Kylee McCumber, a 13-year-old youth hunger activist, began Kylee's Kare Kits for Kidz at age 10. The title of this diary is a direct quote from her, which she has been using in an anti-hunger campaign. I am certain that all of you folks have seen her in the add, which has been playing on TV for some time now. She absolutly humbles me.
The issue of hunger is one that is important to me because I have had that experience recently in my own life. I experienced hunger as a child also, not because we didn't have food, but because my mother often withheld food from me as a means of punishment and control. She absolutly overdid it, and her actions crossed that line between necessary punishment and abuse. But, that experience makes me uniquely able to identify with any little kid, who sees other children eating, while they have nothing. It leaves deep scars
We have starving people in the United States. This country has the resources to feed every man, woman, and child a nutritious meal three times a day. I don't understand why we don't. Hungry people don't function on the same level as their counterparts. They don't learn well. They can't work as hard or as long, and they can't perform their duties as well. Hungry people are doomed to remain stuck in the underclass permanently. Only effort that is nearly superhuman can work them out of that state. Most people just can't do it. Many try, but give up when exhaustion and hunger debilitate them.
How can any business owner hold their head up when their employees must collect food stamps? How can any company refuse to supply medical insurance so their employees can obtain the health care they need, in order to continue working?
Please join me below the break.
Hunger is one of the most complex issues facing us today. Programs such as Food Banks and Food Stamps are fine for people who are in temporary fiscal transition, but they aren't a long term solution. Today, we have a percentage of our population, which grows every year, who are in permanent fiscal transition. We have institutionalized poverty. American Corporations are adding to their bottom line, by paying their unskilled labor a wage that leaves them qualified for Food Stamps. In other words, the American taxpayer is paying that portion of a living wage that the Corporation is too cheap to pay. Many top managers in large Corportations have their yearly bonuses directly tied to profits. Paying low wages can result in higher profits; although, I don't believe that tactic builds a good foundation for any company. In the long run, it may actually reduce productivity.
There is an old quote that I am sure most of you have heard. "Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you feed him for his whole life." I absolutely believe that. This is why Food Stamps, Food Banks, and every other form of charity is ultimately doomed to failure in this country. The more the Federal Government gives away, the less the Corporations do for their employees. After all, why not save as much money as possible in every legal way? This is a viscious circle. Where will it end?
On Christmas Eve, my son and I visited our local Firehouse Sub. After riding the bus to Walmart, and then walking home with our packages, (busses had already quit running once we battled through the lines) we stopped at our local Firehouse Sub. We were both tired from the walk, and hungry. We decided to split a sub. While we were there, one of the employees made a mistake with the sub he was making. My son and I watched in horror as this young man threw a perfectly good sandwich away. Not more than three hundred yards from the shop, in a small stand of trees, lives a group of homeless Americans. Many of them probably had not eaten in days. My son was so upset that he confronted the store manager. It is the firm policy of Firehouse Subs that all mistakes must be immediately thrown in the trash.
Many years ago, I worked in management for Kentucky Fried Chicken in Dalton GA. Our rule was to throw away chicken that had been held too long or that was left over at night. I couldn't bring myself to do that. I took the chicken by the local homless shelter (much smaller then than it is today) and gave it away. In the grand scheme of things, that was nothing. Multiply it by millions, and maybe we can have an effect.
There is enough food thrown away every day to feed our hungry populance. We have the food, what we lack is the will.
I certainly don't have answers. I have questions. I have hope that if enough of us demand change that change will come. I have a voice, and I plan to use it to communicate to our leaders that they can begin leading, or they can get out of our way.