Imagine walking into your child’s classroom and knowing that 1 in every 3 of those kids were having to go hungry. In some midwestern states those are the statistics.
Yup, right smack dab in our own backyards.
Despite food stamps and community outreach programs, the USDA reports that 17 million Americans went hungry last year. Combined this means an estimated total of 49 million people are dealing with food insecurity in our country alone.
One out of every FIVE children in the United States goes without enough to eat. A jump from one in six last year. Children are going hungry at an alarming rate. And until recently our President had not clue one.
Hunger in America is an everyday emergency, not one requiring attention only once or twice a year. Hunger in this country has been going up steadily since 2007, and you can bet it’s going to get worse way before it ever gets better.
Now here’s the real kicker. How much money did Obama give to the too big to fail banking institutions? The very institutions, btw, that contributed heavily to his campaign coffers?
You know the banks I’m talking about. The banks jacking up credit card rates to 29%. The same banks giving out giant bonuses instead of paying back the loans received from the taxpayers of the United States of America.
(Starting January 1st, 30,000 American each and every day will start losing ALL their unemployment benefits, while bankers on Wall Street will be receiving over 30 billion in year in bonuses.)
We are governed by an entity that breaks it’s neck to remove risk from those most able to shoulder it (and who knowingly created it) and then leave those with the least ability to fight back dealing with the resulting damage.
A government that allows one in every five of it’s most helpless citizens go to bed hungry should be ashamed, plain and simple.
These facts are a year old. Yet they took President Obama totally unaware. Um, isn’t that your JOB, Mr. President, to know when millions of your citizens are hungry and without food? Shouldn’t that take priority over pretty much everything else?
In his defense, Mr. Obama found the information from the USDA “very unsettling” and he vowed to reverse the trend of rising hunger.
I wouldn’t hold your breath, boys and girls.
The reasons I share how we garden, cook from scratch, yard sale, coupon and stock our food storage room isn’t to flex my Martha Muscles, but because our government is failing miserably at providing for the most basic needs of it’s citizens- items as basic as food for it’s children.
Not to mention healthcare.
While I can’t change the way our government thinks, I can change the way I think and act. And so can you. Our country is going to need more gardens, more learning how to cook from scratch, how to put food by, and how to make their grocery budget stretch much, much further.
Out of curisosity Mr. Obama, what did your kids have for dinner last night? When was the last time a member of your family had to go to bed hungry?
Just wonderin’.
An excellent article on this same topic: More Americans Than Ever Experiencing Food Insecurity.
ps: Have you seen the WalMart commercials where they proudly tell of increasing their line of Great Value products so that you can feed your family for $2.00 a person? What. a. crock. By using basic ingredients and cooking from scratch you not only feed your family for less than $2.oo per person, but you can offer them much healthier meals as well.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
So glad you brought up the Wal-Mart thing. That commercial BUGs me.
At the beginning of this I was sure that you were talking about some foreign country. This is terrrible.
Great article. I used to teach at a school for homeless children and while they had breakfast and lunch at school we were always scrambling to get them packs for night time and weekends.
There tends to be such a rush at the holidays to give to food banks and that is a great thing but people need to realize that it is going to be after Jan 1 when they need the most help
You sound like a bitter angry person. You know, you’re right things aren’t perfect right now. But instead of pushing ideas of anger and hate…perhaps your talent for words would better be utilized inspiring others to do something positive.
So people are hungry and children are starving…why not sponsor a food drive at work or school. How about some solutions?
So Obama sucks and is helping companies when he should be pouring out money to help the hungry (your interpretation is a gross simplicifaction of the complexity of our economy and politics, but if you choose to brainwash people into making the issue as simple as greed then so be it!) What can we do about fixing this? Where can we help?
And if you believe by sharing with other people how they can help themselves, you are missing an opportunity to inspire others to help others. You complain about how government and companies aren’t helping us…but then you don’t even promote people helping people….shame on you.
Finally, your comment about Walmart’s TV ad…um, if a commercial inspires people to cook from scratch and helps them save money…well then…at least it’s a positive result. Your complaining and hatred isn’t spreading joy and optimism, and if Walmart can do it better…well good for them. By the way, if you haven’t heard Walmart donates millions of dollars and millions of pounds of food to organizatins across the country to help the hungry (htttp://walmartstores.com/CommunityGiving/9054.aspx).
You complain about the government not helping the hungry, you complain about the President, and then you complain about how Walmart’s ads are a crock…but not once did you highlight any of the good things that are happening because people and companies are coming together to try and help.
Again…use your talents to spread some love…you have influence and a following, why would you waste that on spreading messages of hate and ignorance?
Tammy says: Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. I appreciate that not everyone will see things the same way I do.
But bitter and angry? Trust me, I don’t have the energy to be bitter and angry. And if I did, I’d address my bitterness and anger to the life threatening disease my kid has.
Frustrated that kids in this country are going hungry? You betcha. Especially after having taught in several situations where I went grocery store to grocery store asking for donations of food (peanut butter, jelly, bread, fruit, juice, paper plates and cups) to help feed many of the children I was teaching. A hungry kid only cares about when they can eat again. Math isn’t even on their radar.
This post was to help raise awareness. To help point out the problem. The problem of CHILDREN going hungry. And to show others that even on a very limited grocery budget you can feed and take care of your family.
Because if your kids are going hungry you really can’t be at the front of the line in helping others, no?
On this blog I have tried to share ideas on how our family does this.
And while my explanation of the financial situation our country is in may be very simplified, you can’t deny that it is true. Even just setting aside $1,000 for each CHILD going hungry would have helped immensely last year. And there would have been PLENTY left for the bankers to have had their bonuses.
I understand that Walmart donates a lot of food a year. My oldest daughter and I toured a local food bank situated only a few blocks from Walmart. The shelves in the food bank were greatly stocked by donations from WalMart.
However, I stand by my comment on their commercials advertising how you can feed your family for $2.00 a serving. By using basics, such as dry beans, lentils, bulk oatmeal, frozen vegetables, fresh in season fruits and vegetables, and lean cuts of meats purchased on sale in bulk ANYWHERE you can feed your family cheaper than $2.00 per person.
And on Parker’s blog I try and share how to do this. That’s one way I try to give back some. I’m a teacher by nature and degree. It’s what I do. Some of the most important things I ‘own’ are skills that have been taught to me by others.
The next time you hit a Walmart, do some research. Compare the prices of their Great Value brand with name brands. Out of the 15 comparisons I’ve made only one, apple juice, was cheaper than the name brand. Not to mention that I can add a coupon to a sale and get a better quality product for much cheaper than Walmart’s Great Value brand.
In regards to inspiring people to help people, if you go back a couple of posts you’ll find a button that will take you to a blog that gives an address of where you can send new and gently used coats to those here in Salt Lake City that need them. Let me know if you donate a coat. I certainly will be.
You are right though. I could be and should be doing more.
I’m not one that believes the government should fix all of our problems. However, I do believe that after having generations of my family paying into government programs and then being the first one ever in those generations to need help from said programs, we shouldn’t be denied items like life saving vents.
But, again, that’s just me.
As far as you saying that I think Obama sucks…..
What can I say?
You got me there
Well said. A few months ago I became a “label reader” on all foods. My pantry has had a makeover. 99% of my meals are now made from scratch. The poisons that are being allowed to be in our foods is a crime. If we ate the way God intended us to eat our world would not be in the state of disease/illness that it is in…with the exception of those born with medical issues. My kids were not happy with me when I quit buying chips, boxed snacks, poptarts, cereal, etc. I told them I can no longer feed them poisons now that I know what I know. Our main snacks are fruits/veggies and all kinds of nuts/seeds, hard boiled eggs, and good ol’ real buttered popcorn “made from scratch”. These types of foods are where the nutrition comes from. This is what should be donated to the needy. Within the next couple years I hope to be the owner of my own greenhouse here on our farm. Tammy, I so admire you and your gardening/canning/pinching pennies skills. I love reading your posts and learning something new. It takes a lot more time cooking from scratch but I love serving it to my family and it is so worth it AND it is saving me money.
All of it well said Tammy. I think Chris is the one who is bitter and angry. And, dare I say, probably an Obama supporter. I absolutely agree that the government should not be the one to fix all of our problems. In fact, I believe in smaller govt, not bigger. However, if they are going to throw out billions to these big companies to “help” them, then we do have a right to say “wait a minute, why are you helping them when you’re not helping the most innocent in our country?” I guess it was all in the name of fixing the economy. Worked really well, didn’t it?! Were we all surprised at these banks who turned around and screwed their customers?? I wasn’t. And I was one of those customers who got screwed. What they should have done instead of handing these big companies a check is to hand every tax paying American a check. I think that might have boosted the economy just a little bit more.
As for Walmart, I’ve compared the prices. I can’t save $2,000 a year (or whatever the number is that they say in their commercials) by shopping at their store. I save WAY more at my local grocery store…and purchasing name brand items. I’ve done the math, theirs is wrong. Maybe if you’re comparing prices using full price items and not factoring in coupons and sales….maybe.
By the way Tammy, is there something wrong with your site?? I can’t go back and read previous posts.
nevermind, I see what’s different
Tammy says:
Michelle, my site had a huge hiccup a few weeks ago and my host (which stinks) can’t bring back the info to make it the way it was before.
I’m saving up to be able to change hosts (which will require paying a programmer) and then we’ll get everything back where it needs to be.