Child Hunger Essay Example for Students

Hunger has always been around and it is a result of poverty which has also always been around in the world. In 2013, 14.7 million or approximately 20 percent of children in the U.S. lived in poverty. Living in poverty also means that all those children were under fed at the minimum. 20% or more of the child population in 37 states lived in food-insecure households in 2012. New Mexico and Mississippi had the highest rates of 29% of children in households living without consistent access to food. Statistics are evidence that hunger and poverty go hand in hand.

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Good nutrition in the first three years of life is important for establishing a good foundation for every child’s future physical and mental health, and academic achievement. Unfortunately, food insecurity is an obstacle that threatens that critical foundation that is the child's entire future. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 15.8 million children under 18 in the United States live in homes where consistent access to nutritious food isn't available. Although food insecurity is harmful to any individual, it's more devastating for children because of their increased vulnerability and the potential for long-term consequences. Access to food and other resources is not a matter of availability it's a matter of ability to pay. So, those with the most money take the most resources, and the families with little or no money go hungry at least. This inevitably leads to a situation whereby some sections of humanity have too much, and the lower class has little or nothing at all. The richest 20% of humanity controls about 85% of all wealth, and the poorest 20% only control 1.5% of wealth.

The solution to solving child hunger would start with eliminating poverty. Eliminating world poverty and hunger is a huge task to take on. I'm sure many have tried to end both poverty and hunger, but they're still evident in the world so it can't be easy. World hunger and poverty have been around as long as humans have been around. Christian people of the church try to solve the problem with donating food, donating money to shelters, and food kitchens. Donating is always an option to all people who are financially stable to do their part in helping others but for those who are barely making it in life it's difficult to donate. That's why there are alternatives to contributing to helping those in need.

I believe that child hunger can be solved by everyone in the world contributing to help others and actually continuing to help them until they're stable. As a teenager there are many ways to help without having to pay for anything. The way that I contribute is, by doing my service project this year, I am an active volunteer at the Coburn Place. It's a facility for battered and abused women and children and I help by giving the children who have nothing someone to talk to and be a mentor for them. I plan on continuing to volunteer this year and in college I plan on finding different associations to volunteer at and donate to.

Works Cited

http://www.wfp.org/stories/10-hunger-facts-2014
http://www.globalissues.org/article/8/solving-world-hunger-means-solving-world-poverty
http://www.theperspective.org/2014/0325201401.php