What We're Not Thinking About

We tend to think of hunger as a developing nation phenomenon, and it definitely dominates the list of needs for poor nations.  We also—rightly—imagine that the United States has plenty of food.  The USDA has measured our average food supply in 2000 at 3800 calories per person per day, up from 3000 calories in the 1950s. However, about 1100 of those calories are lost due to waste, spoilage, plate waste (portion control), cooking issues, etc. 

But it’s important to remember that these are averages, and when many of these calories are consumed through oils and sugars, and when obesity continues to rise even while recent trends in average intake decreases, it’s more clear that equitable food distribution remains a distant goal.  In 2010, nearly 15% of US households were “food insecure,” meaning they could not rely upon a steady supply of food.  Beyond the dire issues of human rights and compassion, American hunger takes an enormous toll on our health care system and worker productivity—it’s an issue for all of us, to the price of $542 per citizen.

The trends are supported more locally as well.   In Detroit, food insecurity is closer to 20%: the number of hungry children in the tri-county area is 25% and in the city of Detroit it is 50%.  And in Royal Oak, 1400 of Royal Oak’s roughly 5000 students qualify for free and reduced lunch programs (more than 25%). 

Royal Oak’s Blessings in a Backpack program, co-sponsored by Royal Oak Rotary, works to supplement the local need by providing weekend meals to qualifying students through backpacks stuffed with food.  One hundred dollars provides weekend food for a student (and his/her family) for a full year.  To donate, contact the Royal Oak School District. Royal Oak Patch has supported several local hunger campaigns, as well. 

Interact of Royal Oak, the high school’s youth Rotary service club, has spent this past month working on food issues.  We raised funds and donations locally for Gleaners in early March through its Food Fight! Campaign “against” (and thus partnered with) Shrine High School.  We will also spend part of Easter weekend working for Forgotten Harvest in Southfield recovering food labeled as spoiled.

Help This Week

And this next week, on Wednesday March 27, we will host our annual Hunger Banquet for Oxfam America.  The evening is designed to simulate global food distribution and foster discussion and awareness about hunger issues locally and abroad.  Participants should arrive hungry, but be prepared that they may also leave that way!  Thanks to donations from Lily’s Seafood, Jimmie John’s, and other local eateries, 100% of ticket sales will go to Oxfam America’s food security programs.

Tickets may be purchased at the door:  $10 for adults; $5 for students.  The event will be held at Berkley’s Greenfield Presbyterian Church, Greenfield and 12 Mile Rd., at 6:00 pm.   Join us. 

Obviously, as Interact’s high school advisor, I could not be more proud of the work these students choose to do.  This spring will also find the students raising funds for local school needs in April and for the homeless in our spring Box City project this May in addition to volunteer weekends  for ROPL  and Rotary.  We are also raising funds for our summer service trip to Guatemala.    

Do you know of a local need where we can help?  Or would you like to support one of our chosen charities more directly? Please let us know.  Email us at interact@royaloakschools.com.  And visit our website at www.chisnell.com/interact, our Facebook group,  and our Twitter feed: @rohs_interact.