Bush Mum on Request to Skip a Meal Thursday

A leading anti-poverty organization is urging U.S. President George W. Bush to skip a meal today as a symbol of his resolve to fight hunger worldwide.

"The holiday season is traditionally a time when a lot of attention is paid to these issues," Oxfam's Kim Delaney told OneWorld. "It's a time when Americans think about their families and others who don't have as much. "

More than 13,000 people have sent letters or e-mails asking the president to join them in skipping a meal to show his solidarity with the more than 850 million people who are hungry around the world, according to the international group whose U.S. headquarters are in Boston.

Delaney told OneWorld the White House has not responded to Oxfam's request. President Bush is currently in Vietnam attending a summit of Asian-Pacific leaders. His office said no one was available to comment for this story.

In the last decade, Oxfam reports the number of hungry people in sub-Saharan Africa has gone up 20 percent.

"These are families who are at the point where they are only able to have one meal a day or they may go a week and only have a few meals," Delaney said.

In the United States itself, hunger has increased during George W. Bush's presidency, although statistics released this week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) show a slight dip for 2005.

According to the USDA, 35 million people suffered food insecurity last year, meaning they didn't have enough money or resources to get food. The number includes 22.7 million adults (10 percent of all U.S. adults) and 12.4 million children (17 percent of all children).

"The numbers remain very high," said Maura Daly, a spokesperson for America's Second Harvest, the umbrella group for food banks across the United States. Daly told OneWorld that U.S. food banks served more than 25 million people last year, up 8 percent from a decade ago.

"Most of the people we're serving are making choices between rent, paying their heating bill, or other utilities," she said. "We know that one in three people we serve have an adult working in their household. We're seeing an emerging problem with the working poor and families."

Daly told OneWorld the hunger problem in America could be significantly alleviated if it was easier for poor people to access government programs already available.

"Only about 60 percent of people who are eligible for food stamps are currently receiving benefits," she said. "Only about 30 percent of people we serve are receiving benefits, probably 70 percent are eligible."

The USDA's annual report also includes food insecurity rates for each state. The ten states with the highest food insecurity rates in 2005 were New Mexico, Mississippi, Texas, South Carolina, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Utah, Idaho, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

"It is simply unacceptable that after years of economic growth, 35.1 million people in this country face a constant struggle against hunger," said Jim Weill, president of the Washington, DC-based non-profit Food Research and Action Center.

"While the small drop is a move in the right direction, we should be far from satisfied," he added. "Change is moving too slowly for those still struggling, and we need to make ending hunger a national priority. We will be calling on Congress to attack this shameful national condition with new commitment and new energy."

Weill said there are a few easy steps Congress could take, including strengthening the food stamp program and connecting more children to school breakfast programs, child care food, and after school snacks.

Weill also said increasing the minimum wage above the federal $5.15 per hour would help many working poor families buy food on their own.

Incoming House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi has said raising the minimum wage will be one of her main priorities when the Democratic party assumes Congressional leadership in January.

Related links
 Oxfam's Fast for a World Harvest: What You Can Do

Why Hunger Persists in an Era of Global Food Production (Food First)

Hunger Index Ranks Global Hot Spots (International Food Policy Research Institute)

November Perspectives Magazine Looks at Food and Agriculture - Subscribe Today! (free)