The price of hunger in America

June 29, 2008

The price of hunger
ANP: Hunger is a growing crisis in US, stagnant economy and rising fuel price cause cost of food to soar

American News Project: Hunger is a growing crisis in America. With a stagnant economy and rising fuel prices the cost of food is soaring. Congress is reacting, but will their efforts be enough? ANP spends a week with Brian Duss who agrees to take the Food Stamp Challenge and live off a dollar per meal for 7 days.



The Price of Hunger
By Garland McLaurin

JAMES P. MCGOVERN, CONGRESSMAN (D-MA): Hunger is a political condition. That is absolutely the best way to characterize it. We have the resources, we have the infrastructure, we have everything to end hunger except the political will.

VOICEOVER: Hunger is growing in America, and food banks are scrambling to keep up with the need. Higher oil prices mean higher food prices, and the stagnant economy means more unemployment. It's estimated that a record 28 million Americans will be using food stamps in 2009. Millions more depend on community food banks like Bread for the City in Washington, DC, to provide free food from time to time.

JEANETTE CHANCE, NORTHWEST FOOD COORDINATOR: You know, we never can predict a time and an amount of people, but they're coming, and probably between about 100 to 150 people per day. The first two weeks of the month, it's really 200-plus families every month.

VOICEOVER: The elderly living on fixed incomes are among those who need the most help with food donations. For many, the food stamps they receive are just not enough.

CHANCE: A person who picks up from us every month—I don't know if I should say his name—but he'll be 110 years old this year, and he's the talk of Bread for the City, and stronger than two people, two normal people. But he comes faithfully and picks his food up every month.

DONNA HENDRICKS, SENIOR IN NEED OF FOOD ASSISTANCE: I have to go wherever I can go to get groceries, because the cost of living has gone up so high. It's like a vicious cycle. It reminds me of a hamster running on its wheel, just going around and around and around. And I feel overwhelmed right now. I live on a single income, and it's true I do get food stamps, but all I get is $70 a month, and that doesn't stretch for one month. So I come here and I get food once a month, and that helps tremendously.
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When do we get about doing what Christ told us to do? If anyone wants to claim the title of being a Christian think of this.

Galatians 6:2 (New International Version)
2 Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians+6:2

You can find many more times when Christ Himself talked about how to treat others in the Red letters of the New Testament.

How can anyone dismiss this and still claim how important faith is to them? Is it was faith can do only for them, their needs, wants and desires? Or is it what faith is supposed to transform within them? Do they think it's ok to face Christ and say what they bought for themselves instead of what they did for others? Do they think it's ok that they claimed they fought for Christ to stop abortions or gay marriages when they failed to take care of the least among us? If they think what someone else does in their own personal life is what Christ was talking about fighting against, they missed the entire reason He came at all. Read the Red Letters of the New Testament and find me the time when Christ said we were to hate or judge anyone. Find me the part where He talked about making sure we got what we wanted first and leave everyone else on their own. Sure you can point to Leviticus and how the sins were worthy of death like eating shell fish, or maybe even go to the Acts and the speeches given by Paul, but you can't show me where Christ said anything about any of this or where God said anything written in Leviticus in the Ten Commandments. We twist what is right around because we just don't want to do it His way. Take a look at the words above and then tell me how allowing people to go hungry in this country is suppose to be a thing to ignore.

Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com

"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation."

- George Washington