hunger in america persuasive speech

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Hunger in America
Introduction
I. Attention Getter
“We’ve often had to make a choice between buying medicine and food, and sometimes, I and my husband skip meals altogether so that my parents can eat. I love my parents, but the considering the stress of having to watch their every move and wonder how we’ll settle our next bill can really be tiring.” Hunger may be history to most people living in America, but these words, found in an interview on the feedingamerica.org website, are from working mother living with her husband, three children and also taking care of her aged sick parents all surviving on her $ 20,000 annual salary (“Real Stories Of Hunger,” N.p).
II. Common Ground
These are not the only people affected by hunger in America; most families are not able to afford basic household necessities that enable them to survive. As a result, these families come up with several ways to compensate for these needs. The above statement is just from one of the many Americans who struggles to make choices between buying food and other necessities like medicine. On the Society of St, Andrew’s website, at endhunger.org, an article on hunger in America by Alisha Coleman states that; United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) indicated that out of all food produced in the US 27% is lost at the consumer, retail, and food service levels. This accounts for about 1.5 tons of food for each woman, man, and child in the US facing hunger.
III.

Thesis – Inciting agency + action word+ solution
To be clear, in America, we dispose of about 263 million pounds of edible surplus food. It may not surprise you that the food leftover you threw away yesterday could have fed someone hungry (Coleman-Jensen 2-5). Despite all the efforts being invested by the state and non-governmental organization in reducing hunger, everyone has to play a role in eliminating hunger among all Americans. We have to declare that hunger should not be a problem for every American.
Body
Statement of the Problem
Starvation continues to affect many Americans, to eliminate hunger problems, we first have to know how much hunger has affected Americans. Secondly, we have to identify what causes hunger in America and determine how much influence we can wield to help reduce hunger. In a recent report released on September 9, 2015, on endhunger.org website, Alisha Coleman, an economic researcher, defined food insecurity as the inability to, at some period during the year, provide enough food either for one or more members of a household. Furthermore, the report indicates that out of all households in America, 86.0% (124 million) are food secure, and 14.0% (17.4million) are food insecure. Out of food insecure households, 8.4% (10.5million) households face low food security, and 5.6% (6.9million) households face extremely low food security (Coleman-Jensen 2-5). Many households sacrifice expenditure to compensate for buying medicine or hospital treatment.
Transition – causes of and evidence on Hunger in America
Worldwide, in the past two decades, the number of facing hunger has significantly dropped, however, 795 million individuals still face the risk of going hungry every day. According to the November 16th, 2009 New York Times edition, the number of people living in hunger in America increased to 49 million in 2008 indicating a 13 million increase in the number of Americans living in Hunger. The increase of 13 million Americans from the past year was even much bigger than most pessimistic predictors had projected and cast some light on the daily struggles; brought by a punishing effect from the recession, on wages and jobs. Analysts suggested that the main cause of the increase in the number of hungry people was the rise in unemployment rate, from 4.9% in 2007 to 7.2% in 2008. Furthermore, the article also states that continuously increasing food prices also contributes to increasing the number of Americans facing starvation, the stamp rolls on food have increased, with 36million people living in America seeking aid in 2008, recording a 40% increase from the previous year. According to the article, access to food problems are many in households with children and headed by single mothers contributing to 37% of Americans facing hunger, out of these, 14% account for married couples with children. The New York Times details in the article that about 29% of Hispanic homes indicated the lack of adequate food, in contrast with 27% of black households and 12% of white homes (DeParle, N.p).
On the breadfortheworld Website, at bread.org, an article on causes of hunger outlines that poverty is the number one cause of hunger all over the world. Whether residing in rural or urban areas, most people facing hunger live below the poverty line, stated at an income of $ 1.25 or less each day. In America and other developed countries, hunger is mostly due to poverty due to low employment opportunities or low wage rates compared to the standard of living. Moreover, due to low income, at the end month, most families cut down on food consumption and skip meals on some few days when they are out of money. People living below or within the poverty line spend almost all of their earnings on food, in stable economic conditions, these people can hardly afford adequate food to protect their whole family from hunger. Any economic changes in food prices can lead to an increase in the price of foods causes’ additional strain on their earnings (“What Causes Hunger” N.p).
On the nprmusic Website, at npr.org, an article by Vikki Valentine on the reasons behind hunger suggests that; in America, most people go hungry due to the occurrence of unexpected events, such as an emergency medical bill, loss of job, and car repair. Vikki clarifies that families that are surviving at the edge of poverty index will cut down on their food consumption to compensate for these needs. The distribution and access to food are also an issue, fresh, good, and healthy food is expensive, especially for families surviving just above the minimum wage of $ 5.15 each hour which amounts to $ 10, 300 every year for full-time employment. The highest poverty indices in America are also recorded around the Mississippi Delta, the Mexico-America border and the Indian reservations (Valentine, N.p).
Transition- Working Solutions to Hunger in America
The reports at the hunger notes website, at worldhunger.org, the proportion of United States homes that face food insecurity significantly dropped in 2015 to 12.7% (15.8 million households, one in every eight) down from 14.0% (17.5 million homes, 1 out of 7) in 2014. These reports clearly indicate that poverty is still among American households and we have a role to play in hunger reduction. With the aim of achieving a hunger-free nation, several programs intended to addressing hunger have been developed. The article published at worldhunger.org highlights the various programs dedicated to ending hunger that exist. In the United States, food stamp is the most important program by the government dedicated to ending hunger. In 2015, the program enabled 45 million Americans to access a nutritionally adequate diet taking a total of $ 75 billion of government’s expenditure (“Hunger In America: 2016 United States Hunger And Poverty Facts – World Hunger” N.p).
Special Supplemental Nutrition for Infants, Women, and Children (WIC) provides nutrition education, nutritious foods, and refers these groups to health and other community services to postpartum, breastfeeding, and pregnant women, and children and infants with a maximum age of 5 who are at risk of malnutrition. 6.4 million Children and infants below five years and 2 million women benefited from WIC in 2014. Finally, National School Lunch program which is accessible to all children admitted to member schools also helps reduce hunger in America, in the period 2012-2013 30.7 million infants and children were involved in the National School Lunch Program (“Hunger In America: 2016 United States Hunger And Poverty Facts – World Hunger” N.p).
Conclusion
The evidence clearly indicates that we have a role to play in reducing hunger. Apart from the government programs, several other non-governmental organizations have helped reduce hunger by establishing food pantries providing basic household goods and food. Some of the causes of hunger include low wage rates, poverty, high food prices, and fluctuations in the economy that increase market prices. We should also invest our own effort in the fight to relieve the American people off hunger. Cutting down food wastes, volunteering in feeding programs, and donating to non-governmental organizations are some of the ways in which we can contribute towards this course. So the next time you are eating just remember these words of a single mother surviving with her six other family members on an income of $ 20,000 each year. “We’ve often had to make a choice between buying medicine and food, and sometimes, me and my husband skip meals altogether so that my parents can eat. I love my parents, but the considering the stress of having to watch their every move and wonder how we’ll settle our next bill can be tiring”.
Work Cited
Coleman-Jensen, Alisha. Household Food Security In The United States In 2014. 1st ed. 2015. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.
DeParle, Jason. “Hunger In U.S. At A 14-Year High”. Nytimes.com. N.p., 2009. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.
“Hunger In America: 2016 United States Hunger And Poverty Facts – World Hunger”. World Hunger. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.
“Real Stories Of Hunger.” Feeding America. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.
Valentine, Vikki. “Q & A: The Causes Behind Hunger In America.” NPR.org. N.p., 2005. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.
“What Causes Hunger.” Bread for the World. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.