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America, Feed America
Photo Courtesy of American at flickr.com
Written by Caitlin Brands, Staff Writer
Every time the news is flicked on there is always something about Africa, Asia, Indonesia and South America and how there are starving people in that nation. There are hundreds of American owned organizations that cater to the foreign hunger affairs. Has anyone ever given any real thought to the starving children in America? In Detroit alone, poverty has increased by 21% in the last five years. One in five children in Detroit is malnourished and is at risk of starvation. There are soup kitchens available, but what about the other hundreds of Americans waiting in that same line? Even if they do happen get to the soup kitchen in time the likelihood of receiving the proper nutrition is slim.
This is a serious issue that America needs to deal with. It might not be on the local news or even the national news, but in every pocket of society there are families who cannot afford to make ends meet and therefore are forced to go without food. In Florida, the child poverty rate is 17.9%, the food insecurity rate is 15.9% by state source. Even in Florida children are at a high risk of malnutrition and even starvation!
Why should we help? Are we all not Americans? If you couldn’t afford to buy a decent meal, wouldn’t you want a friend or neighbor to lend a hand in difficult times? So next time you see a sign that says “Feed Africa” please know that there are already global organizations helping, but who is going to help the hundreds of starving children within our red, white, and blue borders? America, feed Americans. Donate and volunteer for this injustice which many people face daily.
For more information on feeding America visit: http://www.feedthechildren.org/site/PageServer?pagename=dotorg_homepage
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November 16th, 2009 at 10:24 am
Thank you Caitlin for bringing up this troublesome issue. It’s true and it’s painful.
This is something that needs to be taken into action by everyone of us -the people who are blessed with a kitchen full of food and a meal every night. We need to use our energy and dinamism to help our neigbors.
Young people can come up with ideas so that during these following weeks in which we are going to OVER eat, others can enjoy a meal.
Therefore, 12-103 is open to suggestions pronto!
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December 17th, 2009 at 1:13 am
This is just silly. There are the same amount, if not more, organizations whose main purpose is to feed Americans. Starving people are still starving people, and until world hunger is resolved, I will continue to “FEED AFRICA”. Help is scarce, especially overseas. Help in our native land is necessary, but more convenient to provide. This is just plain…awful.
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