DISTRICT2010Therearefartoomanyproblemsinthisworld,theUnitedStatesandevenTexasforwhichwehavenosolution.Theproblemofhungerhowever,doeshaveasolution…eat.Itisoneofthefewproblemsthatwecanidentify,andalsoknowhowtofix.Therearesomeproblemsassociatedwithhungerthatwealsoknowhowtosolvebuthaveagreatdealofdifficultyorganizingandimplementingthesolutions.Iseethe“WeCanEndThis”challengeasamulti‐levelchallengethatnotonlyseekssourcesoffoodprovisionandcollectionbutalsooneofcommunication,coordination,participation,distribution,generosity,andunderstanding.Ihavenofancygraphics,orhighlyadvancedtechnologicalconceptstoofferwithmyresponsetothechallenge,butIdooffersomebasicnotionsthatmayhelptobringabouthungerfreecommunitiesinTexas.Therearenumerousprograms,projects,organizationsandcooperativevolunteereffortsinplacethroughouttheUSdesignedtoalleviatethepainofhunger,andmanyoftheresponsestothechallengereflectmostoftheeffortsalreadysuccessfullyoperating.Texasalonehassome3600plusagenciesaddressingtheissue.Manysuggestmethodsforpeopletogrowtheirownfoodonrooftops,intheiryardsorincommunitygardensandsupplyingseedsandinstructionsforthispurpose.Otherssuggestameanstobettercommunicatefooddistributionlocations,promotionalideasandcoordinationbetweencooperatingorganizationssuchasfoodbanksandfoodproducers.Fromadoptingfamiliesinlowincomeareasandestablishingsupportrelationshipstotrainingstudentstocookmealsandaddtothestockofavailablefoodviaamealsonwheelsforeveryoneinneedprogram.Therearealotofsuggestions.Goodideas,justlikegleaningfieldsforfreshproduceorcollectingleftoversfromrestaurants,thesesuggestionsaddtothefoodstockandhelpmakemoreavailabletopeopleinneed,butdotheyaddressthethreecomponentsoftheTexaschallenge?Newideasforendinghungerarehardtocomeby,butnewideasforproducingfoodsourcesseemfairlyabundant.Supposeforexample,everyfarmfamilyandeverygardenerinTexaswereaskedtoplantarowforhungrypeopleintheirhomegardens,contactacentralregistry,delivertheproducetoaspecificlocationorarrangepickupfor

distributionbyfoodbanks.Forthatmatter,whynotaskallfarmersforhalfanacreoranacrebeplantedforthispurpose?Howabout“RabbitatforHumanity”withpairsofrabbitsprovidedtofamiliestoraiseandmultiply?Rabbitscanbesoldtobuyfoodoreaten.Soundskindofcuteandcrudeatthesametime,butitisamethodoffoodproductionthatmostanyonecandoalmostanywhere.SimilartoHeiferInternational,pairsofanimalscouldbesenttofamiliestoraiseandutilizedependingontheirlocationalongwithfeedfortheanimals.Citypeoplecouldpotentiallyraiserabbitsbutcowsandchickenswouldbeabitimpractical,exceptforruralfamilies.Abitonthethirdworldsidebutthenhungeris,inthemindsofmanyAmericans,athirdworldproblem.Likefarmersandgardenersplantingaroworanacretohelpendhunger,rancherscouldbeaskedtoraiseacoworhogforthesamereason.TherearelotsofranchesinTexas,andthatcouldmeanalotofproteinforhungrypeople.Mypointisthattherearemanypotentialwaystoaddtothestockoffoodavailableforpeopleinneed,andIhavenotevenmentionedcollaborativeeffortswithfoodgiantslikeTysonandgrocerystorechains,orbuyingfarmsandranchesoutrightforthesoleproductionoffoodforpeopleforcedtochoosebetweenpayingforfoodortheirrentormedicalcare.Therearealsoanumberoforganizationswiththeresourcestogather,storeanddistributefoodsuchasthefoodbanks,foodshelves,andothercommunitygroups.Butnoneofthisisnew,nordoesitanswertheproblemposedinthechallenge.THECHALLEGE:Createhunger‐freecommunities,Humanizehungerusingdata,Acceleratelocalactionandadvocacy.Ultimatelythethreechallengesareone.Eachoneleadstotheother.Ifyouareabletoutilizethedatatohumanizethehungerissue,whichinessenceisadvocacy,itshouldleadtoanaccelerationoflocalactionresultinginhungerfreecommunitiesinTexasandeventuallyahungerfreeAmerica.Forpurposesofthischallenge,letsdivideTexasintocommunities,somewithdenserpopulationslivingincitiesandsmallerpopulationsinruralareas.SinceTexashasatleast19foodbanks,eachwithitsowncoveragearea,letsuseeachfoodbankareaordistrictasacommunitywewishtomakehungerfree.Assumethattherearenohungerfreedistricts/communitiesinTexas.BasedontheTexasFood

BankNetworkreportof2006,some2,064,300peopleneededassistance,or418,700perweekreceivedassistance.Numberslikethesearenotpreciseandmaynotincludethousandsmorewhoneedhelp,butdonotseekitoutorwillnotacceptit.FouryearslaterandamajorrecessionmeansthatthenumberofpeopleinTexaswhoarefoodinsecurewithorwithouthungercouldbe3,000,000ormore.Althoughthisisahypotheticalnumber,letsuseitandsaythattomakeTexashungerfree,3,000,000willneedtoreceivesomeformofassistanceprovidedbysome4,000agenciesandfaithbasedgroupsinthe19districts.Thatisalotoffoodandalotofpreparation,distributionandstorage.ItisalsoalargenumberofpeoplewhowillfacethestigmaofbeingpoorinAmerica.Whatitallreallypointstoisthatperhapstheproblemisnotjustfindinganddistributingfood,butrecognizingthathungerisdirectlyrelatedtotheeconomicsituationofmillionsofAmericans,andthemisperceptionofamajorityofAmericansthatNOonecouldpossiblybehungryinthiscountry.AndtheevenlargermisconceptionthatthoseseekingassistancearemerelytakingadvantageoftheopportunitytoreceiveFreefoodandarelazyripoffartists.Thesemisconceptionsresultinthestigmatizationofthepeoplewhoareinneed,andtheveryideaofreceivingassistance.Peoplewhoareinneedbutwillnotpursueassistancearecaughtupinthestigmatizationandchoosehungeroverthepossibleembarrassmentofbeingseeingasabeggarorripoffartist.Noonewantstheirfriends,neighborsorevenfamilytoseethemassomesortofwelfarekingorqueen.Thusthe%ofpeopleinneedacceptingassistancemayneverreach100%,unlesssomethingchanges.MyPitch.PeterSingerproposesthatthewaytoendpovertyistosimplycausepeopletorealizethattheyspendtheirmoneyonthingstheydonotneed.Hebelievesthatifeveryoneweretoonlyspendtheirmoneyonwhattheyneed,andgivetheremaindertovariousagenciesdesignedtoaddresspoverty,therewouldbenomorepovertyintheUSorintheworld.Heisprobablycorrectbutthechanceofsuchathingoccurringisslimandnone.Money,orlackofit,isthemainreasonpeoplegohungry,butgettingpeopletosharetheirHardearnedwealthwillnothappenuntilthereisachangeinperception,achangeintheveryattitude

societyhasadoptedwithrespecttobeingpoor.Althoughsomeoftheproblemofhungertodaywillbeeliminatedasjobsbecomemorereadilyavailable,andunemploymentratesdrop,therewillstillremainmillionsofpeopleindiresituationsneedinghelp.Sochangetheattitudeandbeginananti‐stigmacampaignonastatewidebasisthatutilizeseverycommunicationmechanismavailablefromTVandradiotoFacebookandU‐Tube.Weareaninformationhungrysocietyandthemeanstocommunicateideasisgreaterthanithaseverbeen.Takeadvantageofitandusethefactsasweknowthem.MostpeoplewouldnotevenconsideritpossiblethatoneinsixfamiliesintheUSarefoodinsecureandhungry.Theyknowthatthereisalargeunemploymentrate,andthatarecessionistakingplace,andtheeconomyisintrouble.Buttheydonotknowtherealimplicationsofthesefacts,theyhavenofacetoputwiththem,novoiceexplainingtheproblem.CertainlytherearePSAaddressingtheproblemandmostagenciesandorganizationsareonthenet,butisthereanalloutcampaign,aWaronPoverty,HungerandStigma?Thatisthefirststep.Declarealloutwar.Itistruethatthewaronpovertydidnotsucceed,thereisstillpovertyandthewarondrugshasnochance,butusingthenewcommunicationtechnologiesmaymakethedifference.Establishcentralcommandtocoordinatethecampaignandalsocoordinateallfoodcollectionanddistribution.TheFoodBanksarealreadydoingthistoapointandhavecommunicationlinkstoeachother.UsetheTexasFoodBankNetworkasthecentralcommunicationcenterandcoordinator.Whenonefoodbankisshortoncertainitems,andanotherhasanexcessofthatitem,theNetworkcanshiftsuppliesasneededbecauseitwillknowwherethefoodisandwhattheneedsare.Advocateatalllevels,locallyandstatewide,andconvincelegislators,businessorganizations,educationalinstitutionsandnationalrepresentativesthattheycannotsitback,andmustspeakoutandbeavoiceforendinghunger,andnotjustonTexasAnti‐HungerDay,buteverydaytillthejobisdone.Theadvocacymustbecomplete,andincludeattackingthestigmaassociatedwithbeinghungry,wherefoodisavailable,appealsformore,andexactlyhowpeoplecanhelp.Itshouldbeholistic,withtheneedforjobsandhelpingtofindemploymentthatwillhelptomakeahungerfreestatesustainable.

Recruitfamousvoicestocommunicatetheneeds,thefacts,andtheactionpeoplecantake.UseNFLandNBAstars,TVpersonalities,moviestarsandrecordingartistfromTexas,collegestudentsandathletes,formerandcurrentpoliticiansasvoicesandfacesassociatedwithanti‐stigmaandachievingahungerfreestate.MakeitawarforTexans,andbyTexans.IsOprahfromTexas?Inparticular,recruitpeoplewhoareutilizingtheservicestospeakforthemselves,inapositivefashionregardingtheirsituationandagainstthestigma.Thevoicesofthesepeoplearethemostsignificantandwillnotonlyempowerthembutalsothosewhohearandseethem.Thisiswaytodispelthemyths,andthestigma.Eachdistrictwillneedtocoordinateitsdistribution,collection,preparationandstorageandcontinuewithallcollaborativeeffortsandpursueallavenuestoincreasefoodavailability.Datafromeachdistrictwillalsoneedtobecollectedandcentralizedtoaccessprogress.Thenumbersshouldbeabitodd,becauseiftheanti‐stigmacomponentisworking,numbersofpeopleutilizingfoodbanksetcshouldincrease,atleasttemporarily.Thiswouldbeagoodsign.Whenthemajorityofpeopleinneedarereceivingassistance,hungerfreedistrictsshouldemerge,eventhoughthefoodisbeingsuppliedandpeoplearestillinneed.Atthispointtheemphasisontheholisticapproachofjobtraining,findingemployment,assistingwithdaycareandmyriadofproblemsfacedbypeopleinpovertywillneedtobeaddressedthroughthecollaborationwithagenciesandorganizationsandbusinessesalreadyworkingtogetheronfoodprovisionandanti‐stigma.Itisandwillremainanongoingprojectthatmayneverend,buteventuallythenumbersofpeoplewhoarehungryinTexasshouldbedramaticallyreduced.Voila!Localactionandadvocacyisaccelerated,theproblemofhungerishumanizedwithpeopleanddata,andhungerfreecommunitiesareareality,atleastintheory.