The arrival of spring means the Christmas season is well behind us. Yet at least one opportunity from the holidays still remains, and two leaders with Indiana ties want all of us to get involved.
Peter Dunn is the former CEO of Steak 'N Shake, an Indiana-based company he led after an executive career with Kraft Foods. Dunn now chairs the board of America's Second Harvest, the nonprofit association of the nation's food banks, 12 of which are in Indiana.
His experience in the food industry fueled a passion for feeding the hungry, including hungry children, and the number of those children is rising. For example, the rate of Hoosier students enrolled in free and reduced-price lunch programs at school has increased from 26 percent in 2000 to 36 percent in 2007.
This increase reflects a surge in child poverty. Indiana's child poverty rate is now 18 percent, compared with 11.6 percent in 2000. In addition, more Hoosiers are applying for food stamps. Enrollment in the program has grown by 26 percent in the last five years, and children under the age of 18 make up half of the participants.
All of these trends could increase as the economy slows and gas prices rise, potentially leaving low-income families with even less money for food.
"The impact of child hunger is direct and devastating," Dunn said. "A hungry child can not learn, and an uneducated person can not earn."
Jim Morris agrees. Morris' remarkable career has included serving as President of Lilly Endowment and chairing Indiana University's board of trustees. He also has held top-level positions in government and the corporate sector. His recent five-year stint running the United Nations World Food Programme convinced Morris that "the real weapon of mass destruction in the world is hunger."
In fact, research indicates that hungry children have a greater likelihood of receiving lower grades in school, being suspended or expelled, suffering from depression, having suicidal thoughts and needing more medical care and hospitalization.
Despite these challenges, Dunn and Morris see opportunity. As Dunn asserted confidently, "Nobody is for hunger. Hunger is not a popular idea. This is a fight that can be won."
Dunn starts with his former colleagues in the business sector. He credits the food industry for donating about 1 billion pounds of food each year, but Dunn notes that an additional 10 billion pounds could become available for donation if the nation's food manufacturing and distribution system became more efficient.
Dunn then encourages community organizations and schools to help low-income individuals utilize public assistance programs. According to Dunn, about $30 billion in federal food stamps are not disbursed each year, indicating that many eligible families have not yet enrolled.
Meanwhile, community agencies can take advantage of the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (www.fns.usda.gov), as well as the Summer Food Service Program for Children which is offered through the Indiana Department of Education (www.doe.in.gov/food/summer). Both federal programs provide financial reimbursement for feeding low-income children and adults.
And then there are the rest of us. While many of us responded generously to those holiday season food drives, the problem persists. Hunger is a year-round challenge, and most food banks experience donation droughts during the summer months. Yet this is when the need is greatest since low-income children are not being fed through meal programs at school.
"When kids are at risk through no fault of their own, the rest of us need to put our arms around them," Morris said. "The entire community must come together to make a difference."
Morris encourages Hoosiers to continue donating to food pantries, food banks and other community food relief programs. "So little goes so far," he noted. "If everyone did just a little more, together we would make such a big difference."
Even one bag of groceries donated each week can be vital. Just ask Pam Altmeyer, who runs one of the 12 food banks in Indiana. Child poverty and child hunger in Indiana are increasing, and the problems can seem insurmountable.
Yet, when asked if one family donating one bag of groceries each week can really make a difference, Altmeyer replied, "Yes it will. It will definitely make a difference to the hungry family receiving that donation."