The United Nations estimates that over 805 million people live with chronic hunger--roughly one in nine people worldwide. Almost 5 million children die of malnutrition-related causes every year. Enough food is produced to adequately feed every person on the planet, but one-third of the food produced worldwide for human consumption is lost or wasted (all statistics from http://www.worldfooddayusa.org/what-is-wfd).
Although the majority of hungry people are in developing countries, hunger is a problem right here, too. As of 2013, “more children are at risk of going hungry in Los Angeles County than in any other county in [the United States]” (http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jun/14/local/la-me-ln-county-children-at-risk-of-hunger-20130614).
From now until October 31, there will be a collection bin in the library for nonperishable food items that will be donated to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. The short video below ("Think You Know L.A.?") tells a little about the this organization. When you are dropping off or borrowing a book, why not bring a box of pasta or a bag of rice to donate? The more food we contribute, the more people we will help, so please generous.
If you or your children play online games, check out www.freerice.com. For each question answered correctly, 10 grains of rice are donated to World Food Programme. The game is best suited to older students (grades 4 and up).
Donating a can of soup or 10 grains of rice may seem like a small thing; but for most of us, we will need to work together to make a difference—few of us will ever have the resources to remedy a global problem on our own.
It so happens that Thursday is also a fundraising “Dragon Dinner” night at Veggie Grill (a favorite of mine). Mention Pennekamp and a portion of your bill will benefit our school. See you there!