
Students learn and do their best when they are hungry, and uncomfortable! That makes perfect sense right? If you’re like most Americans, this may be one of the most ridiculous statements you have ever heard. I know I have never done anything better hungry. Many students sit through their lunch time at school because they have no food to eat because they don’t have the money to afford it, or they are not able to bring food from home for various reasons. This is why many schools have free and reduced lunch programs. But not everybody can apply for these programs; even middle class families in today’s economy sometimes can’t give their child cash every day. Times are tough, and every family is different. These are good programs, but they are not good enough. One child missing a meal, and going hungry is too many in my book. That’s why I think it should be at least a state law in North Carolina, if not a federal law, that offers free lunch in all public schools for all students, regardless of income. This way it’s simple, cost effective and easy, and nobody will be singled out, or go hungry if they do not bring their lunch from home.
In this world there are many different types of challenges faced but individuals in different countries, as people work together to find a way to stop or solve these challenges there are also some challenges or situations that individuals, even as a group, cannot eliminate. The race to reach conclusions of situations is very desirable and is being worked on very efficiently, but one issue that people have mistaken into accomplishing is hunger. Hungry is present everywhere and not a lot of people can satisfy or fulfil that need. Lack of sanitation, unemployment, and unhealthy diet choices these are involved in an imaginary line called the poverty line. The idea of food banks is a good start into eliminating hungry but the process still has a
In the United States of America, the richest nation of the world, one in six Americans do not have enough food to eat. Have you ever wonder why there are so many food banks and food pantries throughout the country? They are not simply, as you thought, existent to offer emergency food assistance. Indeed, they are the main sources of food to millions of food-insecure Americans. Food insecurity, the state of not having sufficient quantity of affordable and nutritious food, has been very widespread and common in America. It affected millions of Americans and has been increasing dramatically in recent years; in 2012, more than 48 millions of food-insecure Americans rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (McMillan). The depth
Many of these children only get a full meal while having their school lunch, so many of these children go hungry the rest of the day.
Growth in Africa is not enough for its people to grow, which is leading to poverty and hunger in Africa. Today Africa is one of the leading countries having poverty and economic problems. One half of the Africans live below the poverty line which leads to low human development in Africa. The main cause of poverty in Africa is a problem in its economic system and environmental factors. Because of poverty people of Africa remain hungry as they don’t have enough money to buy their food and their basic needs. Some of the African countries have less poverty rate than others due to good government and economic system in those countries. Most of the African is facing challenges to survive and keep their family healthy.