To the Editor:
Over 35 million people in the United States — including more than 12 million children — experience hunger or the risk of hunger. Over 11 million people in the U.S. frequently skip meals—sometimes going a whole day without food.
The nation’s largest food bank saw an increase in the number of Americans who sought help rise from 21.4 million in 1997 to 25.4 million in 2005.
Bill Moyers reported that requests for help from one food pantry had increased from 6,000 to 10,000 during the last year. Another pantry reported a 45 percent increase in requests for help. Across the country, Moyers found similar increases in requests for food help.
Why this hunger? Millions have lost jobs. Illness drives people into bankruptcy (62 percent of the personal bankruptcies in the U.S. are related to health costs) and eventually to food pantries. Even with husband and wife working, wages often don’t cover the costs of food and shelter.
Food banks are bulwarks against hunger in our country. They are non-profit organizations (501(c) 3 tax exempt) that collect food and non-food products and channel them to charities that distribute to those in need.
Food banks depend on contributions, both of food and money, plus the work of volunteers, to carry on their vital work.
The Western Maryland Food Bank in Cumberland, with a paid staff of five and a volunteer staff of over 30, serves our area.
In 2008, the Western Maryland Food Bank distributed over 876,000 pounds of food to 122 agencies, assisting over 10,000 individuals each month. (Anyone wishing to volunteer a few hours a month to the food bank can call (301) 722-2797.)
One program created by the Western Maryland Food Bank should be highlighted.
The Bagman Backpack Program partners the food bank, its member agencies, and local schools to meet the needs of children who would otherwise go hungry when they are not in school.
This past year, the program served seven schools and 183 children who faced hunger on weekends.
Obtaining the necessary food to meet the needs of our community has become more difficult, just as it has become more difficult across the nation. As the director of a large New York food bank said about food resources, “This year is the worst in terms of food shortage we’ve seen.”
In spite of all, the good people at our nation’s food banks labor on in the face of overwhelming odds, doing their best to see that no one is without food.
Any reader who is moved to help is urged to do so. Donations of money and food are always welcome. Volunteering at food banks or at agencies that distribute food is also crucial to getting food to the hungry.
We must not forget that as Ertharian Cousin, executive vice-president of Feeding America, said recently, “The face of hunger doesn’t have a particular color, and it doesn’t come from a particular neighborhood. They are your neighbors, they are working Americans, they are senior citizens who have worked their entire lives, and they are children.”
Most of us are only a serious illness or pink slip away from needing the help of a food bank.
Let’s help those who help people who have been less fortunate than we are. After all, no one should go hungry in this great country of ours.
Craig Etchison,
Fort Ashby, W.Va.
