HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED FOOD INSECURITY OR BEEN HUNGRY AT WSU?

We believe no one should go to bed hungry – not here in the US, not overseas, not anywhere.

It’s no secret that hunger is a big problem worldwide, yet we know surprisingly little about the extent of hunger not only in the US, but right here in our own community. We want to change that. We are the Health Communication Seminar at WSU.

If you want to find out more about what we’re doing, and hopefully join us, read the other pages: about us, who the other collaborators are, what events we’re hosting, and how you can find support if you are food insecure right now, or if you want to know what’s on our mind right now, just keep reading…

A Starving Society

by Darnell Lee

            According to the World Food Program, “there are 925 million undernourished people in the world today.” That means one in seven people do not get enough food to be healthy, and lead an active life. Hunger and malnutrition are in truth the number one risk to the health worldwide; greater than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. As a society we Americans sometimes take for granted the opportunities and blessings life has offered. We struggle day to day, working night and day, to sustain a living that is convenient and comfortable; but yet we don’t really struggle at all. Now I don’t know all the facts about Hunger around the world or anything, but I do know there some starving people in the World. Who not only need the nourishment of food, but of faith and abundance also!

            When my Grandmother was living, we would go visit her in Louisiana. Talk about a person that loved cooking, she adored the craft and was blessed in the kitchen. Our favorite desserts would be prepared ahead of time; “Coconut Cake for my dad, Caramel Cake for me, Tea cake cookies and her fried chicken. She’d swear that her chicken was nothing but the grace of God. And it smelled and tasted so heavenly! You could literally smell the aroma as you traveled up the road to the driveway. And you better be early because everyone was coming; even the neighbors who always claimed to be cousins, but never proved that identity. Although they were not family, they were welcome at all times. As you came through the door she would say, “Sit down!” That usually meant two things, come learn something and get ready to eat; between her and my mother I turned out to be a pretty good cook. There was never a time in her house food was not on the table, never a time when we did not know where our next meal was coming from, never a time when the fridge looked bare. Although this is a fond memory from my past, some recollections have a gloomier story to tell to them.

It is amazing what a mother will do for her children. Even if it means starving herself so that her kids do not go hungry; or walking blocks and blocks only to make it to the free food pantry and find that it is closed. Existing in this world has its good and bad aspects; that was a lesson learned early on in my life as a child. I can recall times having little of nothing to eat. That pack of roman noodles or a mustard sandwich would be an imaginative steak dinner for the moment, until about the third bite; then reality would set in. Nights going to sleep with a churning stomach and a hunger headache, created a feeling of insomnia. While this may be a more empathic recap and a really different story than the prior story over my Grandmother’s chicken excitement, it is also reality; a minuet portion of this reality!

Sometimes we lose focus of the world we live in. I mean we all live in one world, creating different lives; only to remain stagnant in our own personal environment. Overlooking or simply negating this growing crisis solves nothing and we all should be acknowledged. Experience shapes our reality, as well as our personhood. Some people are blessed to have never been hit by the affects of hunger. While others struggle daily, unsure of what is to come next in their lives. Ignoring the problem only negates people’s experiences, basically corrupting their reality. I challenge people to stand up and look outside the box. A box figuratively referred to as our own personal lives; it doesn’t even have to be far. Hunger is an everyday occurrence, and is constantly growing right under people’s nose; and the majority of people will never take a second look. Right outside of our front doors, literally in our own backyards; is someone in need. It may be that little girl with a swollen belly from being hungry for days, or the man with the sign; hoping someone is caring enough to stop and take a look into his reality.

On a recent mission trip with A1 Men’s group, we delivered food to needy families and homes. Some of the conditions that others suffer are unveiled when you take a deeper look into their situations. What we were doing for the neighborhood and other surrounding areas didn’t create a major impact to me until our last stop. A friend I had not seen in years lived in a small shotgun house, with her four children. The house was in such bad condition, as we walked up the porch steps you could feel the foundation shift. Her children all shared a room, there were no groceries, and you could smell the mold as we delivered more and more products. It can be the family down the street, or the country that can not receive the resources; everyone deserves a helping hand. Those starving people we spoke about previously are everywhere; all it takes is a step away from your own personal being to enter someone else’s reality. Undernourishment negatively affects people’s health, productivity, sense of hope and overall well-being. A lack of food can stunt growth, slow thinking, sap energy, hinder fetal development and contribute to mental retardation. The challenge is simple; let us stop turning a blind eye to the masses that need support, lend a helping hand; and start looking toward a more fulfilling future.

Build Your Own Hunger Awareness Initiative

This link is to the web page for the model we presented at the Kansas Hunger Dialogue today: http://bit.ly/hunger_model We will post a video of our presentation and our slides soon. We will also add more details to further help other campuses and communities implement this model.

Coming Together at the Round Table

by Jack Brand

I have the privilege of being at the Universities Fighting World Hunger Summit in Honduras and yesterday I heard a challenge that I am glad to accept, and that I will carry forward into the future.

Emilisa Callejas Romero, Consul General to the US from Honduras, who was just recognized by the President of Honduras, Mr. Lobo Sosa, at the Universities Fighting World Hunger Summit, said: We need to come together at a round table and leave our political opinions, differences in religion and all these things that divide us aside, and answer the question of, “What are we going to do when our children are hungry?” We can pick the other things up again, the things upon which we disagree, when we leave the table.

I am also reminded of something my WSU Hunger Awareness teammate Shae Blevins said to describe our project, ¨We´re trying to start the conversation no one wants to have.¨

Shae was referring to how stigma and shame can lead those experiencing food insecurity to be silent victims.  There is a flip side to this too.  Generally, we don´t want to hear about topics like hunger, or other topics that make us uncomfortable, especially from strangers. I think that if we want to encourage others to speak up, we also need to learn to listen.

This brings us to the round table.  At this round table, we must all be equal, and we all must look one another in the eye.  We must present ourselves as we are and be prepared to accept each other for who and where we are.  We have to learn to understand each other´s perspectives, because unless we understand each other, we can´t hope to understand hunger in our community. We don´t have to agree on everything, but we must set our disagreements aside. We can pick them up again when we leave the table. We must also be prepared to leave our own comfort zone to come to that table.

And we must come to the table to fight this problem. The statistics on food insecurity are alarming.   It is a problem that could affect any one of us. This economy can turn a individual´s or a family´s stable financial stable situation into an unstable one very quickly. Even if we are not at risk, what about our friends? Our family members? Are they immune?  What about children? Whether it is our own children, our friend´s child or a stranger´s, all children deserve to be fed.   What of those children when they go to college? Do you want to wonder how much truth is behind the cliché of the starving college student, or do, you like us, believe that no one should be hungry, not in Honduras, not at home at Wichita State University – Nowhere!

We are investigating the WSU community. That is our challenge, just as UNA in Honduras (Roughly translated the National University of Agriculture) is finding ways to deal with the challenges facing Honduras. If you are part of the WSU community, please come to the table prepared to listen and prepared to share your perspective.  Come to the table prepared to share your story to help us understand the nature of hunger on campus. If we all come to the table together, we can solve the problem of hunger on campus! If you have had personal experience with food insecurity, please share your story here: http://wsuhunger.wordpress.com/share-hunger-stories-wsu-wichita-kansas/ .

Building a kitchen: The Campus Kitchens Project

by Shae Blevins

Last semester, I worked with the team of graduate and undergraduate students responsible for this website. Our goals were to increase awareness about food security and hunger in the Wichita State University community and to determine the nature and scope of hunger on campus.

My research was not statistically significant.

My research did not reveal a massive amount of students, faculty and staff suffering from hunger.

My research could not convince a jury of my peers that people on campus are hungry and struggling.

But my research did do something for me: It strengthened in me a desire to feed the hungry.

While gaps in previous research and lack of former initiatives are responsible for WSU Hunger Awareness Day, the students, faculty and staff who told their stories to the eager ears of researchers and hunger activists were the reason for WSU Hunger Awareness Day.

Those same people are the reason for my graduate project.

Before I graduate and leave WSU, I am writing a proposal to the university to develop a Campus Kitchens Project on campus. The Campus Kitchens Project is a nationwide, school-based hunger relief program designed to use leftover, unused food from the campus kitchen to feed people suffering from very low food security and hunger in the community.

I ask for your support because I have a strong desire to feed the hungry. I ask for your support because I witnessed and read painful, sorrow-filled testimony from people in the WSU community. I ask for your support if you believe that no one should go to bed hungry.

I ask for your support because I cannot do it alone.

I will collect signatures in support of my proposal on Tuesday, March 13, 2012, from 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., at the Rhatigan Student Center. Look for my table on the first floor.

If you cannot or do not want to sign my petition, please spread the word to your friends and acquaintances at WSU.

Hard Choices in Tough Times

By Cindy Kelly

A friend took me out for a treat recently. We were enjoying our wine when I sent a text message to another friend, inviting her to join us for a drink. She replied, “Thanks, but I’ve cut mid-week drinks out of my budget, to save money.” She is slightly under-employed, as are many of my friends these days, and knows how much self-discipline is required to keep her head above water. Spending more than you earn is never a good idea, no matter what the size of your paycheck.

For me the decision-making process is different. Discretionary income is a distant memory. Now I have to watch everything, and it is exhausting. Should I buy this over-the-counter medicine to relieve my son’s cough so he can sleep? If I do, I will have to put the laundry detergent back. The window in my son’s bedroom has been broken since we moved here. Anyone else would replace the pane or at least have the landlord fix it. I worry the landlord might decide we are too much trouble, so I avoid calling, and put tape across the crack.

My son is nine years old and grows like a weed. Do I buy him shoes that fit or pay the gas bill with the child support money his father gives me? The kids complain because our thermostat rarely goes above 66 degrees in the winter. I put more blankets on their beds and tell them this was typical when I lived in a chateau in France. Do I buy a gift so my son can participate in the holiday party at Cub Scouts, or do we skip the event? Sometimes we make it work by giving a box of candy or fancy cookies since we can buy that with food stamps.

The poverty guideline set by the federal government for a family of three is $18,530, based on estimated food costs alone. However the cost of food is a small piece of the pie, no pun intended. Larger costs include housing, health care, childcare and transportation. In my case, my housing costs increased exponentially over the past year. We’re lucky to have been relatively healthy and my car runs OK. Childcare isn’t a big deal because of the age of my kids.

Can I afford to give my daughter a ride to that party across town? Or to work? Or even to school? Not unless someone has kindly bought me a tank of gas recently. My ex-husband, who is not the father of either of my children, graciously pays for the mobile phones my daughter and I use. (We have no home phone.) He is certainly not bound to do so, particularly since we have been divorced for two years. Although his income is low, he makes sacrifices in order to fill my gas tank now and then, take my kids out to get a few new clothes every season, or treat us to a meal at a restaurant. Without his assistance, our situation would be far worse.

My daughter has had to skip extracurricular activities because we did not have reliable transportation. Last spring we managed to pay the hefty fee for lifeguard training so she could work at the YMCA. Now she takes care of most of her personal expenses and has a scooter which she bought and maintains herself. While a scooter is not the best mode of transportation for cold Kansas winters, she makes the most of it when the weather is nice and enjoys the freedom it brings.

“When are you going to learn to drive and get a driver’s license?” My daughter has heard this question over and over. Her cousins and many of her friends have their own cars, provided by their parents or grandparents. A second car is out of the question for us, as is paying more to insure a teen driver. Most of all our little family cannot take the risk of an inexperienced driver using the one vehicle we have. We are one car crash away from having no car at all.

Within that context, any income-generating work seems like a good idea. In my first post, I was hopeful to be employed soon or have enough freelance work that my kids and I can get back to not scrambling every single month to pay bills. I interviewed for a full-time job as a tech writer that looked promising, until I realized the company pays far below the going rate and the work is a real grind. Had I been offered the job, it would have been hard to refuse. The pay would be just enough to disallow SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the formal name for food stamps) and state health insurance for my children, the hours would be enough that I would need childcare for my youngest, and the company offered no opportunities for advancement. Thankfully they chose not to hire me.

Soon after wrestling with that dilemma, I found a part-time job that pays enough monthly to cover rent and most utilities. I still need freelance work and SNAP to make ends meet, but the job does not create additional expenses. My 9-year-old son is happy that I will still be at home in the mornings to put him on the school bus and in the afternoons when he returns. Every school day as he leaves the house, he says, “I love you! See you in seven to eight hours!”

My 17-year-old daughter is relieved that she can work fewer hours now that she knows I have our basic necessities covered. Working cuts into time she used to spend with her support structure at church and time she could spend studying. Her grades are suffering this year, yet her attitude remains positive. She wants to go to college to study industrial design. I have no idea how that is going to work out, but I do know right now she is getting an education in how the world works as we work together as a family to stay afloat.

Our family is not the only one in this boat. As the current recession draws more people down from the middle-class into poverty, the numbers of people needing help are increasing steadily. For example, a family of three whose annual income was cut by $45,000 since one parent lost his job last year, is fortunate the other parent is still employed. “We’re doing whatever we can to save money. We buy clothes at the thrift store, we see fewer movies and this year my daughter qualifies for reduced-price lunch.” Eventually they may find themselves unable to buy clothes or go to the movies at all, as recovery from the worst recession of modern times is delayed.

States spend an estimated $3 billion to $4 billion every year on basic assistance to needy people. As the recession drains resources and states face large budget shortfalls, domestic programs that help the poor begin to dwindle. “The reality is that people aren’t going to be able to get their basic needs met and that is the bitter, unvarnished truth,” said Alison Eisinger, the executive director of the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness. “And the result, we know, is going to mean more desperation, more fragmentation of households, more homelessness and higher costs for our community.”

If you are curious to know what it is like to be faced with hard decisions that come with lack of resources, consider a thought experiment in poverty. Some of the questions that come up during these experiments include: What compromises are acceptable to you when you’re forced to choose between options for how you spend your time, energy, and money? How are the options limited by your health, your dependents, or your location? What effects does facing these challenges have on your mental state? What if it lasts for more than a month? A year? What if you see no way out?

Over 46 million people in the US were living in poverty in 2010. What if next year, it’s you?

“Dinner’s ready!”

by Shen Tao

I have never thought that hunger was or will be my problem as I grow up. In the news, I heard and saw that in some parts of my country and some areas in the world, hungry people were and are dying, while many other people are doing what they can to help. Yet, after all, hunger is not one of the most frequent words that I use or hear daily, except that I always yelled to my mom “I’m starving, what’s for dinner?” when I was in high school. I never knew what hunger was.

When my grandparents were still with us, they told me heart-breaking stories about their experiences when food was a luxury back in the 1960s in China. For reasons that were so political that I could not understand, people in my home country suffered from a severe shortage of food during that time. It was the time when most people had no idea what they would be eating for their next meal. Tree leaves, grass, and other things became the entree for many families. Yet no matter how I re-tell the stories that my grandparents told me, it is not enough for me to understand the danger of food shortage and insecurity. I never truly understood hunger.

Africa has always been the place I dream about visiting due to the beauty of its natural scenery. However, when I was exposed to those pictures of starving people, I saw the image of nature’s cruelty instead of its beauty. Crops would not grow; rain stayed away. 10.9 million children under five died in developing countries year after year. Malnutrition and hunger-related diseases caused and continue to cause 60 percent of those deaths (The State of the World’s Children, UNICEF, 2007) . It is painful for me even to think about how many kids we will lose by the time I finish writing all these words and while I am struggling to figure out what I can do to make a difference. However, these words barely touch the surface of the hunger issue.

When nature is playing cruel, there is no one but ourselves who can help and solve these problems. In this health seminar class, we are trying to help. We have already done some amazing things, such as the food packaging event for Somali refugees in Kenya, and raising public awareness of hunger problems. However, given the limitation of our influence, it is very difficult for a few of us to help with the starving children in Africa. Instead we can only focus on the hunger around us, hunger on campus. It seems that what we can do is limited, yet there is an idiom in China, “there is no good that is too small to be worth doing.” What we do is not small at all. We are trying to know about hunger, to understand it and ask people to join us addressing the issue, then, hopefully one day we will find a solution to it.

“Dinner’s ready!” Many of us can fondly recall how excited we were when we heard this from our moms as they walked to the dinner table with well-prepared dishes in their hands. Now that I am living with my girlfriend and we cook by ourselves, it is still an exciting thing every time we finish preparing a meal and sometimes we still say that out loud, “Dinner’s ready”. I do hope this short but strong sentence is the most frequently heard one in every home all across the world.