When we think of the ‘word’ environment, an image of a tree may come to mind. But, humans make up an important component of our environment. And unfortunately, the issue of people suffering from hunger here in the United States sometimes goes overlooked. Feeding America is a nationwide domestic hunger-relief charity that addresses this environmental issue.
Feeding America seeks to engage America in the fight to end hunger by feeding the nation’s hungry through a network of member food banks across the country. This relief organization recognizes that the issue of hunger is not confined to small areas of our nation. Hunger is everywhere. In fact, the unemployed are not the only people who suffer from what this organization calls a “silent epidemic.” Working Poor families also suffer from hunger. The Working Poor are American families who are living below 100 percent poverty but have at least one family member working. According to the 2010 US Census Bureau, 21 million people live in working poor families. Thirty-six percent of the households serviced by Feeding America are classified as Working Poor. Children and seniors are other common victims, going without food or meals for potentially several days.
This organization fights hunger with the implementation of a variety of programs, including Kid’s Cafe. Kid’s Cafe makes available free meals and snacks to low-income children in various places where kids are during after school hours. These places may include churches, public schools, as well as the Boys and Girls Clubs. Feeding America explains the program in this manner, “In addition to providing meals to kids, some Kids Café programs also offer a safe place, where under the supervision of trustworthy staff, a child can get involved in educational, recreational, and social activities.”
Here are some other wonderful Network programs that Feeding America has created:
Below are just a couple of their Public Assistance Programs:
This charity also strongly encourages public policy, “Our goal is to support policies that help solve America’s growing hunger crisis, while raising public awareness about the issues of hunger in our country.” This is refreshing! People can try to give all that they want to those in need. But, nothing is going to change for the better if these hungry people have no reliable access to nutritious food. Please note that I am in no way encouraging people to stop donating to food organizations. As you can see, this food organization encourages dialogue with Congress, state, and local officials in order to strengthen our food programs and find other solutions to helping the food insecure become food secure. Because the sad fact of the matter is that too many neighborhoods do not have proper access to fresh produce. And, an astonishing fact is that 1 in 6 Americans are hungry. Feeding America wants to change that.
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