Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 12, 1992 TAG: 9202120342
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ROBERT C. SCOTT and ROBERT S. BLOXOM
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
HUNGER IS AN AVOIDABLE PROBLEM
It is heartbreaking to see a 2- or 3-year-old come in so hungry he can't even play with his friends. Nothing is more troubling than to have a small child tell you he is hungry because he hasn't eaten in several days. - Virginia emergency-food provider.IMAGINE that you were a mother or a father trying to comfort a child crying from hunger. No imagination is required for tens of thousands of families in the Old Dominion for whom this nightmare is a tragic reality.
Projections based on a recent survey by the Community Childhood Hunger Identification Project (CCHIP) indicate 200,000 Virginia children under 12 - or one in five - are hungry or at risk for hunger because their family or community doesn't have the resources to feed them.
The re-emergence of hunger in the past decade harkens back to an earlier period in our history. In 1967 a group of U.S. senators, moved by reports of widespread hunger from churches and community groups, traveled from Southern hamlets to Northern inner cities talking with mothers, children, teachers, laborers, farmers and physicians. Their testimony motivated Congress, in a bipartisan effort, to address the problem of hunger in America. The food stamp program was expanded, and new programs, such as the School Breakfast, Summer Food and Child Care programs and the Supplemental Food Program for Low-Income Women, Infants and Children (WIC), were initiated. By 1977, a report was issued documenting the success of these programs in virtually eradicating hunger.
In the 1990s, the changing economy and a decade of eroded federal commitment to social needs have left states to grapple with increased poverty, hunger and homelessness. The dramatic growth of hunger in Virginia during the 1980s can be seen in a single statistic revealed in research by the Virginia Congress on Hunger, a non-profit group. Each month an effective but heavily burdened network of emergency food providers across the commonwealth provides a million emergency meals. These organizations are able to provide a meal for as little as 21 cents per person. About half of these meals go to children.
The Congress on Hunger found that almost three-quarters of the cost of every emergency meal served in Virginia is paid by donations from individuals and religious congregations. Local, state and federal funds pay for only 15 percent. Nine out of 10 Virginia emergency food providers operate on total program budgets of less than $10,000.
Such individual generosity and willingness to give of time and effort are astounding. However, that generosity of spirit can be hit by economic downturns, technical and regulatory problems, or surges in need. In this context the newly created Virginia Hunger Foundation can make an important contribution.
The Foundation will make grants to anti-hunger organizations in Virginia, supporting local efforts to expand services and programs that address the needs of those most at risk.
The Foundation, supported by a growing number of Virginia business and civic leaders, will also encourage innovative programs and provide transitional assistance to help families move beyond poverty.
This is one example of the kind of response needed to eliminate the tragedy of hunger in our state. Yet the efforts of one foundation will not end this tragedy. We can all play a role in designing and supporting policies and programs to combat hunger. But we can take heart from one realization. As serious as the problem is, hunger is avoidable.