Twelve-year-old Lauretta was forced to drop out of school to watch her younger brother while her mother forages for food to feed the family. Lauretta wants to become a school teacher. “I miss school very much,” she said. “I want to go and learn so I can help my mom in the future more.”
Read more about how the escalating food crisis in Niger is impacting children like Lauretta.
Really thought-provoking! How can we solve problems like this one, Hunger Fighters?
Fight Hunger with Free Rice
Free Rice is a charity website that provides free and fun games and help you improve your English. For each answer you get right on the game, they will donate 10 grains of rice to help end hunger.
Visit the site here.
Play now. Help make the world a better place.
What is hunger to you? I will tell you, hunger is not only in third world countries — Africa, as some may say. Hunger Hits Home, right there in your community. People have to decide which bill they are not paying in order for them to buy food. But, you can make a difference by spreading the word, donating money, volunteering at a local food bank, raising funds to support those struggling in your community! Become an official ‘Hunger Fighter’ with the Revolution Hunger campaign! We are a group of teens tackling hunger in our communities which is making a global impact — we aspire to decrease the amount of hungry folks!
Got my HUNGER FIGHTER T-Shirt in the mail! Join team @RevHunger today! Join the fight to stop hunger worldwide! (Taken with instagram)
Join the movement to stop the world-wide hunger epidemic revolutionhunger.org !
A Spectrum Of Understanding
Amongst my peers there are varying levels of understanding of the hunger issue. The spectrum ranges from people who are not quite sure where hunger exists, to people who have a thorough understanding of the issue. When asked if they had any ideas on how to fight hunger, most had a few. Such as not waisting food and working in food banks, both wonderful and effective ideas. I wanted them to expand their thinking. As I continued talking to them I attempted to have them look at the issue of malnutrition from a different perspective. Many when asked where is hunger? Listed far away places like, Africa and Southern Asia, and while hunger does exist there very few acknowledged the people that are hungry in our very own county, state even. When I reminded them of what they said earlier about volunteering at food shelves and programs like food stamps. It then dawned on many of them that this is not just global problem but one that many of us come in contact with more often then we think.
So far no one has been able to solve the multivariable equation that is hunger. There are thousands of hunger relief organizations and programs. Most of us are familiar with food shelves and soup kitchens, both of wich provide temporary salvation for many. I wanted the people I was talking to to think beyond that, and to understand that them as an individual can make a huge impact doing what you love. We need to become innovators, if you are passionate about engineering use those skills to aide in the hunger fight. Most of them haven’t thought about it like that and began telling how they could infuse the hunger fight into their future career choice. They all had great ideas, and I believe many of them will pass on this way of thinking.
Fighting Hunger, Feeding America
By Ryan Young
When we think about hunger, we might associate the issue with people living outside of the United States, but you may be surprised to learn that hunger is also an issue that affects millions of people right here in America. Feeding America’s mission is to feed America’s hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks and engage the country in the fight to end hunger. As the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity, more than 200 food bank members help 61,000 agencies provide food to more than 37 million Americas each year, including 14 million children and 3 million seniors. You can learn more about your local food bank and what they are doing to address hunger by visiting FeedingAmerica.org.
America is often referred to as the land of plenty. While that is true in many ways, it is also true that 1 in 6 Americans are struggling with hunger. Many believe that the problems associated with hunger only exist in specific communities, particular neighborhoods, or certain parts of the country. The reality is that there is no one of face of hunger. Hunger is an issue everywhere in America and these people are usually hard-working adults, children and seniors who simply cannot make ends meet and must go without food. No matter where you live, in an urban, suburban or rural community, those around you can be struggling with hunger.
Hunger can affect many groups of people, but one group that suffers greatly is children. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 16.2 million children under the age of 18 in the United States live in households where they are unable to consistently access enough nutritious food necessary for a healthy life. Children who struggle with hunger are more likely to have poor physical and mental health, have trouble in school, and develop behavioral issues. Although hunger is harmful to everyone, it can be particularly devastating for children because of their vulnerability and potential future consequences.
Feeding America serves approximately 14 million children, over 3 million of which are ages 5 and under. We fight child hunger through a number of national programs like the BackPack Program, Kids Cafe, and School Pantry Programs. For more than 15 years, the Feeding America Backpack Program has helped fight child hunger by providing hungry children with healthy and easy-to-prepare food during times when other resources as not available, such as weekends and school vacations. Today, backpacks are assembled at more than 150 food banks and distributed to nearly 230,000 children every year! You can use the Food Bank Locator to see how you can help fight child hunger in your community.
Kat is a testament to how the Feeding America BackPack Program has changed the lives of children across America. Kat lived in a household where food was not always available and she felt many of the effects linked to hunger including physical discomfort and difficultly concentrating in school.
Three Square Food Bank, a Feeding America member food bank, began a BackPack Program at Kat’s local high school during her senior year and because of the BackPack Program, Kat’s grades improved greatly and she no longer felt the physical pains of hunger. You can hear more about Kat’s story in the video below and on the Feeding America blog.
It may seem like hunger is an issue that is way too difficult for one person to solve, but together we can all join in the fight to end hunger for millions of people in America. Some ways you can help are by volunteering at the local food bank in your community, hosting a virtual food drive , collecting donations, or informing your family, friends, and followers on Facebook and Twitter! With nearly 49 million people in America struggling with hunger, it is going to take your help and the help of many other Americans to change the issue of hunger in America.
Feeding America intern Ryan Young was born and raised in Chicago and graduated from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a BS in Media and Cinema Studies. Ryan is a marathoner, devoted older brother and social media enthusiast with a passion for fighting hunger in America!
Batman and Superman are no match for world hunger. But what happens when teens start their own movement? Become a part of the solution to hunger in your hometown and worldwide by becoming a Hunger Fighter with Revolution Hunger!
