Inspiration to help us to end world hunger

On Thanksgiving Day in 1945, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower testified before Congress on why fighting hunger is critical. Europe was suffering with post-war food shortages. Eisenhower told Congress that funding for the UN Relief and Rehabilitation Administration had to be increased.

Eisenhower said, “There are few places in Europe today where people are not cold, hungry and apprehensive of the future .... the ravished nations of the world are looking to UNRRA for their relief.” Congress approved the budget increase.

The American public got involved too with fundraisers for charities fighting hunger in Europe including Save the Children, CARE and Catholic Relief Services.

This generosity was essential for saving and rebuilding Europe and Asia after the war. There would have been mass starvation without American food aid.

Food saves lives and is vital to building peace. Like Eisenhower, we should also make a powerful statement for feeding the hungry.

Today, there are 821 million people suffering in hunger around the globe. They are war victims in Yemen, Syria, the Sahel of Africa, South Sudan and other impoverished nations.

Afghanistan, a country where peace remains elusive, hunger is escalating because of conflict and drought. There will be no peace if Afghanistan is without food.

In Yemen, a civil war between a Saudi led coalition and the Houthi rebels has placed that country on the brink of famine. More than 2/3 of Yemen’s population lives in hunger. Some Yemeni children are starving to death.

The Rhode Island nonprofit organization Edesia has sent life-saving food for 200,000 children in Yemen. It is an enriched peanut paste called Plumpy’sup which the UN World Food Program distributes. Navyn Salem, owner of Edesia, wants many people to get involved in ending the hunger crisis in Yemen.

Salem pleads, “My team at Edesia works 24 hours a day to supply our humanitarian partners with the food that is necessary to give life. Now, tell me, who else is willing to bear this responsibility? Don’t close your eyes, don’t look away, take action, and help us make this suffering end.”

Yemen needs an immediate ceasefire to allow humanitarian agencies to bring food to all war victims. Much more funding is needed for relief agencies so they can provide this aid. Yemen is a massive humanitarian operation.

The Congress must increase the budget for our Food for Peace program, which was started by Eisenhower.

Food for Peace recently donated to the WFP in Central African Republic so they can provide school meals to children. This fights hunger and keeps children in class learning. But so much more aid is needed in the Central African Republic, one of the lesser known hunger emergencies.

The American public, like Eisenhower, should “testify” in support of increasing Food for Peace funding everywhere its needed. The McGovernDole global school lunch program also needs expanding. Let your representatives know that food matters.

We have to meet the challenge of hunger today so countries can have food security and peace tomorrow.

We should strive to end hunger everywhere, whether at home or abroad.