Hunger is not simply caused by not having enough food to eat. We must look beyond lack of access to food and address the root causes and dire consequences of hunger.
What does it take to nourish a child? It takes adequate education to help you find a job that pays a living wage. It takes access to grocery stores that have healthy, affordable food. It takes affordable and safe housing and a kitchen that works with utilities turned on. It takes a safe neighborhood, supportive neighbors and good physical and mental health. It takes self-esteem. And it takes a seamless and unbreakable support system should any of these other things start falling apart.
Many families have to make trade-offs. Food is often the only flexible portion of the family budget – most families have fixed basic costs such as housing, energy, and child care. Families may be forced to trade off between paying for rent or paying for childcare, paying for transportation or paying for advancing education, paying for heat or paying for food.
People want a single answer to ending child hunger. The Witnesses give you the answer—ensure that all children and their families have the supports that they need so that their children can grow, learn and develop to their full potential.
Families need more control over their environment, more control over their education, more control at work. In order to gain this mastery they must first be seen, heard and understood as equal partners in ending poverty and hunger.