Hunger+8-505

Hunger- Rubaiya, Afsara and Catherina, 8-505 Key: Green for Task One, Blue for Task Two, Red for Task Three and Purple for Task Four

=__**//Hunger://**__ The World's Emptiest Stomach = =  = =__//**Task 1**//__ = Through all the problems facing America today, hunger is one of the most overlooked one of all. Not only does hunger affect many people, it has continued to drastically increase over the years. According to Feeding America, every one in eight Americans is suffering from hunger. Hunger is overlooked by people who do not understand how much of an impact it has on the economy and unemployment. Many believe it is easy to obtain food and money needed in order to survive. In some places, people, including the ill and frail such as children and seniors, are going for weeks on end without the proper nourishment they deserve. In America, out of the 37 million people who are hungry, 14 million are children and 3 million are seniors, and 11.1% of the total die from starvation or other food related death. Without proper acknowledgement from the government and citizens of this country, the number will continue to increase.

One of the greatest problems with hunger is that it is not one of the most widely recognized problems in America. The economy and unemployment may seem like the biggest problems at hand, but hunger is one of the most negative effects of the failing economy. Many unemployed families live on food stamps and Electronic Benefit Transfers (EBT) with no other support. It is hard for families to hide their fear and need from their children. The troubling increase in hunger should be concerning our local, and state government today, since they have a broader range of opportunities (food drives, donations) to help those that are struggling to feed themselves and their families.

There are many organizations across the country that try to make the voices of these starving people heard like the United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Feeding America. UNICEF is a source of humanitarian relief for children, so that they are given a chance of receiving adequate nutritious food and clean water. UNICEF is associated with more than 150 countries worldwide, giving a large number of children the chance to live the lives that they deserve. It seems as though all of the hunger organizations combined cannot stop the crisis for food. This is why as the citizens of this country, we can all come to the aid of hunger-stricken victims, and why as citizens as America, we have just a big of a responsibility as the government.

According to information received from Feeding America, the organization receives several donations from people like: the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), food industry associations, food service operators, and others like private restaurants or manufacturers. With this food, Feeding America sends it to various agencies like food pantries, soup kitchens, youth programs, rehabilitation centers, etc. Feeding America has become the largest hunger-relief organization in the country, though it still faces hard decisions about where to send a larger quantity of food and how it cannot help serve some people. To solve some of their problems, Feeding America decided to have an independent Technical Advisory Group composed of several noted social scientists, demographers, economists, specialists, and statisticians. With their team, Feeding America conducted their own "census,” and they now know that 74% of the families they serve have an annual income below the Federal poverty level of $17,163 or less with 9% of the recipients choosing between food and another necessity. Nonetheless, we should all learn what we can do stop this.

People of the country must help with the growing issue of hunger. America must stand up to the government and tell them what is really a bother for them. People need to understand that they have the ability to make a difference and show backbone for what they believe in. Not only will society become stronger, as one, but they will also be role models for all those around.

Works Cited

 "About the U.S. Fund for UNICEF Humanitarian Aid Organization : Humanitarian Relief for Children : U.S. Fund for UNICEF - UNICEF USA."

Feeding America. //Hunger in America 2010//. Feeding America, 2010. Print.

//Help Children - UNICEF USA :: U.S. Fund for UNICEF :: U.S. Fund for UNICEF - UNICEF USA//. Web. 26 Jan. 2011. < http://www.unicefusa.org/about/ >.

 "Hunger Data « Food Research & Action Center." //Food Research & Action Center//. Web. 26 Jan. 2011.< http://frac.org/reports-and-resources/hunger-data/ >.





<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__ //**Task 2**// __

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Though America and the rest of the world experiences many hunger problems, there are some solutions that have helped shorten the gap of those dying because of hunger. Some policies include the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), the New York City Food Stamp Program and the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). Though there are many policies, there is still not one that has solved the problem of hunger in the world.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) helps give food to pregnant women, breast-feeding women, new moms, children up to six years old and senior citizens 60 years old or older who cannot afford to buy food themselves. The CSFP does not give people full dishes but it gives enough for them to live off. Feeding America has proposed this policy, and it is now effective in 32 states and the District of Columbia. This policy has also gained favor from President Obama who signed a bill giving the CSFP $160.4 million per year. The problem with this policy is that it is possibly being canceled, and many no longer receive the adequate funds to supply people with food. Also, the rising costs of food causes a problem in buying food as well as having certain people- such as senior citizens, who cannot be part of the program if they are 130% above the poverty rate. People who would support this are the people who are getting help. Food store businesses would support this because of the increase in food sales and others support this since it provides jobs. Those in opposition are ones who cannot be part of the program and the tax payers, who pay for this program to run.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Another program helping feed the hungry of NYC is the Food Stamp Program. The program gives a card for necessary food and drinks to low-income families, the elderly, and disabled people. To apply for food stamps, people must be U.S. citizens or are qualified aliens or residents. Those who are eligible get a certain amount of money based on if they have children or not. For families without children, it is based on their annual income. For those with children, the number of children determines how much they receive. There are food stamp centers in all five boroughs of New York. Food stamps are available in any Social Security office and the office will help you fill out the application. This helps people because most people are eligible whereas the CSFP has certain restrictions. The disabled and others would support this because when they are turned away from other programs, they are all welcomed to receiving the food stamps. Once again, tax payers and conservatives- politicians who disapprove the spending of money- disagree with this policy.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) is a program which is run by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and gives food to low-income families. The USDA states that about 80% of the food is given to America's Second Harvest, which in turn distributes the food to food pantries and shelters. In 2005. 49% of all of the food pantries and shelters in the United States participated in the America's Second Harvest Network. Since 2002, funding is up 26% for the program, which now receives $192 million per year. Though many people would support this, there is a chance that further funding of the program will result in higher taxes for the public. The USDA buys the food and pays the shipping and manufacturing costs and then ships it throughout the United States. Each state receives food based on the percentage of the unemployed and those low incomes. Proposed by the USDA, many support this since they receive the food they need while again, tax payers and conservatives will oppose it.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> There is the ongoing problem of hunger in the United States and even though that there are some types of policies out there, none can fulfill the need of officially getting rid of the problem of hunger. Though many try hard to come up with the ideas, most come up short of actually being a success. It is our job as a nation to come up with something useful for the starving public. We can start now by proposing a public policy that addresses all issues involving hunger since every person has the universal right to a sufficient meal.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Works Cited

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant: normal; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">"Second Harvest - CSFP." //Second Harvest - Home//. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. < http://www.2-harvest.org/22/csfp/ > <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant: normal; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">//Food Bank of Central New York//. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. < http://www.foodbankcny.org/documents/18.pdf >. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-variant: normal; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">"About TEFAP." Home Page. Web. 28 Apr. 2011. <﻿﻿ [] ﻿﻿ >.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__ **//Task 3://** __

<span style="color: #ff0000; font: 10pt/115% Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">There is no doubt that there are many problems trying to heal the wound of hunger in our society. Though many policies have the intentions of hopefully ending hunger, none have the intentions of actually helping the people who are hungry in other ways other than providing food for them. The policy our group proposes is one that would support the hungry person's life, but not only with food. Another aspect of the policy is providing the hungry jobs based on their education within charitable organizations. Both will support the aid of people and will also help reduce the great impact hunger has on the world, and hopefully one day abolish it.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Our proposed policy states that Government funded anti-hunger organizations must offer labor in return for giving food to the needy. Those who need the food will go to a local food shelter or food bank and will have their serving of food. Then, they will either volunteer their time, or work for monetary payment at food shelters or other places where anti-hunger agencies have placed them. They can work at tasks such as delivering food to others who need it but cannot retrieve it, unpacking food, and other jobs. This way, the anti-hunger agencies will have more people working for them while also having an inside look at how people there are actually living. Some disadvantages can be that the needy already have jobs and need to attend them or even that the anti-hunger agencies cannot take the needy or their labor. Mostly the homeless and the hungry will support this for the fact that they need to have the food and they might not have the opportunity of having and maintaining a job. Anti-hunger agencies might actually oppose this policy because of how they must monitor the people and they must provide the necessities other than food to the needy.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In order to be paid to work for anti-hunger organizations, the needy must be capable of the general labor required, so if any hungry person is found incapable of the job requirements, for example if they are physically or mentally disabled, they will receive food from funding, or given a job that applies to them. The age limit will be 18 for a job to be provided and half of the wages will include money. The government will send funds to them since they are in a position when they are in need of help but yet are turned down. Though anti-hunger organizations can also take these people, the organizations will need to constantly monitor them. Not only will the state and federal government help, but they will also provide special benefits because of the position they are in.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The advantages of this policy are that people with disabilities will get an equal opportunity as those who are in need, so no one is left behind. This also applies to people who do not have any formal education, are illiterate, or are excused from having a job due to medical conditions. Though it has many advantages, each person must fill out a application form that requires the providing of information such as: age, gender, ethnicity/race, educational background, religion (optional), including a medical report, which is a disadvantage because people might not want to give out their personal information. Also, the state and federal governments have no money to spend on helping the people so they might not support it, or raise taxes, causing tax payers to disapprove this policy.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Our policy can appeal to anyone who is in need of food. The current unemployment rate is very high, and so is the amount of hungry people in the US and other nations. Our group's incorporates what a hungry might want to get, and might desperately need. Hunger is obviously a major issue in the 21st century, but finding a good policy for settling it is even harder. Consequently, our policy has the intentions of helping the needy, and doesn’t violate the Constitution because it allows the person to maintain their freewill, has no limits on the person’s rights, it does not take any property of the person- may it be their life, freedom or even property itself- nor does it invade privacy to an extent that can be discriminated against.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Works Cited

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Paulino, Rafaela. Letter to Catherina Gioino. 9 Feb. 2011. MS. Freedom From Hunger, Davis, California.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Sheeran, Josette. "How To End Hunger." The Washington Quarterly – Home Page. Web. 28 Apr. 2011. <[]>.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">"The Hunger Cycle." World Vision Resources. Web. 28 Apr. 2011. <[] cycle.pdf>. <span style="color: #7327ce; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">

<span style="color: #7327ce; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 10pt; font-variant: normal; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">//**Task Four**// __

<span style="color: #7327ce; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Through much devotion to all the known policies the anti-hunger organizations have made, we have made our policy focusing on the one major problem that contributes to hunger that no other policy addresses. We would start in small communities to support our group, and notify government officials in them. Our plan is to not only effect NYC, but eventually the whole nation.

<span style="color: #7327ce; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">At first, our group plans to organize public meetings and draft petitions as well as surveys to raise awareness of our issue. We will contact newspapers and stores that support our cause and that can donate their time and money to get our issue known. We will travel around New York City at first and work our way up to the state and then national level. We will go to some of the poorest neighborhoods of New York City and have public meetings getting people’s views on how hunger affects them. Our group would like to organize this policy by sending our policy to Mayor Bloomberg. Also, we would like to set up more shelters that meet these requirements if we get permission. Although we are aware that the economy isn't doing that well, our group wants to open extra donation centers at these shelters for anyone who would like to give a helping hand. If Mayor Bloomberg approves our policy, then we would ask him to set up, or remake shelters in some of the poorest parts of New York City

<span style="color: #7327ce; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Furthermore, we will contact politicians like New York City Speaker Quinn and Council members Mathieu Eugene and Peter Vallone Jr.. Hopefully in time we will contact other influential people like Sheri Steisel- the Senior Director of Human Services and Federal Affairs Counsel at the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), and she also directs the NCSL’s Human Services Committee- to get the word out about our bill and hopefully persuade them to sign it. We also plan to contact Charles E. Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand, New York State Senators. We will contact anti-hunger organizations like Feeding America, Food Action and Research Center (FRAC), Action Against Hunger, Freedom From Hunger and more. and ask them for their support as well. We can also persuade them to fight with our cause because we can show them the support from the neighborhoods we visit, and hopefully bring the members to collaborate with our policy.

<span style="color: #7327ce; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Once we get support from the people, we will write letters and use other forms of contacting higher elected officials. We will send letters to New York State Governor Cuomo who in turn may send this to Congress. Our policy involves the added funding of tax money for support. Also, our group plans on writing to several companies, big and small, that support anti-hunger issues and policies like ours. Companies like Wal-Mart, Jeff Gordan’s driving agency and more would support our policy because it would give them extra credit to the general public, causing a potential boost in their business.

<span style="color: #7327ce; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Our proposed policy can benefit every one of the hungry in NYC. Our policy will have more regulations for the less fortunate, based on certain conditions that they have. For example, if they are seniors, or are under 18. Not only will our help the people of New York City, the policy will move up to help the hunger-stricken in New York State and hopefully ending hunger in America. This policy is basically fail proof, because by offering jobs to the hungry or unemployed, it will set them a goal in order to get full–time jobs and hopefully be independent from the aid of the organizations, thus ending the painful hunger cycle they have went through.

<span style="background: white; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Works Cited

America. New York. City Council. Peter F. Vallone Jr. Web. 16 May 2011. <[]>. America. New York. Governor. Contact. Web. 16 May 2011. <[]>. America. New York State. Mayor. Contact the Mayor. Web. 16 May 2011. <[]>.

America. U.S. Congress. New York State Senators. Senators of the 112th Congress. Web. 16 May 2011. <[]>.

America. U.S. State Senate. New York Senators. Web. 16 May 2011. <[]>. <span style="background: white; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: -0.5in;">"An Electoriate Ready For Action: 10 Key Findings on Hunger." //Hunger Message Project//. The Alliance to End All Hunger, 2008. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. <http://alliancetoendhunger.org/building-political-will/hunger-message-project/documents/HungerMessageProject2008ExitPollReport-email-printversion.pdf>.

<span style="background: white; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: -0.5in;">Flores, Victor. "Three Latinas Named to Illinois Commision to End Hunger." //Humboldt Park Portal//. 28 Mar. 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. <span style="background: white; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><http://www.humboldtparkportal.org/news/2240>.

<span style="background: white; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: -0.5in;">Lubrano, Alfred. "PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: Advocates Call on Government to End Hunger | Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger." //Welcome | Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger//. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. <span style="background: white; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><http://www.hungercoalition.org/philadelphia-inquirer-advocates-call-government-end-hunger>.

<span style="background: white; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: -0.5in;">United States. National Conference of State Legislatures. //The Role of State Government in Ending Hunger//. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. <http://www.hungercenter.org/pdf/The%20Role%20of%20State%20Government%20in%20Ending%20Hunger,%20NCSL.pdf>.

<span style="background: white; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: -0.5in;">"Voters Ready to Invest More Tax Dollars On Hunger." //The Alliance to End Hunger//. 26 Feb. 2009. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. <span style="background: white; color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: -0.5in;">[].