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Global Studies and World Languages Academy at Tallwood High School

Youth Movement against Hunger

(YMAH)

LeJeiria James Mr. Gregory Falls GSWLA Connections 12 Monday, December 16th, 2013

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Abstract

The title of my project is Youth Movement against Hunger. My research question is, can a youth movement focused on hunger create a paradigm both locally and globally? Hunger is important to my field of study (health) because eating enough of the right types of food is significant in how healthy a person is. Im planning on researching hunger locally in the Hampton Roads are in Virginia. Im also planning on researching hunger statistics in Africa and Asia and finding out ways that youth can contribute to their community and other places around the world. My faculty advisor will be Mrs. Machesney while my outside advisor will be my older sister Kirsten (a frequent volunteer at a church). The role I will assume is a researcher on hunger; Ill gather as much information as I can so that I can teach youth all aspects of hunger and that if they get involved that itll benefit their selves and others. For my action Id like to volunteer at a church to serve food, go to an elementary school and teach them about hunger and why they should care, and Id like to host a canned food drive competition. My target audience is mainly 5th graders. My actions will begin taking place this month. I chose this time because my paper will be finished and with that Ill be able to better organize my actions and what Id like to do with them. I will benefit from my action, as well as participants and those who are affected by hunger locally. The only materials I will need are canned foods.

Introduction

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My senior project is called YMAH, (Youth Movement against Hunger), which will focus on the combined issues of hunger and malnutrition. Hunger is a strong need and shortage of food, as well as the number one health risk in the world. Malnutrition is poor health due to a lack of the right vitamins and minerals one needs to be healthy. I am interested in hunger and malnutrition because they affect a lot of people, both locally and globally. One in eight people do not get enough food to be healthy and lead an active life. But, there is plenty of food in the world to feed everyone in it; the issue is just access to food. My researchable question is: Can a youth movement focused on hunger create a paradigm both locally a globally? With this as my lead, I want to find out more about hunger (who if affects and why it affects them), what hunger and malnutrition cause, as well as how people who arent affected by it can contribute. As a part of my action, I intend to focus on getting elementary school fifth graders interested in hunger and malnutrition. They are at the perfect age where they are soaking up all of the information around them and finding out what they like. If children can learn about and become interested in global issues at a younger age, they are more likely to continue to contribute to the world around them as they grow older. Another part of my action is to interview a frequent volunteer and present to other academy students about my experiences. Altogether, I can finally show people how they can help those around them and how beneficial it can be.

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Limitations When researching and taking on any global issue, there are many limitations that one would face. Researching hunger and malnutrition on a global scale provides for many issues or limitations such as geographic location, transportation, money, time and age. Many people are facing hunger all over the world, but I live in Virginia Beach and I cannot get to all of them and help them out. I dont have my own car, so I cannot drive all over Hampton Roads and volunteer at the biggest food bank which is in Norfolk, but I can volunteer at a smaller food bank at a church. I realize that the end to or even a change in both local and global hunger is going to take a lot of time. I do not have all of the time in the world to work on changing these issues because my action is due before I graduate, probably in April. One last issue is probably my age; many people may not think that it is possible to create a paradigm locally and globally because I am just one person and I am only 17. But, I have faith in myself and I know that a change is possible with dedication. In my paper, I will focus on hunger in the Hampton Roads area and hunger in Africa and Asia. I will address the causes and effects of hunger, who is affected by hunger, why they are affected and what can be done to change these things. For my action, I will focus on a local approach by talking to elementary school students in VA Beach and volunteering at a local church.

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Methodology

While researching hunger and malnutrition on a local and global scale, there is a need for qualitative research methods. People need to know that people in their communities are affected by these combined issues so that they can develop an attitude of wanting to contribute to the fight against hunger. There is also a need for people to be educated on the global effects of hunger and its causes, as well as how they can contribute to beating these issues. To find these answers, it is necessary for an interview to be held with a legitimate source in order to obtain a perspective from someone who knows, deals with and sees those who face hunger/malnutrition daily. The interviewee (Kirsten) will be asked a series of questions including: What influenced you to get involved in the fight against hunger? How did you find out that hunger also affects some Virginia citizens? How do you attempt to get others involved in the fight against hunger? About how many people do you serve daily when you volunteer at the food bank? How do you contribute to the global fight against hunger? and Do you think that a youth movement against hunger could create a change both locally and globally? How could we start this movement and get others interested? These questions are significant in finding and developing an understanding of the perspective of one who deals with hunger\malnutrition hands-on in a local level. This is the basis of the project; this interview will hopefully influence others to get involved, once they know that some people around them are affected by these issues. After this step, a volunteering experience will take place at the Park Place United Methodist Church. Kirsten volunteers here and this will allow for a hands-on experience with hunger and malnutrition in the Hampton Roads area. This is in order to contribute to the fight against hunger using a hands-on method and is a part of the action for the project. A PowerPoint

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Presentation will be created that describes the experience at the food bank as well as its inclusion in the research paper. Other data that is needed for the research paper such as statistics and legitimate source information will be obtained from sources such as the World Food Programme and Action Against Hunger that allow people to contribute to the fight against hunger and to learn more about how hunger affects those around the world. There will be a use of hands-on, listening and viewing methods throughout this project. These methods will allow for a full understanding of the combined issues of hunger/malnutrition and how there can be a positive change.

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Literature Review

Before truly beginning any research paper, it's important for the researcher to understand and gain information that's already out there. Knowledge of what's already been acquired on a topic allows one to build on existing information. For this project, there will be a focus on the effects of hunger and malnutrition on both local -Virginia Beach - and global scales - developing countries - why it effects these people; and what can be done to change how severely these issues effect people. In the topics of hunger and malnutrition, its important to use sources such as a reliable interview - there will be an interview with a worker at a food bank about their outlook on the issues of hunger and malnutrition -, websites such as Unite for Sight, Actions Against Hunger, World Food Programme, and Feeding America, Save the Children, Relief Web, and Bread for the World, as well as a volunteer experience at a local church to serve food to the hungry. The interviewee, Kirsten, a frequent volunteer at the Park Place United Methodist Church, will be asked a series of questions that include: What influenced you to get involved in the fight against hunger? How did you find out that hunger also affects some Virginia citizens? How do you attempt to get others involved in the fight against hunger? About how many people do you serve daily when you volunteer at the food bank? How do you contribute to the global fight against hunger? and Do you think that a youth movement against hunger could create a change both locally and globally? How could we start this movement and get others interested? The answers to these questions will provide the perspective of someone who deals with hunger and malnutrition hands on, making it reliable. Because the interviewee deals with these combined issues on a local level, it would be easier for others to develop a want to get

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involved; if people know that hunger and malnutrition affect those around them, theyd be more inclined to contribute to the fight against these issues. On the Unite for Sight website, hunger was defined as energy deficiency caused by inadequate dietary intake. Through the use of collective information, the nutrition index measures hunger as the portion of the population with per capita food energy intake thats less than standard nutritional requirements. Thus, the index of malnutrition measures ones food energy deprivation. The FAOs most recent report estimates that 925 million people worldwide are undernourished. This information was obtained from the State of Food Security in the World 2011; it allows one to view hunger and malnutrition through a different scope (Module 9). Research on Actions Against Hunger shows that many of those who are hungry are affected by acute, moderate acute, and severe acute malnutrition. Acute malnutrition in the least severe form occurs when the body doesnt receive correct nourishment and exhausts its energy reserves: the body begins consuming its own tissues in search of the nutrients and energy necessary for survival, targeting muscle and body fat first (Hunger). Moderate acute malnutrition introduces serious deficiencies that are detrimental to a persons immune system, which leaves them more susceptible to illness and disease (Hunger). Severe acute malnutrition affects people through either Marasmus or Kwashiorkor. Existing information such as this lets people know how hunger and malnutrition affects the bodies of those who face these issues. These facts are significant because now there is a taste of how many deal with these issues, how it affects them and why others should care to get involved in the fight against these issues. On the World Food Programme's website, research has been collected that has revealed the many causes of hunger and malnutrition. Factors such as poverty, lack of agriculture, a bad climate and changes in weather, the wasting of food, as well as war and displacement are all

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things that contribute to the issues of hunger and malnutrition (World). These elements are essential in understanding what can be done against hunger; once people know why something happens, they can begin to act against it. On Feeding America's website, it shows one how they can get involved in the fight against hunger and malnutrition. Some ways that people can get involved are through volunteering, advocating or simply spreading word about the issues of hunger and malnutrition. The chances to help out in the fight against hunger and malnutrition are simple and easy; one can donate their time, money and/or effort. Another issue is addressed on Feeding Americas website, the effects of hunger and malnutrition. An essential component to living a healthy life is good nutrition. In the United States, over one out of five children live in a household with food insecurity. This means that children are rarely sure of where or when they will find their next meal. According to the United States Department of Agriculture or the USDA, 16.7 million children under 18 in the United States live in conditions where they are unable to always have access to nutritious and adequate amounts of food necessary for a healthy life (Impact). In the US and locally, food is plentiful. There is infrastructure to distribute foods, as well as a network of interstate highways and trucking industries that move tons of food daily wherever it needs to go. The supermarket store shelves are stocked to the ceiling. But none of this matters if customers have no money in their pockets. Poverty spoils every meal. Around the world, wherever poverty exists hunger is sure to exist as well. The Millennium Development Goals or MDGs, a set of human development targets, put reducing hunger and poverty together at the top of the list (Bread).

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On the Save the Children website, it states that on a global scale, the most severely affected continents by hunger are Africa and Asia. Over 30 million children and adults across countries in Africa such as Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, face a destructive hunger crisis. It is important that everyone attempts to stop hunger in Africa before it worsens, in order to help children survive and thrive (Fighting). On Relief Web, it is revealed that many in Asia are also facing severe hunger. In 2013, the Asian Human Rights Commission, or the AHRC, worked to ensure the right to food for all, through its Right to Food desk. The Right to Food desks efforts includes active engagement in varying degrees with six Asian countries throughout the year. The countries they engage in are India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Indonesia. The main idea that this food programme focuses on is to alter the dominant discourse in these countries; one that enforces that the right to food has been represented as a justiciable right, but that it may instead be considered an inalienable part of the right to life with dignity (Asia).

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Youth Movement against Hunger This paper will focus on the combined issues of hunger and malnutrition. While hunger is defined as a strong need and shortage of food, malnutrition is defined as the poor health that is caused by a lack of correct vitamins and minerals necessary for one to be healthy. Hunger is the cause of malnutrition, and hunger is the number one health risk in the world. One in eight people do not receive enough food in order to be healthy and lead an active life. Fortunately, there is enough food in the world to feed everyone in it. But, there are many issues that cause hunger and malnutrition to exist. The issues are availability, distribution, climate, poverty, war and displacement, lack of agriculture, a bad climate and changes in weather, the wasting of food and unawareness of hunger and malnutrition. The big question is: Can a youth movement focused on hunger create a paradigm both locally a globally? In order to answer this question, how hunger is measured, the causes and effects, who it affects and how it can be changed must first be understood. On the Unite for Sight website, hunger was defined as energy deficiency caused by inadequate dietary intake. Through the use of collective information, the nutrition index measures hunger as the portion of the population with per capita food energy intake thats less than standard nutritional requirements. Thus, the index of malnutrition measures ones food energy deprivation. This index is determined by considering three specifications: per capita availability of food, inequality of energy intake, and age/sex-specific nutrition requirements. Estimates of calorie intake are based on data from country Food Balance Sheets, which approximate a countrys food supply over a three year period. The FAOs most recent report estimates that 925 million people worldwide are undernourished. This information was obtained

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from the State of Food Security in the World 2011; it allows one to view hunger and malnutrition through a different scope (Module 9). Research on Actions Against Hunger shows that many of those who are hungry are affected by acute, moderate acute, and severe acute malnutrition. Acute malnutrition in the least severe form occurs when the body doesnt receive correct nourishment and exhausts its energy reserves: the body begins consuming its own tissues in search of the nutrients and energy necessary for survival, targeting muscle and body fat first. One's metabolism begins to slow, regulation of body heat is disrupted, kidney function is impaired, and the immune systems capacity decreases. This type of malnutrition effects an estimated 55 million children worldwide (Hunger). Moderate acute malnutrition introduces serious deficiencies that are detrimental to a persons immune system, which leaves them more susceptible to illness and disease. These deficiencies include anemia from a lack of iron; goiter from a lack of iodine; and xerophthalmia from a lack of vitamin A; as well as scurvy, pellagra, beriberi from a lack of vitamin B; and rickets from a lack of vitamin D. This type of malnutrition affects about 36 million children worldwide (Hunger). Severe acute malnutrition affects people through either Marasmus or Kwashiorkor. Marasmus causes a significant loss of weight, loss of muscle tissue, and children grow to look almost elderly; their skeletal bodies losing any equilibrium between weight and height (Hunger). Kwashiorkor causes bilateral edemas - swollen tissue - on a childs arms, legs and face; children often appear full-faced despite being severely malnourished. Underneath swollen tissues, the muscles are severely weakened, which can cause excruciating cramping and pain in the muscles. Severe acute malnutrition affects approximately 19 million children worldwide (Hunger). Existing information such as this lets people know how hunger and malnutrition affects the bodies of those who face these issues. These facts are significant because now there is a taste of

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how many deal with these issues, how it affects them and why others should care to get involved in the fight against these issues. An essential component to living a healthy life is good nutrition. From the day one is born, receiving the correct amount of nutrients is a key to the growth and development of a healthy individual. During the first 3 years of ones life, good nutrition is important in establishing and keeping up a good foundation that has implications on a ones future physical and mental health, academic achievement, and economic productivity. But, food insecurity, or living in fear of starvation or hunger, threatens that critical foundation (Impact). In the United States, over one out of five children live in a household with food insecurity. This means that children are rarely sure of where or when they will find their next meal. According to the United States Department of Agriculture or the USDA, 16.7 million children under 18 in the United States live in conditions where they are unable to always have access to nutritious and adequate amounts of food necessary for a healthy life. In 2009, the top five states with the highest rate of food insecure children under 18 are the District of Columbia, Oregon, Arizona, Arkansas, & Texas (Impact). In the US and locally, food is plentiful. There is infrastructure to distribute foods, as well as a network of interstate highways and trucking industries that move tons of food daily wherever it needs to go. The supermarket store shelves are stocked to the ceiling. But none of this matters if customers have no money in their pockets. Poverty spoils every meal. Around the world, wherever poverty exists hunger is sure to exist as well (Bread). The Millennium Development Goals or MDGs, a set of human development targets, put reducing hunger and poverty together at the top of the list. All the other goals follow from these. The MDGs, introduced at the United Nations in 2000, have been accepted by all U.N. member countries, including the United States.

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The deadline for meeting them is 2015. Besides reducing global hunger and extreme poverty by half, the MDGs include improving maternal and child health, slowing the spread of infectious disease, achieving universal primary education, and providing wider access to basic services such as potable water and sewage treatment. The MDGs apply to all countries, not just the least developed. As a country which has accepted the MDGs, the United States must be committed to achieving them at home (Bread). On the World Food Programme's website, research has been collected that has revealed the many causes of hunger and malnutrition. Factors such as poverty, lack of agriculture, a bad climate and changes in weather, the wasting of food, as well as war and displacement are all things that contribute to the issues of hunger and malnutrition. Those who live in poverty are not able to buy food or the right food for themselves or their families. A lack of agricultural infrastructure in developing countries like roads, storage houses for food and irrigation are detrimental because this causes high transport costs, a lack of storage facilities and unreliable water supplies. These factors limit agricultural yields and access to food. Natural disasters like floods, tropical storms and long periods of drought increase consequences for the hungry and poor in developing countries. Drought is one of the most common causes of food shortages in the world. These types of weather cause crop failure and ruin the only food that people have to eat. Increasingly, the world's fertile farmland is under threat from erosion, soil salinity and desertification. Deforestation by human hands accelerates the erosion of land which could be used for growing food (World). Food wastage is a big factor in the issues of hunger and malnutrition. One third of all food produced, which is 1.3 billion tons, is never consumed. This food wastage represents a missed opportunity to improve global food security in a world where one in 8 is hungry (World). Globally, conflict is a factor that can disrupt farming and food

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production. Fighting also forces millions of people to flee their homes, leading to hunger emergencies as the displaced find themselves without the means to feed themselves. The conflict in Syria is a recent example (World). These elements are essential in understanding what can be done against hunger; once people know why something happens, they can begin to act against it. On a global scale, the most severely affected continents by hunger are Africa and Asia. Over 30 million children and adults across countries in Africa such as Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, face a destructive hunger crisis. Issues such as poor rainfall, crop failures and skyrocketing food prices and insecurity from Niger in the West to Kenya in the East, have made it difficult to impossible for people to provide nutritious food for themselves or their children. Every single day that a child goes without eating the correct nutritious foods, they are put behind in their growth and development. Another big issue is that this can weaken their immunity and make them susceptible to detrimental diseases such as diarrhea, malaria and pneumonia. It is important that everyone attempts to stop hunger in Africa before it worsens, in order to help children survive and thrive (Fighting). Many in Asia are also facing severe hunger. In 2013, the Asian Human Rights Commission, or the AHRC, worked to ensure the right to food for all, through its Right to Food desk. The Right to Food desks efforts includes active engagement in varying degrees with six Asian countries throughout the year. The countries they engage in are India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Indonesia. The main idea that this food programme focuses on is to alter the dominant discourse in these countries; one that enforces that the right to food has been represented as a justiciable right, but that it may instead be considered an inalienable part of the right to life with dignity (Asia).

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In many countries, along with those in Asia, a significant number of the population is on the verge of poverty and food insecurity due to distorted development policies espoused by their governments. One example of this is the Philippines. Another instance is India, where there is omitting of communities. Said communities are socially and economically misused and discriminated against due to their caste or level on a social scale. Along with socio economic factors influencing the level of food security, the geographical landscape and little ability to obtain access to remote regions plays a principal role in regarding poverty and hunger in countries like Nepal. In these countries, plains regions are better off than the mountainous regions due to a greater accessibility. Social level and distinguishing class appears to be in affect even in these regions. Dominant groups and communities that are of higher class or social level are found to be much better-off compared to the susceptible and excluded ones (Asia).

Reliable Source Kirsten James (Frequent Local Volunteer at Park Place United Methodist Church) Interview

1. What influenced you to get involved in the fight against hunger? I wanted to help people. If I know that Im eating and others arent, I have to contribute. I would even use my own money to help others if I had to. I have a passion for seeing others taken care of. 2. How did you find out that hunger affects some Virginia citizens? I found out that so many were dealing with hunger when I first started volunteering at a soup kitchen. There were over one hundred people coming to get food.

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3. How do you attempt to get others involved in the fight against hunger? I try to get others involved through social media. I like to lead by example, so I volunteer with my friends and we post pictures of us volunteering online to influence others to help out. 4. About how many people do you serve when you volunteer at your food bank? I help out in serving at least one hundred people. They come to the food bank faithfully three times a week. We give out groceries, and they make the food while I assist in serving it. 5. How do you contribute to the global fight against hunger? I have worked with the World Outreach Church Organization and I sponsored a child. I also went to Kenya on a mission trip in 2009. There, we supplied many children and families with food and medicine. 6. Do you think that a youth movement against hunger could create both a local and global change? How could we start this movement and get others involved? Yes, I think that its important to draw awareness to issues such as this at a young age. Children that are involved with fighting against global issues at a young age are more likely to stay involved as they grow older. We have to let everyone know that food is blessing, not a privilege. Also, helping others out makes most people feel good.

This interview provided for a local viewpoint of how many in the Hampton Roads area are affected by hunger. Kirsten deals with people who face hunger and malnutrition frequently. She uses a hands-on method in order to understand hunger. Therefore, she was

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able to provide a reliable input. With this input, others could be influenced to get involved in both the local and global fights against hunger. On Feeding America's website, it shows one how they can get involved in the fight against hunger and malnutrition. Some ways that people can get involved are through volunteering, advocating or simply spreading word about the issues of hunger and malnutrition. One could volunteer at their local food bank by repackaging donated foods, transporting foods to charities, or clerical work at the National Office. Advocating opportunities are available such as telling Congress to protect Anti-hunger Programs, joining the hunger action center, or simply participating in Giving Tuesday (Get). The chances to help out in the fight against hunger and malnutrition are simple and easy; one can donate their time, money and/or effort. This website provides one with ways to contribute to the fight against hunger on both local and global scales. Hunger is completely preventable. There is more than enough food in the world to feed everyone that inhabits it. The big issues that cause hunger are poverty, distribution, unawareness and the wasting of food. But, even with these issues, if enough people get involved in the fight against hunger now, there could definitely be strong change or even ending of hunger over time. It is clearly easier to get kids involved in fight against hunger because they arent nearly as time occupied as teenagers and adults. Kids are more energetic and more likely to want to be involved in helping others. The importance of drawing awareness in children about hunger and other global issues is that they will most likely continue to contribute to their communities and world as they grow older. It is essential to push awareness about hunger in smaller communities first; a change has to begin somewhere.

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When people know about hunger, its affects and that the people around them deal with it, they will develop a want to fight against the issue. In conclusion, a youth movement against hunger could cause a paradigm both locally and globally. But first, one would have to consider the limitations, such as travel, money, etc. and also consider all of the things that cause hunger. After viewing the oppositions, with the help of those dedicated to a fight for change, could fight against hunger in their communities. Through volunteering, donating money and time and influencing others, youth could definitely work towards change in hunger locally. Going and speaking to kids at middle or elementary schools for example could possibly get media coverage. Through media coverage of such events, word could spread about the fight against hunger and how it exists in many communities. This could create a youth movement against hunger in the US, which over time could move to other countries. The possibilities are endless; it just takes one dedicated person to create such a big movement.

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Citations "ASIA: World's Economic Powerhouse Is Home to Hunger." ReliefWeb. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. Bread. Bread for the World: Have Faith. End Hunger., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. "Fighting Hunger in Africa." Save the Children Organization, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. "Get Involved." Feeding America. Feeding America Organization, n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013. "Hunger." Action Against Hunger. ACF International, n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013. "Impact of Hunger." Feeding America. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013. "Module 9: Existing Indices of Hunger and Undernutrition." Unite for Sight. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013. "World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide." Hunger. WFP, n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.