Poverty and Hunger Around the World
Heather Campbell
heathercampbell@mycwi.cc
Leslie Jewkes
English 102
Sunday, May 5, 2013
MDG 1 - Eradicating Poverty and Hunger
Welcome to my blog! This blog is a complete composition of the work I did for my English 102 project. We were tasked to choose one of the eight Millennium Development Goals as our focus for the semester. I chose eradicating poverty and hunger for mine because I know what it is like to need assistance to make sure you have enough food to last the month. This project starts with a local paper on our issue, so I wrote about hunger in Idaho; what it looks like, who is helping, and what we can do to help. After that, there are two personal writings I did that tie into my MDG; a diary entry from Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games and a haiku. Then you will see the brochure of information I created, some pictures that tie in, and the interviews and letters I did for the local and global papers. That will leave the film analysis paper and the global paper, both on poverty and hunger and the impact they have in our world. Last is the final reflection followed by a combined bibliography for all the writing assignments. This project really hit home for me being a single mother dealing with the struggle to make ends meet every month. I hope you enjoy my work over the past few months. I know I enjoyed the journey.
Hunger in Idaho
College of
Western Idaho
|
Hunger in Idaho
|
The problem of hunger
in Idaho
|
Heather
Campbell
English 102
011W
Leslie Jewkes
|
3/12/2013
|
It
is hard to know about a problem that you probably don’t see every day, so I am
going to point out that problem. Hunger in Idaho is a growing issue with more
and more people needing assistance to feed their families. Health and Welfare’s
Food Stamp program and the Idaho Food Bank are the two biggest organizations
helping people to supplement their food sources. This paper goes over various
figures about those organizations and how many people in the state of Idaho
need assistance. It goes over the increase of applicants to the Food Stamp
program and free/reduced lunches for children at school.
Heather Campbell
English 102 011W
Essay 1 Rough Draft
February 20, 2013
Hunger
in Idaho
It is hard to miss the commercials for the organizations
promoting helping children by making money donations to help a child in Africa
receive food and clean water. Those children do need our help and donations to
survive, but what most people fail to realize is that there are children and
families going hungry in our own back yards. People everywhere are fighting
hunger. It could be a neighbor, a friend, a cousin, or even a coworker. Hunger
is a growing problem all over the world but what most fail to see is that it is
also a growing problem right here in Idaho. What most also seem to miss is that
it is not just a recent problem, this problem has been going on for a while. What
can be done to help this growing problem? Who is already trying to help and how
are they doing so? What does it mean to be food insecure and in need of assistance?
We are going to explore the problem of hunger in Idaho and what can be done to
help it.
Hunger is not just starving every day; it is being forced
to choose between paying a bill and making sure your children have dinner on
the table. It is not being able to make ends meet and needing assistance to
make sure your family has food every day. People seem to think that it is only
the extreme poor that has problems with hunger. It is not just them. A good
percentage of middle class America is also having problems with hunger. Prices
continue to go up while pay stays the same. Idaho is no different. Dick Shultz,
administrator of the State Division of Health stated “If you look at the
average family income in Idaho, you’ll see the income is quite low compared to
other states. The job market here in not necessarily the high-end job market”
(Abramsky). A study was done in the 1990’s that showed that Idaho was in the
mid-range for hunger nationwide. Less than a decade later, Idaho is one of the
worst for hunger, becoming the sixth worst state in the nation. Ambramsky also
reports that on paper Idaho is thriving. Its unemployment rate is one of the
lowest and it boasts one of the highest populations growth rates for the nation.
The problem is that jobs are not being created fast enough to catch up with the
demand for the ability to pay bills and buy groceries.
People have to supplement the lack of money with
government assistance such as food stamps and non-profit organizations and
charities like food banks. Food Stamps, also known as Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP), is a government funded program that gives people in
need extra money to be used for food items every month. Every six months they
reevaluate each person or family to make sure they still need assistance and if
the amount of assistance needs to change. Food banks are organizations that
accept donations and redistribute what they get to those that are in need. According
to the Health and Welfare, the food insecurity rate in Canyon County alone is
17.7%. Ada County is at 15.1%. In the past three years the amount of people
helped by Food Stamps has gone up over one hundred thousand, although there was
a small decline from June 2011 to June 2012.
Christie Spaeth, a wife and mother of two, was able to give
an inside look of what it is like to need help with getting enough food to
support a family. Mrs. Spaeth is disabled and has been for over 10 years now.
She is unable to work and has a steady income through SSI, or Social Security
Income. Her husband is out of work right now and has been for a while due to
severe back problems and while they are both going to school, it doesn’t bring
in an extra steady income so it gets difficult for them to make ends meet. Mrs.
Spaeth has signed up for food stamps and uses the local food bank location and
other various nonprofit organizations to help get food for her family. When
asked, she confided that she “does not particularly enjoy needing assistance to
help her family, but that is why the programs are there and she is more than
greatly for the help feeding her family”. Many others like Mrs. Spaeth feel
this way. In fact, there are some people that are embarrassed to have to rely
on a program to help get food, but they overcome that embarrassment because it
is necessary.
Mrs. Spaeth and many others would have more problems than
comforts if a bill that is trying to going to go through in Washington D.C. is
passed into law. The bill, which got a full vote from senate, would cut the
SNAP budget by four million dollars and another version of the bill, the House
version, would cut spending by sixteen million (Idaho Business Review). Lisa
Davis, the vice president of public policy for Feeding America, was quoted in Idaho
Business Review to have the standing that “food stamps are immediately put back
into the local economy, which helps farmer, trucking operations and grocery
stores, among others”. The cut would mostly affect the elderly and the children
that are relying on the program. This cut could also cause a decline in the
economy that currently has unseen repercussions. One of the politicians voting
on the bill, Idaho’s own Rep. Mike Simpson was reported to have stated that
“the House version of the bill is more of a necessity than a want” (Idaho
Business Review). The bill is meant to help America start to climb out of our
deficit, but it would cause even more problems for those that are relying on
Food Stamps to feed their families.
The problem isn’t just in the Treasure Valley area
either. Kimberlee Kreusi wrote in the Twin Falls Times-News that Twin Falls and
the surrounding area is also having problems. She reported that an average meal
went up by twenty cents, which adds up to an increase of $220 a year per person.
For a family, that adds up even more and can be a devastated difference. She also reported that in 2010, 17% of
Idahoans all of the state didn’t know where they were going to be getting their
next meal. The whole state of Idaho is in trouble, not just one part or one
city or one county. It is almost a guarantee that someone you know has food
insecurity and is worried about how they are going to feed their families in
the next days.
Another problem that is arising is the rise in students
being eligible for free or reduced lunches at schools. In an AP Regional State
Report done in Idaho Falls, in 2011 nearly 50% of students were eligible to
receive subsidizing lunches. That is a large increase from 2008 when it was at
37%. Even though the increasing number of students receiving subsidized lunches
is helping the schools receive more funding and help, it also shows the
increase in poverty and hunger in the area. There are more that schools are
doing to help hunger with children. They are participating in the Backpack
Program which gives families the opportunity to receive a bag of food with
their children every week that is supplied from the local food bank.
George Prentice wrote in the Boise Weekly in an October
2011 edition that a group of twenty Treasure Valley attorneys were
participating in the Attorneys Against Hunger Challenge The challenge required
them each to live on $30 for a week which boils down to $4.30 a day, the rough
estimate of the budget of one in four Americans. One attorney, Jordan Taylor
with the Idaho State Appellate Public Defender’s Office, was reported to say
that “Our biggest challenge is to prepare healthy and delicious food”. One of
the biggest problems that coincide with the hunger epidemic is that healthier
foods cost more than the less healthy options. As a friend was quoted to say
“why spend almost $4 on a salad when a cheeseburger is only $1”. It does not
help matter that fast food restaurants have their dollar menus with cheap and
quick food, but that food is high in calories and usually smothered in grease.
Healthier foods cost more and as the people in your family grow in numbers, the
less money per person you have to spend. Most families have to go with the
cheaper choice.
AARP reported that roughly 6% of elderly Idahoans are
facing the risk of hunger. 1 in 11 elderly, 50 and over, Americans are at risk
which is an 80% increase in a 10 year span. Elderly are some of the worst
affected people when it comes to hunger. The majority of elderly are on a fixed
income of SSI, SSD, or some kind of retirement or pension which makes it very
hard for them to make ends meet. With the prices of things rising each year but
their incomes not rising with them, it makes things even more difficult. The
elderly have to take part time jobs and odd jobs to supplement their incomes.
They have to seek help from food banks and Health and Welfare and family to
make sure they have food for the month.
The PR Newswire did an article on The Grocery Outlet, a
well known store that sells food items and other household type items at a
discounted price, stating that they did a huge food drive to help feed those
that are facing food insecurity. With their 164,000 stores, they raised just
under $300,000 in a variety of donations to help food banks to help food
organizations in Idaho and a few other states on the west coast. With continued
efforts and donations like this, we could really help the food insecurity that
is growing in our state, in our own neighborhoods. Don’t forget that this isn’t
just a problem for those without jobs or that are in extreme poverty, even
those with jobs are struggling to feed their families.
The problem of poverty and hunger is still growing and
will continue to grow unless we find a way to stop it, or at least help more
than is currently being done. The hunger rate is growing faster with each year
as the cost of living rises but the wages don’t. Poverty and hunger go hand in
hand, work on one and the other will be helped as well. Health and Welfare and
the Idaho Food Bank are doing everything they can to help those in need and
while Health and Welfare is government funded, the Idaho Food Bank needs help.
They need volunteers and donations to keep helping those in need. As it stands
right now, the Food Bank is struggling to keep up with the demand and the need
for help with hunger. We may not be able to solve the problem of hunger
immediately, but we can over time. It will take a few years, but it will be
worth it to see our community in a better place and able to feed their families.
Works
Cited
Abramsky,
Sasha. "Is Idaho The Future?." Progressive 69.9 (2005): 28.MasterFILE Premier. Web.
25 Feb. 2013.
Idaho
Department of Health and Welfare. Facts, Figures, and Trends: 2012-2013.
Kruesi,
Kimberlee. "Report: Hunger Grew in Idaho in 2010." Times-News, The (Twin Falls, ID) 01
May 2012: Newspaper Source Plus.
Web. 25 Feb. 2013.
PR,
Newswire. "AARP Report: Over 6% of Older Idahoans Face Risk of
Hunger." PR Newswire
US 30 Aug. 2011: Regional
Business News. Web. 25 Feb. 2013.
PR,
Newswire. "Grocery Outlet Helps Feed People Facing Hunger." PR Newswire US 16 Aug. 2012: Regional Business News. Web. 25 Feb.
2013.
Prentice,
George. "ATTORNEYS AGAINST HUNGER CHALLENGE." Boise Weekly 05 Oct. 2011:
41. Newspaper Source Plus. Web.
25 Feb. 2013.
Proctor,
David. Media and Public Relations of the Idaho Food Bank. Personal
Communication.
Sean,
Olson. "Food Stamp Cuts Could Hurt Idaho Economies, Hunger Organizations
Warn." Idaho Business Review
(Boise, ID) (n.d.): Regional
Business News. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.
Spaeth,
Christie. Personal Communication Interview.
The
Associated, Press. "More Idaho Students Qualify For Free School
Meals." AP Regional State
Report - Idaho (2012): Newspaper
Source Plus. Web. 25 Feb. 2013.
Personal Writings
The first is what I believe would be a diary entry from Katniss in The Hunger Games. The second is a haiku I wrote.
Dear Diary,
I went hunting with Gale again today. We managed to get a
couple of squirrels and birds today. I even found a patch of wild strawberries
to trade in town. I was able to trade my half of the catch for some bread and
even some meat for supper. Prim’s goat is still giving us a good amount of
milk. I took half the milk to the market as well. It’s hard to get good food
here in District 12, unless you are one of the well off families or have good
stuff to trade for it. The Reaping Day is coming up this week. It will be
Prim’s first time in the Reaping and she’s been having nightmares about it. I
keep telling her that it won’t be her, not with me and Gale and many other kids
having their names in so many times. I counted up how many times my name is in
the drawing this year with having to get help with food from the Capital. I
often wonder if the closer districts have this much trouble with feeding their
families, or if it’s just here on the outskirts. I wonder if it’ll ever change
and get easier for us. Maybe someone will stand up for us. I better get some
sleep, going hunting again tomorrow.
A Little Help
People
hungry now
Kindness
is needed to help
A
small change means hope
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Questions and Answers
Interview with Dr. Jan Rivero from Stop Hunger Now
Dr.
Rivero,
Thank you so much for the fast reply and being willing to help
with my paper. Email will probably work best for me as my schedule isn't very
solid right now. I saw on the Stop Hunger Now website that your organization
has helped 76 countries with food. How were these countries chosen, and is Stop
Hunger Now planning to continue branching out and helping more countries? I'm
aware that the biggest majority of poverty and hunger is in developing worlds,
but is it safe to say that every country has a problem with poverty and hunger?
I may have more questions later, as I am still working on the
research for my paper. Again, thank you for helping me with my paper. It is
greatly appreciated.
Good morning, Heather,
To answer your questions:
We do not choose countries per se. We choose organizations that
are operating internationally, though we track the countries they are in. Those
organizations must submit an application to receive our meals. They have
several criteria they are required to meet in order to be approved. Our
selection process does not mandate which countries are served, so it is safe to
say that our reach is able to extend to more countries. In fact, just last year
we added India to our list. Additional countries are added as applications are
approved.
Yes, I think it is safe to safe that hunger is truly a global
reality and not restricted to developing countries. Of course it is more
pervasive and severe in those countries as opposed to the industrialized ones.
Let me know what other questions you have. I'm more than happy
to help.
Have a good weekend,
Jan
Interview with David Proctor from The Idaho Food Bank
HC: Thank you so much
for taking some time to answer some questions for my paper. I honestly was not
expecting such a quick response so I don't have all the questions I would like
to ask lined out yet. One of my biggest questions is, do you happen to know
about how many people in the Treasure Valley area are unable to provide food
for themselves or their families and how many are signed up with the food bank
for assistance? Another question I have is, is the food bank able to help all
of these families and people with the donations they are receiving or are there
times where they fall short? I will probably have some more questions later if
that is alright, I am still trying to piece together what all I want for my
paper.
DP:
Heather, I’m going to throw a lot of information at you, so tell me if you
don’t get it.
If
you look at the second link I provided, you will see a county-by-county list of
the number of food-insecure people in each one. You can determine how many
counties you want to include in the Treasure Valley and add them up. The
definition of food insecurity is at the bottom of the page you get with the
third link.
The
first link explains how food banking works. You’ll see that people don’t sign
up with us, or with any of our partners. That’s not how food banking works,
except at the holidays when families sign up for turkeys. They get food when
they ask for it, within the limits each partner establishes. But we know from
what they tell us that they can’t meet the need they see. They can’t give
families all the food they need. For direct confirmation, I would contact one
(or more) of our partner agencies – see the fourth link.
I
hope that helps get you started.
HC: Thank you! That
should give me a good start on my paper! Would it be alright for me to email
you again if I have anymore questions?
DP: Of course. Good
luck.
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