Are you hungry? For most of us, the question is what new restaurant we’ll try… Cambodian or Cajun.
But the grim truth is that nearly one third of Latinos go hungry. For them, hunger means wondering when they’ll eat next, and how they’ll feed aging parents and young children. It’s the most critical issue confronting the Latino community today. Nothing affects us more personally, more viscerally than hunger. Never mind the drop-out rate. Never mind immigration reform. None of it makes any difference if we starve. And Latinos are twice as likely to starve as other Americans.
No one in America should go hungry. Even in the depths of the current recession, we are the wealthiest country there ever was, and we can afford to feed the entire world. There are well-funded programs such as SNAP (food stamps), a vast network of Food Banks and Soup Kitchens providing hot meals for the needy, plenty of donations from corporate America, and armies of well-intentioned volunteers. Yet many Latinos go hungry simply because they don’t know where to get help, or how to apply for government assistance.
And what of us, those who worry about eating too much? We’re bilingual, college educated, a comfortable generation or two removed from crossing the border. Why don’t we help our less fortunate hermanos y hermanas? Well, we should, but keep your voice down…hunger is a shameful secret like the dark-skinned grandmother we hide when company comes.
That’s why we at LATINO Magazine together with partners like the AARP Foundation launched NO MAS HAMBRE, an initiative that seeks to raise awareness of hunger in the Latino community. Because we believe that if we can bring hunger out of the closet, then Latinos will want to get involved. That’s the goal of our second annual NO MAS HAMBRE Summit taking place on Friday, December 7 at the Capital Hilton, 1001 6th St. NW in Washington, DC. We’re enlisting community leaders, hunger relief advocates, government officials and ordinary people to help us engage the Latino community.
Por favor, join us! At the NO MAS HAMBRE Summit, you’ll hear provocative speakers and participate in roundtable discussions with anti-hunger experts. The conference begins at 9 AM and a complimentary lunch will be served at 12-1 PM. It will conclude promptly at 2:30 PM. Attendance is free and you can register online at http://www.latinomagazine.com/registration.htm.
Help us spread the word about NO MAS HAMBRE. Because hunger shouldn’t be a secret.
Alfredo Estrada is the editor of LATINO Magazine, which focuses on issues, politics and culture and is available online at Latinomagazine.com. His latest book is Havana: Autobiography of a City (Palgrave, 2009). For more information about NO MAS HAMBRE, please contact him at ajestrada@latinomagazine.com.
Recent Comments