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Nov

Children Starve, World Struggles For Solution

The picture you are seeing is one of the most horrific images you could ever view. Its a child starving and suffering, and yes this child might even die. Hard to believe that it is 2009 and this type of suffering is still happening. This is a call to do something. Stand up for the right things in life. Hold off on that new pair of shoes and donate and make an imprint and impact to stop these children that were born into the world not by choice, but now pay the price.

Some mothers choose what their children will eat. Others choose which children will eat and which will die. As World Hunger Relief Week is marked, more people are asking Why are so many people starving and what, if anything, can be done to eradicate hunger?

causes for the rise in global hunger have been documented. They include:

• Surging oil costs have made it more expensive to harvest, fertilize, store and deliver food.

• The rise in droughts and hurricanes worldwide has wiped out crops and made farming more difficult.

• The world is running out of the raw materials water, oil, good farmland needed to keep the food system intact.

Fixing our food system would be similar to weaning ourselves of our addiction to oil. People are going to have to find ways to grow food with less fertilizer and water, and use less energy to store and transport food.

The global economic crisis has caused a spike in world hunger that has left more than a billion undernourished, United Nations agencies said in a new report. It is unacceptable in the 21st century that almost one in six of the world’s population is now going hungry. An estimated 642 million people are suffering from chronic hunger in Asia and the Pacific. An additional 265 million live in sub-Saharan Africa while 95 million come from Latin America, the Caribbean, the Near East and North Africa. The final 15 million live in developed nations.

The number of hungry spiked as the global economic crisis took hold and governments pumped resources into stabilizing financial markets. The move meant smaller investments in agriculture and food distribution.

Feeding 1 billion people might seem like a challenge, but small donations can make a big difference. If a billion Internet users donate a dollar or a euro a week, we can literally transform the lives of a billion hungry people across the world.

TO HELP!!!! http://www.wfp.org/

Category: Informational Tags: charity, children sick, Children Starve, food, kids kids suffering, program, World Struggles For Solution Leave a Comment

Nov

Our Seniors Are Hungry….

TheSaltyChef

Hunger is a serious threat facing millions of seniors in the United States and understanding it is a critical first step to developing strategies to eliminate.

But little research has been done in this area. That is why in 2007 the Meals On Wheels Association of America Foundation, with the generous underwriting from the Harrahâ€™s Foundation, commissioned a research study entitled The Causes, Consequences and Future of Senior Hunger in America.

Over 5 million seniorsâ€”11.4 percent of all seniorsâ€”experienced some form of food insecurity (i.e., were marginally food insecure). Of these, about 2.5 million were at-risk of hunger, and about 750,000 suffered from hunger due to financial constraints. America
– Some groups of seniors are more likely to be at-risk of hunger. Relative to their representation in the overall senior population, those with limited incomes, under age 70, African-Americans, Hispanics, never-married individuals, renters, and persons living in the South are all more likely to be at-risk of hunger.
– While certain groups of seniors are at greater-risk of hunger, hunger cuts across the income spectrum. For example, over 50% of all seniors who are at-risk of hunger have incomes above the poverty line. Likewise, it is present in all demographic groups. For example, over two-thirds of seniors at-risk of hunger are white.
– There are marked differences in the risk of hunger across family structure, especially for those seniors living alone, or those living with a grandchild. Those living alone are twice as likely to experience hunger compared to married seniors. One in five senior households with a grandchild (but no adult child) present is at-risk of hunger compared to about one in twenty households without a grandchild present.
– Seniors living in non-metropolitan areas are as likely to experience food insecurity as those living in metropolitan areas, suggesting that food insecurity cuts across the urban-rural continuum.

The above is an excerpt from The Causes, Consequences and Future of Senior Hunger in America; a groundbreaking study conducted by the University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research and Iowa State University.

Meals On Wheels programs provide nutritious food, warm conversation and regular safety checks to hungry seniors in urban, suburban and rural communities all over the country.

They deliver meals to hungry seniors in your community…but they need your help. Volunteers keep local Meals On Wheels programs running â€“ and they keep hungry seniors fed. Reliable volunteers are critical for our Member programs.

What Does A Meals On Wheels Volunteer Look Like?

Meals On Wheels volunteers come in all shapes, sizes, ages and abilities. Our volunteers are Brownies and Cub Scouts, high school and college students, professionals, retirees, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents â€“ and even a few great-great grandparents. Some like to go out and visit seniors; some like to work behind the scenes â€“ and all have generous hearts. In other words, Meals On Wheels volunteers look just like you.

How You Can Helpâ€¦

While the greatest need at Meals On Wheels programs is for folks who are willing to drive and deliver meals, programs have a wide variety of volunteer opportunities for people with all kinds of skills and schedules. Meals On Wheels volunteers help with office tasks, prepare meals, organize fundraising events, and much more.

For more info please visit http://www.mowaa.org