Learning On Empty

One out of every four children in the United States is hungry.  Not just hungry because it’s been four hours since breakfast: hungry because it’s been since lunch on Friday.

Far too many children are not getting much to eat at night and on the weekends.  These are children who depend on meals at school, breakfasts and lunches, to provide 10 out of 21 regular meals each week.  These aren’t kids who are neglected by uncaring parents.  These are kids whose parents are struggling to keep a roof over the family’s head and heat on in the winter.  There isn’t much left of a small paycheck once those items are taken care of.

The challenge of hunger is big because food is a daily requirement.  Not being able to afford enough food places a huge burden on families.  Even families that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Food Stamps) benefits typically run out of that funding in 2 ½ weeks.  Emergency food pantries provide food to take home, but each one operates differently and gives out varying amounts of food.  This forces families to spend time going to several sources to obtain enough food.  And that assumes that there are places to get food that can be accessed when families are able to get there.

How can we expect children to learn and thrive on empty tummies?  If education is the key factor in building a self sufficient individual, we must make hungry kids a thing of the past if we ever expect them to succeed.  They cannot do it alone and they cannot do it on an empty tummy.

Do You Know Why Food Costs So Much?

There’ve been lots of comments in the news about the high cost of food.  Just this morning the very hot weather in the central part of the United States is being added to the reasons why food costs continue to increase.   All the factors in play certainly contribute to these growing expenses. 

But there’s one most of us don’t pay much attention to:  the cost of diesel fuel.  In spite of the emphasis on local food, the vast majority of the food we consume in the United States is moved by diesel fueled vehicles.  Whether it is grain being harvested on a farm, tomatoes being trucked from California to South Carolina, or ingredients being delivered to a food processor while a truck picks up the finished product, diesel fuel moves all of it.

After Katrina and the devastation to the oil production along the Gulf Coast, the cost of diesel, which had previously been as much as $1.50 less than the cost of a gallon of gasoline, started to climb.  Nearly six years after Hurricane Katrina the cost is between $.30 and $.50 per gallon more than the cost of gas.

Though buying local from area farmers and producers certainly reduces the cost, as well as the use of diesel fuel, there’s no getting around that the cost of food is directly tied to our dependence on tomatoes in January, asparagus in August and peaches in December, all of it arriving at our local market thanks to diesel fuel.

An Answer to South Carolina’s Obesity Challenge

By now you may have heard that our new Miss South Carolina was once a chubby teen.   It was her doctor’s intervention that got her attention.  The pain in her legs, he told her, was directly attributable to her weight.  

Bree Boyce made the connection and made significant changes to her eating habits.  She started an exercise routine.  But, she lost the weight the old fashioned way, over three years.

Two big things are significant here:  her doctor looked her right in the eye and told her that she was the cause of her problem and she lost the weight slowly with changes to her eating and with exercise under the guidance of a trainer.

It is up to each adult to make decisions about what and how much we eat.  And it is up to each adult to make a choice to include more exercise in our daily lives.

The road to gaining weight is smoothly paved.  The road to a healthy weight and fitness is bumpy and steep.  Which road to take is up to each of us.