How You Can Help the Hungry
One person can help feed many mouths
For the most part, the global food crisis is not a crisis of shortages; it's one of soaring prices. And the result is hundreds of millions of people who are suddenly struggling to feed themselves.
As the crisis strains the resources of humanitarian groups and entire governments, it's hard for individual Americans to know what they can possibly do to alleviate the situation. But there are a few ways that individuals can make a difference in the short term:
Donate money. Many relief agencies are seeing budget shortfalls in the millions—if not hundreds of millions—of dollars this year. Many of the largest groups, including Oxfam America, the U.N. World Food Program, and CARE, encourage online donations. Some allow you to select specific projects or efforts.
Support food banks. U.S. food banks are seeing dramatic increases in visitors and shrinking stocks because of reduced contributions. America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest food bank network, features a local food bank locator on its website to guide donors. Some local agencies, such as Detroit's Forgot-ten Harvest, rescue perishable food from supermarkets and restaurants that would otherwise go to waste. They, too, accept monetary donations.
Waste time for a cause. If you can't afford to make donations yourself, a few mouse clicks will instruct others to donate money for you. At freerice.com, visitors can play simple vocabulary games; WFP will donate 20 grains of rice for every correct answer. Another site, thehungersite.com, requires just a click of a button.
Reduce food waste. According to estimates, Americans waste about 100 billion pounds of food annually. Though cutting out waste at home won't directly help feed the hungry elsewhere, Americans can be more conscious about their eating habits. Rather than overbuying, use the money you save to make a donation.
Reward retailers. A number of companies donate money or food to antihunger programs. Chicken of the Sea and Ruby Tuesday have pledged a fraction of their sales to America's Second Harvest. You can find more contributors at secondharvest.org.
Reader Comments
food crisis
Yes we cannot carry the world on our backs alone, but that is why we all must participate in helping the world and the developing countries out. Our food is mainly coming from these developing countries because we know that they do not have the power to oppose to this. It is like saying to your child when they get their first job, "You can buy things for yourself now; however, you are to pay me 3/4 of each paycheck."
We cannot change this? That is a lie. 95.5 million dollars is spent on weight loss products while only 31 million dollars, less than 1/3 of money spent on weight loss products, will be enough to support and feed the hungry in those developing countries. 25 000 chilren die EVERY DAY from hunger and diseases that they could have prevented. Certainly some people are thinking "Well, this doesn't affect us," but what if this was happening here? It would be a different story. We would want help. We would be crying for our dying children, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, etc. I'm not saying that we have to suppot these countries as well as our own even when they are on their way, but if we teach them to be able to sustain themselves and give them a headstart on this, we can stop these people (Note: I said people. This is no board game or computer game, it's peoples LIVES we are talking about) from dying and suffering and going to bed with the feeling of hunger. Not the hunger we experience when we haven't eaten anything in a couple of hours and our stomach feels hungry. This kind of hunger id the kind of hunger where your stomach is past the point of growling and you feel weak, shakey, and helpless.
It's easy to help people in these countries, just donate at least two cans in every food drive. Even baby food will do which is 49 cents. Or those Mr. Noodles. Get a case of twnty for six dollars. You can also raise money; reduce your waste by not overspendng when you go to the grocery store; be a concious shopper; put up posters, ads, etc around your communtiy to raise awareness and buy from local farms. At the most, each task would take five minutes to do. It is not hard to look for ways to help these countries.
The people who refuse to help or say there's nothing that we can do are just quitters. If they aren't quitters, they are lazy. Don't be that kind of person. Stand up for these dying PEOPLE. Their lives are at stake, and you can help them so don't doubt for one second that you can't because just by doing this, it will start a chain reaction if you make this a habit. You can change the world. Be the change you'd like to see in the world.
Hope
When we lose hope we lose everything. I will not stop continuing to have hope for humankind. When an opportunity to help others arises I pray that God opens my heart so I will reach out to help those in need. Were is our humanity when we turn our back on those who cry out for our help? Those who sit on their high horses because they were fortunate enough to be born into privledge will one day themselves cry out for help and receive none!
Don't think you're special because you are well fed...that can change in a matter of moments.
I will not STOP the coures of Nature
In 1985 I spent half of the 25,000 my Grandmother left me to support the efforts of LIVE AIDE. It's 2008 and I know for a fact that my money and the money of million of others around the world did NOTHING to help the dying mothers and children of Africa..And this WILL NOT CHANGE! Africa is hanging on by strings and has been for DECADES...YOU CAN NOT DO ANYTHING TO CHANGE IT. Try if you must ...you'll be wasting your time and money.
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