Hunger in America. (News Special).

Starving. Wasting away. You probably have seen photos of children in poor countries who suffer from malnutrition. But you might be surprised to learn that many kids in the U.S. experience this kind of hunger, too.

Mary, who lives in Alabama, was one of them. "When I was 14," she says, "my mom, three brothers, and I were abandoned by my stepfather. We starved. I lost 28 pounds in nine months. I never had lunch."

Mary did everything she could to feed herself. "I scavenged [searched] for food," she says. "I'd bring home leftover cookies from our youth group. I even dated guys I didn't like so I could bring my leftovers home."

But for Mary, the worst part of being hungry wasn't a lack of food. What really hurt was that nobody seemed to notice her problem.

"No one guessed that this was going on," she says.

Hunger and Health

Hunger is sometimes called a "silent" problem since few people know how widespread it is. But according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 34 million people went hungry in 2000--including 13 million children.

Although it often goes unnoticed, chronic (continuing) hunger harms children's health and development. Hungry children suffer from two to four times as many health problems (such as headaches, fatigue, frequent colds, and inability to concentrate) as other children.

Hunger and its consequences affect people of all races and ages in both urban and rural areas. However, most hungry people share one characteristic: poverty.

Dr. Larry Brown, director of Brandeis University's Center on Hunger and Poverty, says that the two are directly related. "You can go into any area where there is poverty," he says, "and you can find hunger. Poverty is the cause of hunger."

Boom Times?

Why does the richest nation on Earth have such trouble feeding its people--even as our food supplies have gotten larger?

In the early 1970s, the U.S. economy slowed down, and working people started to make less money. At the same time, the cost of living (the price of housing, clothing, transportation, and other needs) rose.

This left many people with difficult choices. If they didn't pay rent, they would be evicted (kicked out) from their houses or apartments. If they didn't make a car payment, they might not be able to get to their jobs. Since many low-paying jobs did not offer health insurance, medical bills could add to a family's financial burden.

Many people were forced to cut back on groceries. "Often, the most expendable [easy to do without] thing is food," says Brown.

So, what about the boom of the late 1990s? Despite the expanding economy, the working poor still did not earn enough money to support their families. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 50 percent of the total income earned in the U.S. in 2000 went to the wealthiest 20 percent of U.S. households.

Additionally, the Welfare Reform Act of 1996 ended government aid to many struggling families. According to recent studies, many people who found full-time jobs after losing their welfare benefits still do not earn enough to support their families.

Cutbacks in other government assistance programs have caused further harm. And a growing number of workers are losing their health insurance.

"While the record-setting stock market and low unemployment have become cliche topics... the booming economy [didn't] improve the lives of all Americans," says David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, a group dedicated to ending world hunger. "The fact is that the richest country in the world does less than any other developed nation to combat pervasive [widespread] hunger."

Community Outreach

But community organizations in almost every U.S. city are helping to fill the void. Soup kitchens provide cooked meals, while food pantries distribute donated food to those in need. There are even programs for the elderly Meals on Wheels volunteers bring food to people who cannot leave their homes.

The U.S. government also sponsors programs that help hungry children, including free school breakfasts and lunches. It also provides those in need with food stamps, coupons or debit cards that they can use to purchase food at grocery stores.

But getting food stamps isn't always easy. Due to clerical problems, only half of those who are eligible for the coupons in New York State actually receive them. The national rate is not much better.

How can you help fight hunger? According to Brown, there are many things that teens can do to help. Here are three of his suggestions:

1. Volunteer (help out) at a local soup kitchen or food pantry. You can also run a canned-food drive at your school to help these organizations replenish (refill) their stock.

2. Check to see if your school and school district participate in federal programs to help feed the hungry. If not, you can meet with school officials to try to get the programs starred.

3. Send a letter to your Governor, Senators, or Representatives asking them to support programs for the hungry and to reach out to families who need assistance.

Ariel Garfinkel, 13, joined a bike ride for hunger near her hometown of Weston, Massachusetts. She and 600 other cyclists helped a local organization raise $250,000.

"Participating in walks for hunger, bikes for hunger, or other community-service activities helps [hungry] people's dreams come true," says Ariel. "Each little charitable deed will someday add up to make a difference in their lives."

As for Mary, she is now working to help children in need. "I know that here in Alabama, kids go to bed hungry," she says. "I do my utmost to feed everyone I can."

RELATED ARTICLE: Your Turn

WORD MATCH

1. scavenge 

2. chronic

3. expendable

4. replenish

5. evict

A. easy to do without

B. kick out

C. refill

D. search for

E. continuing

THINK ABOUT IT

What more should the U.S. government do to help the hungry? How can you help?

ANSWERS

1. D

2. E

3. A

4. C

5. B

Ending Hunger

www.secondharvest.org