Make Someone's Christmas Merry
By Trent Loos

As a child, my mother constantly reminded me to clean my plate because “There are kids in Africa who are going hungry.” I never did understand how my clean plate would help solve the nutritional deficiencies African children. And it’s not just Africa, we have a growing hunger problem with kids right here at home.

The latest USDA numbers indicate that nearly 35 million Americans are “food insecure.” That is 11% of all American households and 16% of all kids. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 3.8 million families skipped meals in 2003 because of the lack of food.

Before you assume that we have real problems in urban America, you may want to know that America’s Second Harvest, a group working to create a hunger-free America, reports that rural hunger is only slightly lower than urban and is a serious problem. Second Harvest reports, “the irony is that many of these hungry and near-hungry households are in the very rural and farm communities whose productivity feeds the world and provides low-cost, wholesome food for American consumers.”

The United States Conference of Mayors released a study this week indicating another year of increased hunger and homelessness. Cedar Rapids Mayor Paul Pate, co-chair of the Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness, said, “Again this year, the Hunger and Homeless survey shows that the demand for homeless shelters in our communities continues to increase. It is important that we all take seriously the challenge of eliminating chronic homelessness over the next 10 years.”

I suppose this is where I should have some words of wisdom that generate a silver bullet to turn this trend around. It would be easy for me to say that most of this is a matter of personal choice. These people need to get a job. Everyday I see signs for, “Help wanted”. While I understand that simplistic rationale, I also realize it is much more complex than just getting a job. People need a reason to wake up motivated toward the possibility of accomplishment. They also need reliable transportation and day-care options. George McGovern may have accurately assessed the situation with this 1972 statement. “To admit the existence of hunger in America is to confess that we have failed in meeting the most sensitive and painful of human needs. To admit the existence of widespread hunger is to cast doubt on the efficiency of our whole system.”

While the food system in this country may be the envy of the world, I do see some aspects that could benefit from restructuring. Even though there are millions who do not have enough food, other Americans spend $33 billion annually on weight loss products and services. What is wrong with this picture?

To make matters even worse, Timothy W. Jones, Ph.D. at the University of Arizona, reports that households waste 14% of their food purchases. Fifteen percent of that includes products still within their expiration date but never opened. Jones estimates that an average family of four tosses out $590 per year in meat, fruits, vegetables and grain products. Nationwide, household food waste adds up to $43 billion. According to Jones’ findings, Americans throw out about three times as much food today as they did 20 years ago.

I am willing to bet that those who waste food without giving it a second thought have not spent much time hoeing a garden. Or they have never been knee-deep in the snow trying to save a newborn calf. The issue of food waste could be the worst imaginable example of a society that is too disconnected from its food source.

During the holidays, families will gather and eat so much food the foi gras ducks will be jealous. Most will not give a thought to the people that may be hungry. Some media sources may focus on hunger as a problem during the holidays but then we will go back to our daily routines. Media outlets will focus on people who, because of personal choice, eat too much and exercise too little and cause the inevitable obesity epidemic.

This holiday season, with each bountiful bite I take, I resolve to give some thought to the less fortunate, whether is it a matter of their poor personal choice or just bad luck. If we have the chance to bring one more smile to the world than we did last year, that would make for a Merry Christmas wouldn’t it?

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