Almighty Dad | A stay at home dad blog

I feel sorry for all the little starving kids in Africa; I see them on TV and thank god I’m not them. Sometimes I even get the urge to give money to a charity for their benefit, but I don’t because it’s a waste (throwing money into some rich guy’s pocket isn’t my idea of helping the poor).  One way to help the poor and hungry while ensuring that your donation goes where it’s supposed to go is to keep your giving local.  It’s much more efficient to help your neighbor than it is to pay someone to help a kid on the other side of the world.  Besides, if your neighbor needs food, why would you ignore that in favor of a poor African kid anyway?  I don’t have anything against African kids, but there are plenty of needy kids right here already.

Food Security Statistics:

The US Department of Agriculture released their updated statistics on poverty and food insecurity in 2008.  Food insecurity or security is determined through survey responses to 18 questions asked by the USDA to a representative 53,000 US households.  Here are the questions (page 3).

Hunger Research Abstract: 

– 85 % of American households are classified as food secure (meaning they had access to enough food to live active, healthy lives).

 

– 14.6 % of Households fell into the food insecure category for at least a portion of 2008.

 

– 5.7% (6.7 million households) of food insecure households were classified with very low food security.

 

– 55% of all food insecure households participated in one or more of the three biggest Federal food assistance programs.

 

– Children are typically shielded by their parents (who go without food first) from the worst effects of food insecurity.  Nevertheless, 506,000 households’ children, as well as adults, experienced very low food security in 2008, up from 323,000 households in 2007 (the economy has worsened the statistics).

My Opinion:

Facts are hard to argue with.  But, they can also be misrepresented and twisted for political or financial gain.  For instance, while I care about adults, I care more about children.  Reading some charitable giving websites you would think the instances of childhood starvation here in the US were much greater than the actual USDA statistics indicate.  The Feeding America website is a good example of reporting factual statements but leaving out some salient points which would have painted a slightly different picture.  The definition of food secure and insecure is an interesting read (being food insecure does not necessarily mean one is starving).  This isn’t to say that feeding all hungry families isn’t important, but I wouldn’t have known the difference between food insecure and very food insecure had I not read the actual report; I would have believed that 49.1 million Americans are dying in the streets without food (which is very far from the truth).  I might also have believed that more kids starve than actually do.  However, regardless of exaggerations, there are still enough people right here in the US that need help that we shouldn’t send money overseas until our own house is in order.

Targeted Response:

The problem with giving money to any organization is that it’s inefficient.  You’ll never know how much of your money goes to where you want it to go and how much of it goes to Benny Hinn or some other charlatan.  The only way to be really sure is to go out and participate or give directly.  I’m not saying to give 5 bucks to a bum today (don’t do that unless you’re an idiot).  I’m saying to see a need and directly fill that need.  If kids are starving in Alabama, find a local organization to donate to, not a national or international non-profit.  It’s hard to give directly to Africa unless you know someone who lives there and who can help directly or unless you’re personally willing to climb on a transport plane with pallets of rice.  Smaller organizations have less room for fraud, and more of your money goes where it’s needed.  Local organizations also have personal relationships with the people they serve.  They know how to distribute your donation to make the biggest impact.  Throwing food off the back of a truck is ok in emergency situations but wouldn’t you rather be certain your donation wasn’t being used to run a black market or being funneled into the coffers of a dictator?  You can help needy people, reduce fraud and do a patriotic thing; it’s a good thing.  Africa has obvious needs, but so do some Americans who get ignored because it’s more fashionable to send money halfway around the world out of a twisted sense of social consciousness. 

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