The USDA's report on Household Food Security in the United States, 2008 has received some headlines in the last week or so.
Perhaps the most shocking revelation is that 1 in 4 children faced some level of food insecurity last year. Incomprehensible. Insane. Immoral. We are failing our children.
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I printed out the USDA report and read it during lunch today (yeah, the irony is dripping). And all I could do is shake my head.
So what is, food insecurity? It's what we used to call hunger. From the report:
In a food-insecure household, food intake of one or more household members was reduced and their eating patterns were disrupted at times during the year because the household lacked money and other resources for food. Food-secure households had consistent access to enough food for active healthy lives for all household members at all times during the year.
For the remainder, I'm just going to go with the term hunger/hungry. So, what does the report say? In 2008, there were 13 million households that suffered from hunger during some part of the year. That represents 16.7 million children. As you might expect, parents will typically forgo eating so that their kids will be able to eat. But sometimes this isn't always the case. From the summary:
On an average day in November 2007, for example, an estimated 609,000 to 941,000 households (0.5-0.8 percent of all U.S. households) had members who experienced very low food security, and children experienced these conditions in 45,000 to 65,000 households (0.11 to 0.17 percent of all U.S. households with children).
This is of course an economic issue and those statistics are born out in the report. The fact that 2008 was the worst year since the data have been collected (1995) is not surprising given that the recession started last year. It will be less surprising if the data for this year are worse.
How do families struggling with hunger cope? According to the report, more than half of these families rely on assistance from three of the governments largest programs - the National School Lunch Program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps), and Special Supplemental Nutrition Programs for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
Others relied on local food banks or emergency shelters within the community.
It is important to note that based on the study methodology, homeless families are not surveyed and so these numbers are likely a lower limit on the hungry in this country.
The report (pdf) is full of data and statistics and I encourage you to read it if your interested.
But it is too easy to get lost in the data of the report. But, while I was reading, I couldn't get past the 16.7 million children and how we're failing them. And I remembered reading a book - Searching for America's Heart: RFK and the Renewal of Hope by Peter Edelman. This book criticizes the welfare reforms passed under the Clinton administration as removing the safety net from America's most vulnerable. He plainly says (about President Clinton):
He broke faith with America's children.
It isn't clear to me that we're pursuing policies as a government to remediate these problems, especially with regards to our children - take the latest cave-in on health care reform as an example.
But I think if we sit around waiting, then more children are going to suffer. So, as a community, what can we do to help the children in our own backyards? There are obvious answers like supporting your local food pantry by donating money/food/time. And then I had another idea.
How many of us really understand what it means to be hungry? I'm pretty sure that I don't. I've been blessed to have never had to go without something to eat. No, I have grinched about having to fast for blood work for a whole 12 hours. And so I came up with this idea:
I would propose at least a 24 hour fast - nothing but water. At the end of the fast, think about the children who have this feeling 2 or 3 days per month for 7 or 8 months (in the very low food security households). And then do whatever you can to make sure that a child doesn't have to feel that empty stomach again.
What if we as a community did this? The median US household spends approximately $44 per person per week on food. What if we collectively raised awareness by promoting a 24 hour fast and then a personal donation to a worthy organization? How much could we raise to help feed a child in this country?
I would suggest that Feeding America is one such worthy organization.
I am totally open to expanding/modifying this idea and seeing how much we can do.
Your thoughts/comments/suggestions in the comments please!