A new short film, Ending Child Hunger: School Lunches for Kids Around the World, is a call to action to end the hunger that afflicts 300 million children worldwide. The United States, building upon its tradition of fighting hunger, can lead the international community in making sure every child can receive a school lunch.
The film begins by showing school lunch programs in Austria and Germany following World War II. It was those meals that were crucial to the recovery of Europe since they gave children nourishment, education, and hope. According to the World Food Programme director Josette Sheeran, "The goodwill done during post-World War II from Japan to Germany, France, Scandinavia and beyond helped build goodwill and stability for a generation." Sheeran, speaking at the International Food Aid Conference, added that a simple cup of food for children "has the power to transform lives" and that "throughout many decades, for children this becomes their most precious possession."
Today, millions of children in countries like Afghanistan, Kenya, Haiti, and Sudan are in need of food that will change their lives and build the backbone of peace and progress for their country.
The McGovern-Dole Food for Education program is highlighted as crucial to this effort.
McGovern-Dole is a U.S. government program that funds school lunch programs in impoverished countries. School lunch programs offer a calm in the storm of soaring food prices in developing nations. Having children ensured a meal at school is a valuable safety net for poor families.
But the rising global food prices are threatening the ability of the United Nations World Food Programme and other charities to continue to provide these meals to children. Further efforts to expand existing programs to reach more needy children are also seriously jeopardized by the global food crisis.
Article comments
1 - Solomon T
It is so sad that this program is being cancelled by politicians who figure poor kids in third world countries don't vote so why bother. I heard Obama proclaiming that we need to be a leader in providing educational opportunities and poverty aid around the world. But when it comes down to it, he didn't lift a finger to try to save this program. In the Farm Bill, Agribusiness wins the billions in subsidies and this program gets cut. Politics as usual.