Thursday, March 24, 2011

Hungry?





What a wonderful assortment of food Americans have to choose from! The shelves of our  supermarkets offer a colorful, dazzling display of fresh produce, fresh and frozen meats, fish and fowl.... canned and boxed foods of all types...... and something for every member of the household.........

including the family pets. Entire aisles, with more floor space  than some grocery stores to be found in rural areas around the world, are often devoted to canines on one side and to felines on the other..... Fancy Feast and 9 Lives on the right, Alpo and Mighty Dog on the left..... The breakfast cereals alone take up an entire aisle. The boxes beckon, pre-pitched via television commercials aimed directly at the children. Each show for kids, every channel that devotes Saturday mornings to cartoons, all are telling  children what to demand from mom.  Captain Crunch and Count Chocula call.  Leprechauns enchant with Lucky Charms.... Toucans talk up Fruit Loops. Even the Silly Rabbit knows that Trix are for Kids!...... Too busy to cook? No problem! Everything from soups to "complete" meals can be found either frozen or boxed that is microwavable. Hot Pockets! "man-size" dinners..... Specialty ethnic aisle...  Islands of imported cheeses! Sliced meats and whole roast chickens from the Deli area...... Who could ask for anything more!!! 


Who?  ONE in EIGHT in America!
Read on......... 
According to the American Oxford Dictionary: 
hunger |ˈhə ng gər|
noun
a feeling of discomfort or weakness caused by lack of food, coupled with the desire to eat : she was faint with hunger.
a severe lack of food : they died from cold and hunger.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that in 2008:
  • Of the 49.1 million people living in food insecure households (up from 36.2 million in 2007), 32.4 million are adults (14.4 percent of all adults) and 16.7 million are children (22.5 percent of all children).
  • 17.3 million people lived in households that were considered to have "very low food security," a USDA term (previously denominated "food insecure with hunger") that means one or more people in the household were hungry over the course of the year because of the inability to afford enough food. This was up from 11.9 million in 2007 and 8.5 million in 2000.
  • Very low food security had been getting worse even before the recession. The number of people in this category in 2008 is more than double the number in 2000.
  • Black (25.7 percent) and Hispanic (26.9 percent) households experienced food insecurity at far higher rates than the national average.


  • Source: http://www.frac.org/html/hunger_in_the_us/hunger_index.html
  • _____________
  • Children everywhere are suffering from mal-nourishment. 
  • "Children who struggle with hunger are sick more often, recover more slowly, and are more likely to be hospitalized.
  • They are more likely to experience headaches, stomachaches, colds, ear infections and fatigue.
  • Children who face hunger are more susceptible to obesity and its harmful health consequences as children and as adults.
Hunger impedes our childrens’ ability to learn and perform academically:
  • Undernourished children under the age of 3 cannot learn as much, as fast or as well.
  • Lack of enough nutritious food impairs a child’s ability to concentrate and perform well in school.
  • Children who don’t get enough nutritious food are more susceptible to the negative effects of skipping breakfast on their ability to think and learn.
  • Hunger predisposes our children to emotional and behavioral difficulties
  • Children who regularly do not get enough nutritious food have more behavioral, emotional and academic problems and tend to be more aggressive and anxious.
  • Teens who regularly do not get enough to eat are more likely to be suspended from school and have difficulty getting along with other kids."
  • Source: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR108/ERR108.pdf
  • I strongly suggest taking a look at the complete report cited above.
  • ALL THIS WHILE 40% OF THE FOOD READY FOR HARVEST IN THIS COUNTRY GOES  UNEATEN.......Go Figure!


Thanks again for reading.  START LOCALLY..... IMAGINE GLOBALLY

I gotta go grab a sandwich.

Arthur






3 comments:

  1. Stunning information! It is a oxymoron: hunger in
    America - especially young children being hungry.
    We MUST find a better way to get the food to those who need it. Any suggestions about distribution?
    Keep up the good work.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Many restaurant owners in NORTH CAROLINA do not know how easy it is to rescue food. Leftover prepared and cooked foods need NEVER have to go to waste! Link to this 2-page .pdf, print it out, and give it to the owner or manager of every restaurant you visit: http://www.p2pays.org/ref/14/13915.pdf
    Asheville, NC, one of the most prosperous ex-urban areas of the U.S., ranks as 7th most food-insecure in the nation.

    ReplyDelete
  3. These 3 words get the point across:
    "FEED THE HUNGRY!"
    What have our public servants and political actors done TODAY to respond to this Biblical imperative?

    ReplyDelete