What's going on?

Luxury: An inessential, desirable item that is expensive or difficult to obtain.

At one time it was education. Then it was zip codes. Now, it seems to me, that access to food separates the Haves and the Have Nots. Food has become a luxury. A Place at the Table is an unforgiving and transparent documentary about hunger in this country. According to Feeding America, 16.7 million children lived in food insecure households in 2011. School Readiness is a platform I support.  I’ve read articles that report damaging effects of hunger in children. Examples are insufficient school readiness, slower brain and cognitive development, poor learning and academic performance, delayed physical, mental, and social development, and increased risk of obesity. In this nation of $50millon dollar reality TV contracts, 50 million Americans rely on charitable food programs. I think we have seen so many Feed the Children infomercials, that when we hear the word “hunger” those images automatically come to mind.  However, we forget about the working poor and elderly that are morbidly obese due to only having access to inexpensive high calorie processed foods. To quote my favorite Marvin Gaye song, “What’s going on?”  For more about the  hunger crisis in America, visit  http://www.takepart.com/place-at-the-table

by Meredith Talford, Upstate Training & TA Specialist, SC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy