We Can Beat Hunger

When Dr. David Miner read a copy of Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, it rocked his world. In fact it rocked it so hard that today he’s the board chairman of Bread for the World. Their mission is “to work with churches, leaders and families in overcoming all forms of human poverty by living in healthy relationship with God and His creation.”

I heard him speak in Indianapolis, and amazingly I walked away with hope. You and I can make a difference. Seriously.

Citing Jesus’ example of feeding the hungry, as well as emphasizing the unfairness of our obesity vs. international hunger, Dr. Miner sees a vital link between faith and advocacy. His biggest message: This problem is solvable in our time.

What? How can that be when we consider the bleak picture:

. 1.1 billion people live on less than $1/day.
. 853 million people are chronically hungry due to extreme poverty.
. Sixteen thousand kids died today from hunger and related causes.
. Sixteen thousand children in Indianapolis alone went without dinner the night I heard Dr. Miner talk. He said a lot of American kids go hungry all weekend until they can return to school, where they get free lunches.
. The worldwide economic crisis has doubled food prices. Pensioners in our own country now frequent food pantries. Small-business owners file bankruptcy, lose their homes and cars, and head for the closest Gospel Mission. (A woman I met in September coordinates such a mission in Pennsylvania, and she said the face of today’s homeless person is no longer a toothless, stubble-faced man. It’s a family of four.)
. And that’s just in America. In a Mongolian economic downturn, people lose their camels and tents.
. Famers who go out of business lose their balanced diets, and the resulting malnutrition places them at greater risk for disease.
. In recent history twenty countries have seen food riots. Crime, prostitution, and disease rates are up as a result.

Okay, that's the bad news. What's the good news?

. There’s still enough food to go around. People today go hungry because they have no money, not because supplies run out.
. Pretty much everybody agrees hunger is bad. Food and water are at the bottom of Maslow’s Hierarchy. So the issue unites people across religious and political lines.
. Though 2.5 billion people live on less than $2/day, at the $2 point, most calorie problems are solved. (In India 80% of the population are still below $2/day. If they continue to make progress, we’ll see a huge demand for more food. This is why demand is likely to double in the next few years.)
. At $2-10/day, people eat more fruit, dairy, and vegetables. (At $10/day you and I are paying more for packaging and convenience than for food itself.)
. We’ve made dramatic progress. Thirty years ago thirty-two thousand kids died daily.
. China in particular has made huge strides in reducing dramatically the number of people going hungry.

So what can one person do? A lot. Stay tuned.