World Hunger Hunger is a term which

has three meanings (Oxford English Dictionary 1971)

the uneasy or painful sensation caused by want of food; craving appetite. Also the exhausted condition caused by want of food

the want or scarcity of food in a country

a strong desire or craving

In the Asian, African and Latin American countries, well over 500 million people are

living in what the World Bank has called "absolute poverty"

The World Health Organization estimates that one-third of the world is well-fed, one-third is under-fed one-

third is starving-

•In the U.S. hunger and race are related. In 1991 46% of African-American children were chronically hungry, and 40% of Latino children were chronically hungry compared to 16% of white children.

                                  

Hunger in CanadaIn 2009, food bank use has nearly reached the record levels experienced in 2004, and is 10% higher than 10 years ago.

794,738 Canadians use food banks every month. This figure rose 18% from 2008 which is the largest year-over-year increase on record. 37% of those are children and youth. Food Banks in Canada: Food banks began over 30 years ago as a short term solution to hunger. Now, they are a necessary supplement to Canada's broken safety net. There are currently over 3700 food banks and related agencies operating in nearly 550 communities across Canada that need our help.

A Few Words About Food Banks

Who do Food Banks Serve? The vast majority of food bank clients are people who have bills to pay and families to feed and are finding it extremely difficult to make ends meet. - The number of working poor who use food banks in 2009 is 19%  - More than 50% of food bank clients receive social assistance which does not cover basic needs; - 13% of food bank clients receive disability support that is not enough for sufficient and adequate food; - 5.5% of food bank clients are seniors.

The Harsh Reality Most food banks allow only one visit per month, providing only a 3 to 4-day supply of food. Programs that provide breakfast and lunch for children at school, run only Monday through Friday and are not able to meet the nutritional needs of children on week-ends or over the summer. - Almost 50% of adult food bank recipients plan to miss meals as a budget strategy. - In 21% of cases, children are forced to miss meals as a budget strategy. Parents will, however, do whatever they can to protect their children from hunger.

                      

Government Policy and an Anti-Hunger Strategy Food banks and food assistance programs are only a Band-Aid solution. The degree of hunger in Canada represents a significant shortcoming in our country’s social policy and we must remind our political leaders of their responsibilities in this area. - Affordable safe housing; - A welfare system that addresses social needs; - A minimum wage and taxation system that enables hard working Canadians to have enough to provide for basic needs. What we needed is an anti-hunger strategy that examines this tragedy and addresses it with responsible solutions. Why should we support Food Banks? Why should we support Band-Aid solutions like food banks? Because these social injustices cannot be remedied overnight. Tonight, though, many thousands of Canadians will go to bed hungry. And it is their needs that we, as human beings, must be concerned about.

DEFINITIONS Chronic Under-nutrition:Not enough of the right kind of food to meet

the body’s basic needs for nutrients. It often lasts a lifetime.

Food Security:All people at all times have access to enough

nutritious food for an active, healthy life. It also means that food is obtained in a manner that upholds human dignity.

Hungry for Change More children are affected by chronic

hunger than by famine and emergency food shortages. Chronic hunger is a silent emergency. 826 Million people are affected by chronic malnourishment.

Wealth and Hunger There is currently enough food to feed everyone in the

world. There is also enough experience and technology in the world to end the problem of world hunger. The difficulty is not the amount of food produced, but rather, the uneven distribution of food and wealth. Even in poorer developing countries, there is often enough food – but many people are too poor to purchase it or to buy seeds to grow it.

Wealth and Hunger… Some Statistics

A person born in the rich world will consume 30 times as much food as a person born in the poor world.

The poor countries have nearly 75% of the world’s population, but consume only about 15% of the world’s available energy.

Almost half the world’s people earn less than $200 a year – many use 80 – 90% of that income to obtain food.

Every day the world produces 2lbs of grain for every man, woman, and child on earth. This is enough to provide everyone with 3000 calories per day – well about the average need of 2300 calories.

Still Hungry The wealthiest 1/5 of the world’s population

consume 86 % of the world’s goods and services The poorest 1/5 consume 1% of goods and

services. In Canada, hunger reaches far beyond

homelessness. In 1998/99 only 10% of working families had food security

Of these families, 32% were singles mothers. In the same year, 58% of working families

experienced food insecurity.