Hunger
in the United States
As
I looked through the list of stressors that children around the world live with
including war, poverty,
racism, natural disaster, isolation, hunger, noise, chaos, and disease, I
thought how lucky I have been to not know anyone who has experienced any of
these stressors. I am aware, however, that there are children in the United
States that do have to deal with some of these stressors. For example, children
in the United States, with fathers that go to war, have to deal with the
absence of their fathers or mothers, sometimes permanently. Although I have not
talked to anyone personally that had to deal with racism, there are plenty of
children in the United States that do have this stressor. There have also been
many tragedies in the United States this year including natural disasters.
Finally, hunger exists even in the United States.
I
am not sure if I have ever known a truly hungry person, but there is a child in
my class who may have to use special education services next year despite the
fact that she appears to be just as able as any other child when a person first
meets her. Her older sister also is involved with special education. She is a
happy child who always eats two full plates for lunch at my school. Despite her
large appetite, she is skinny and small. It is quite possible that she is not
as hungry as I am making out. I had to consider, however, that hunger may be an
invisible problem. Those children, who are hungry, may not seem so different
from other children, so teachers have no way of knowing who is hungry. Because
of this, we all need to be aware that children may be hungry even in the United
States, and sometimes the children’s behavior could be a clue to their hunger.
There
are hungry children in the United States. Here are the statistics. Sixteen million seven hundred
thousand children lived in food insecure households in 2011 (Feeing America,
2013). Twenty percent or more of children in 36 states lived in food insecure
households in 2010 (Feeding America, 2013).
Feeding America has two programs
that address this problem. Kids Cafe is an after school program in which kids
can get food at clubs, churches, and schools where they are after school. Their
Back Pack program gives kids easy to prepare food, so that they can make this
food over the weekend. These programs are important to help kids do well in
school and have a brighter future because “good nutrition, particularly in the
first three years of life, is important in establishing a good foundation that
has implications for a child’s future physical and mental health, academic
achievement, and economic productivity” (Food America, 2013).
References
Feeding America
(2013). Child hunger facts. Retrieved from http://feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/hunger-facts/child-hunger-facts.aspx
Hello Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteHunger is becoming a bigger issue here in the US and those were some alarming stats. Our government needs more policies in place so that this hunger issue is taken care of
I enjoyed reading your blog and you made a great point in talking about hunger. There are many children who suffer from hunger. I tell my children they are very lucky to live in the USA and not suffer from nothing. There are many children that suffer and go through a lot of stress not having any food or shelter. When I have food left over I feel so bad in throwing the food away I wish I was able to give all my left overs to people that need it. I have many friends that lost their husbands in the war in Iraq and they are having a very hard time grieving. Great post!
DeleteHi Elijah,
DeleteAlthough there are food insecure families in America, there are also programs like Feeding America that help with this problem. The actual number of hungry is probably not as great as the number of food insecure households because of programs like Feeding America. The problem is making sure we identify people who need help.
Thanks for your response!
Liz Thomas
I love your post! I understand were you coming from. Child hunger is so important today. Sometime you can have kids that are starving in your class, and you will never know they are!
ReplyDeleteHi Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI agree that hunger is growing in the United States, but there is a larger problem with hunger in the developing countries. Save the Children's organization does a lot to help these children who are literally starving. The television commercials are so sad. Each time my brother throws away his untouched healthy meal I am reminded of the children that will go to bed hungry and probably not wake up the next morning. I thank God for programs like Save the Children. You can read more at http://twebster@savechildren.org
Hello Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. Although, we live in the US, it is still astounding to really know how many households do not have enough food to feed their families (20% in more than 36 states).
Also, I wanted to comment on the backpack program. I had the priviledge to see that program in effect when I student taught at a Title 1 elementary school. We filled the backpacks and then distributed them to children who either qualified for reduced or free lunch. I believe that it is a good program which provides food to children who desperately need it.