Here & There Column 4-10-12

Child Hunger A Major Problem

No child should ever go to bed hungry and no parent should have to cry themselves to sleep at night not knowing how they are going to feed their family the next day.

This is a major problem both here and throughout this United States.

On national television Sunday night April 1 during the Academy of Country Awards on CBS it was firmly stated that more than 1 in 5 kids in America doesn't know where they next meal is coming from.

Folks.......that is shocking but true and this should never be a factor here in the greatest country in the world.

There are too many people today that assume that hunger is something that only effects children in third world countries.

The real fact is that it's effecting people in our own backyard.

Your neighbor or co-worker could actually be struggling to find their next meal unbeknown to you.

Let's fact it, most people are not going to go around telling everyone that they are hungry and cannot feed their family. Some keep their silence due to shame and fear that others might see them as being a horrible parent. Other people don't speak up out of pride.

Stunning facts point out that hunger exists in every community and ever county in the United States.

Even mild under-nutrition experienced by young children during critical periods of growth has a great impact on their behavior and school performance.

Listen to this fact folks........ there are 21 million children in this country that depend on free or reduced price school meals.

Children who are hungry suffer from more stomach aches, headaches, colds, ear infections and fatigue.

A lot of credit is due local school districts who participate in programs that provide nutritional meals and also the Back Pack Program which helps meet children's needs by providing hungry children with nutritious and easy-to-prepare food that they can take home when other resources aren't always available.

ConAgra and Feeding America continue to join forces to fight child hunger but a country as great as we are needs to cut some of the spending we send out of this country to fight and win the battle over child hunger.

Those in government have to start addressing this problem and do what is right to eliminate this crisis.