Hunger In My Life
By Kristine Elliott-Campiola

Have you ever imagined what an empty stomach would feel like?  An empty stomach day after day?  Has a day passed when you couldn't have a meal if you where hungry?  Not one day have I gone hungry.  Until recently, I've never  had the courage to admit, that in my city, children are going to bed hungry every night.

FACT: 12 million children in America go hungry every year.

I've buried the thought of hungry people and have forced ignorance upon my conscience. I'm being kind to myself here because I believe someone else would refer to this lack of acknowledgment as apathy.  I'm very talented at suppressing problems that seem not to interfere with my life.  After all, I've have problems of my own. In my 35 years of life, I've experienced the death of family and friends, endured periods of economic turbulence, and battled an alcohol and drug addiction.  However, I've never gone to bed hungry. In fact, basic needs such as, a roof over my head, water to drink, and food to eat has never been a concern.

FACT: Children who endure even short periods of hunger can suffer life long mental and physical disabilities.

So why am I concerned with hungry people, now?   I'll tell you, but after I've asked you this question.  Have you experienced reoccurring themes in your life? Let me rephrase, have you noticed that a particular subject will keep entering your life?  The fact that people are going hungry in America is not in my direct line of vision. I don't see hungry people in my day to day life. However, the subject of hungry people keeps intruding on my life.

FACT: There is probably a food bank in your city or town where you can donate food and/or your services.

I believe this intrusion began when I heard the news that Mother Teresa died. Like many people I felt that we had lost a precious gift.  I wondered who would be the advocate for the homeless, the hungry, and the sick.  I realized that Mother Teresa spent her life caring for people with her own hand, her actual touch. With her presence she told the poor, the hungry, the homeless, and the dying that God and the people of this earth had not forgotten them. She and her Order, loved and cared for these people on our behalf.

FACT: The End Hunger Network provides a data base of Food Banks across the country.

Since the passing of Mother Teresa the subject of hunger keeps presenting itself to me in many forms. One significant example was a movie I watched recently called, 'Hidden In America', which portrayed a widowed father's efforts to feed his two children. The next day I read an article in USA Today which stated that because of the cutbacks in food stamps, the demand on Food Banks has increased but food supply for the banks has decreased. That very night, while reading 'A Return To Love', by Marianne Williamson, I was taken aback by these words which I'll paraphrase from the book,  "Many people ask, 'What kind of God would let children go hungry?' I ask, 'What kind of person would let a child go hungry?'" What kind of person am I?  I need to find the answer to this question.  I have the telephone number of the local Food Bank  in my city. My next step is to make the call.

For more facts about HUNGER and how you can make a difference contact, The End Hunger Network. It's only a click away!!