Thanks to my friend Andie, I was made aware that today is World Food Day. Why didn't I know this before? It's so important. I thought that I would follow her lead and share about this on my blog as well.
I did a little research and I found out that there are 923 million people in the world that are undernourished. The Global Citizen Corps website puts it this way
Undernourishment is a form of malnutrition, caused by not receiving the minimum 2,100 calories per day recommended by the U.N. World Food Program. Malnutrition involves both the quality and quantity of the food that a person receives. There are two kinds of malnutrition: Chronic malnutrition can occur gradually, persist for generations and is the consequence of an unbalanced diet lacking in fundamental nutrients. Acute malnutrition is a result of a rapid decrease in food intake. It is a dangerous condition that requires immediate care, increases susceptibility to disease and leads to death if treatment is not administered.
Here are some staggering statistics I found out about Hunger in the United States...
35.5 million people lived in households considered to be food insecure.
Of these 35.5 million, 22.9 million are adults (10.4 percent of all adults) and 12.6 million are children (17.2 percent of all children).
The number of people in the worst-off households increased to 11.1 from 10.8 in 2005. This increase in the number of people in the worst-off category is consistent with other studies and the Census Bureau poverty data, which show worsening conditions for the poorest Americans.
The ten states with the highest food insecurity rates in 2006 were Mississippi, New Mexico, Texas, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Arizona.
-info from FRAC
These statistics bring up 2 emotions in me; sadness and thankfulness. The sadness comes from knowing that there are millions of people all over the world who will go to bed hungry. The thankfulness comes from knowing that me and my family are not one of them. It almost feels selfish to feel that way but, it is important for us to be thankful. More importantly (in my mind) than being thankful is doing something about it.
Here's a great scripture about helping those in need...
Proverbs 14:31 If you oppress poor people, you insult the God who made them; but kindness shown to the poor is an act of worship.
I would like to challenge you to brainstorm about some ways that you can help this horrible situation not only in our own country but, the world. You can leave a comment if you'd like to share some ideas. Maybe we can help one another!
Hopefully this post will not only help you think and be thankful for what we have but, stir you to action!
If you get a chance, head on over to Andie's blog, she did a wonderful video blog about this!
2 comments:
I'm very proud of my students for actively fighting hunger. Last year they held a food drive just before Thanksgiving and we collected so much food that they filled a pick up truck and a car with food for a food bank. A couple of years ago, some of the kids were so horrified reading about the Holocaust that they decided to hold a 6 million calorie food drive, one calorie for every life lost during the Holocaust. I think it's incredible that young people are getting on board to do something about hunger, and that the school is banding together to fight the problem. Last year while loading the truck with the food that we had collected, I was overwhelmed with thankfulness for what we all have...Thanksgiving came early for me that year!
LADY - Thank you soooo much for my gorgeous earrings! I loooove them. They are so me, and so pretty. I can't wait to wear them! Thanks again!
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