Global Hunger

For all of us, figuring out where our next meal comes from isn’t that big of a deal—a lot of us have the meal plan, and if we get sick of that, we can go just across the street to a restaurant and buy our dinner. Every Sunday after Mass, there’s Sunday Supper. Most of us are already aware, though, that this isn’t the case for people the world over, and even for many people in the United States. I was always kept aware of the issue by food drives held my elementary school, and later, by opportunities to volunteer at the local food bank and food pantries. But even when we’re aware of the issue in general, it’s easy to overlook the details. ‘Hunger’ refers to more than the simple lack of food, but also the lack of the nutrients needed to be healthy, which can result in stunted growth and higher rates of illness. About 850 million people around the world are malnourished. Children are the most vulnerable to this, and almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger-related causes.

How can we help? By continuing to donate our time and food and money to soup kitchens and food pantries, but also by raising our own awareness and understanding of the epidemic of hunger; to read and learn more, and to do our best to put faces with the statistics that we hear.