Often times, when we think of poverty, we picture starving children in Africa, the slums of Brazil, or the Untouchables of India. Rarely do we picture the the poor living (as well as starving and dying) in our own country, our own cities. But poverty is the reality of MILLIONS within one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Although the United States is ranked #10 in world (based on the gross domestic product per capita-PPP), there exists extreme poverty in our country.
- 35.9 million live below the poverty line; 12.9 million of those are children.
- The poverty threshhold for a family of four is $16, 600 annual income.
- The poverty rate varies from 8.7% (suburbs) to 18.5% (inside central cities).
- The poverty rate is double or quadruple for minority groups; 12.5-26.1%.
- Although there is an abundance of food in the USA, 100 BILLION pounds of food are wasted annually. 15% of this food is still within the expiration date but never opened.
- 20% of all American food goes wasted, averaging 130 pounds per person ending up in the landfills.
- 3.5% of all American households experience hunger, often times with the people of these households skipping meals or eating too little. This is 9.6 million people, 3 million being children.
It is unimaginable that the poverty levels are this high in a nation so wealthy and abundant in resources and infrastructure. Let's ask ourselves what are simple steps that we can take to make a difference. Perhaps, while at the grocery store we should purchase what is only needed for that week to prevent further waste of perfectly good food. Also, at the store, we could add just a few cans of healthy food to our baskets to donate to the local food bank.
To become actively involved in your community's fight against poverty and hunger, here are a few links to get you started:
http://www.1-800-volunteer.org/1800Vol/OpenIndexAction.do
http://feedingamerica.org/
http://www.serve.gov/
--The Power of One
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