by Lyn Lomasi, Write W.A.V.E. Media Staff As you are reading this, there are children in America who don't know if they will eat today. How is this possible when America has so many available resources? Are we really using what have to the fullest advantage? Urban gardens are known for reducing hunger. What if we took it a step further and required all schools to have them? Can school garden farms reduce childhood hunger?
Childhood Hunger in America According to FeedingAmerica.org, 16.7 million American children faced hunger issues in 2008. In a country as abundant as this, why should this be an issue? Rearranging priorities may help. What if schools were required to have garden farms that provided nutrition for the entire neighborhood? This would be a simple program to implement. In fact, there are already grants and other plans in place for those who wish to do so. Why Create School Garden Farms? School gardens can help teach kids about agriculture. Giving them a head start in important sustainability lessons may help increase the chance of their success later in life. Schools are often the center of their neighborhood. It's where many events and gatherings take place. The farming could be implemented into the curriculum. At harvest time for each plant, the kids can divide the crops evenly, according to how many people need them. There will likely be plenty for their families, as well as others in the neighborhood. If various crops are planted according to season, there should be plenty of food year-round. When school is not in session, the garden can still be maintained. This will help make up for the lack of nutrition many people suffer from. Can School Gardens Really Reduce Childhood Hunger in America? According to UrbanHarvest.org, community gardens help reduce hunger. Following that pattern, wouldn't it make sense that a school garden could help reduce hunger in children? If the food was distributed evenly to all neighborhood families by default, people may not be so hesitant to take it. Sometimes people are in need, but are embarrassed to admit they need help. Some may not have adequate transportation to get to that help. By making the community garden a part of the school's curriculum and regular routine, it's possible that childhood hunger could be reduced significantly. Taking away the sometimes grueling application experience and other measures may make this option more desirable for some families. With this type of plan, no one needs to feel left out and no one needs to be put on the spot or labeled. More on Hunger: Feeding America Hunger and Poverty Statistics Urban Harvest on Why Community Gardens are Valuable Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples on Urban Gardens *I originally published a version of this via Yahoo Contributor Network
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By Mike Thompson, Contributing Writer
Call me naive. Call me out of touch. Or call me a conservative. I don't feel I'm any of those, but maybe it's true. I simply don't quite believe the leaders of Feeding America, the nation's leading food provider, when they say one in six citizens face hunger on a regular basis. I get around -- in fact, I've volunteered to oversee children's Summer Food Program lunches -- and I simply don't see it. People fall short of food, but they usually get help. Children are most at risk but when they go hungry, the cause most often is family dysfunction rather than poverty. I agree that one of six families -- far more, in some areas -- need support from food stamps. I agree with Feeding America's legislative activism to combat tea party threats to nutrition programs. However, advocates should strive to avoid exaggeration, especially during today's divisive and hostile politics. That being said, there is much to gain from visiting the Feeding America website. Many stereotypes are demolished, most vividly that poverty is essentially an urban problem. Poverty is everywhere. Feeding America reports that greatest hardship in D.C., which we might expect, and the state of Oregon, which we wouldn't. Also, we all should be aware that food banks can make a little bit of money go a long way by obtaining surplus food and buying in bulk. Here's the website: http://feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america.aspx by Michael Thompson, Contributing Writer
Many people link global hunger with overpopulation. In other words, too many people, not enough food for all. World Hunger Educational Service tells us differently. "The world produces enough food to feed everyone," the organization flatly asserts, stating that even though the global population has grown by 70 percent during the past three decades, agricultural production has surged so massively that calories per person have increased by 17 percent. Match the two numbers, and we see that the total calories produced have nearly doubled. So if all this is true, why are nearly 1 billion of the planet's 7 billion souls suffering from hunger and malnutrition, including 578 million in Asia and the Pacific, and 239 million in sub-Saharan Africa? World Hunger Educational Service cites three main reasons: Poverty, corrupt governments, and conflicts among nations. Poverty and hunger create an especially vicious cycle because each causally contributes to the other. Five million children die annually from hunger-related afflictions such as malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia and measles. Lack of necessary nutrients also has tragic effects. Shortages and their effects include Vitamin A (blindness), iron (anemia) and iodine (mental health troubles). SOURCE: http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/world%20hunger%20facts%202002.htm by Linda St.Cyr, Contributing Writer
Yum! Brands, Inc., the parent company of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, is well aware of the food crisis happening in Africa. Families in the Horn of Africa are suffering the effects of drought and war. Hunger and famine are at an all time high. Celebrities have called this plight in Africa, “the worst food crisis of the 21st century.” Yum! Brands, Inc. is attempting to make a difference by directing $1 million in funds from its World Hunger Relief global effort to help the United Nations World Food Programme feed those affected. Over 13 million people in the Horn of Africa have been affected by the food crisis. One of the worst droughts in history, conflict in the region, and over-population in refugee camps is making food a scarce commodity. The World Food Programme is trying to get food to those in need in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Djibouti, and Somalia. Yum! CEO David Novak said of the companies actions, “The situation throughout the Horn of Africa is desperate, and we all need to help.” Yum! Brands, Inc. is not only fighting hunger in Africa, but all over the world through the World Hunger Relief effort. The company's hunger relief efforts span 110 countries, 38,000 restaurants and more than a million employees and volunteers dedicated to raising awareness and funds for hunger-relief agencies. While also battling hunger in the Horn of Africa the company is also helping the World Food Programme's hunger relief efforts in Hondoras, the second poorest country in Central America. More by Linda: Brazil’s “Zero Hunger” Program Offers Hope for the War on Poverty Worldwide Child Poverty: America's Rising Crisis Soles4Souls: Over 300 Million Children are Without Shoes World Humanitarian Day: Celebrating the Men and Women Making a Difference by Linda St.Cyr, Contributing Writer
August 19th marks World Humanitarian Day, a day where the men and women who have dedicated their lives to making it better are recognized for their services. As the World Food Programme states, “The event has special significance this year as the world grapples with a hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa.” Humanitarian aid workers do not have an easy life. They make sacrifices, risk their lives, and tackle challenges that sometimes seem to be never-ending. The World Food Programme recognized four volunteers who have made incredible strides and impact on the world. Fethi Mohammad, Consolata Kwadi, Mick Eccles, and Challiss McDonough were marked by the WFP for their contributions to putting an end to hunger and navigating through extremely unfriendly conflict zones to feed those affected by famine. There are many humanitarians that deserve credit for the work that they do. The life of a humanitarian is not always easy, safe, or satisfying. It takes special people to make the world a better place. Those people are strong in mind, body and spirit. I don’t have time to list all the humanitarians in the world, but here are some that I’d personally like to give credit to for World Humanitarian Day: Wayne Elsey- Founder and CEO of Soles4Soles, Inc., an organization dedicated to providing shoes, clothes and hope to victims of abject suffering. Soles4Souls also supports micro-business efforts seeking to eradicate poverty. Istvan Papp- U.N. Peacekeeper who was kidnapped while on a mission to oversee the disarmament program in Darfar in October 2010. He was chained to a tree in the Sudan for 3 months before finally being freed by his captors in January 2011. Sergio Vieira de Mello, a humanitarian worker for the U.N., and the 21 others who lost their lives during a hotel bombing in Baghdad in 2003. World Humanitarian Day was declared for August 19th by the UN General Assembly in 2008 to honor de Mello and the other volunteers who gave up their lives doing good works on that sad day in 2003. De Mello was awarded the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights posthumously in 2003. Who did you recognize for World Humanitarian Day? More by Linda: Brazil’s “Zero Hunger” Program Offers Hope for the War on Poverty Worldwide Child Poverty: America's Rising Crisis Soles4Souls: Over 300 Million Children are Without Shoes Yum! Brands, Inc. Fights Hunger in Africa with $1M |
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