In my naive worldview as a child, I had the hardest time understanding why so many people were homeless and hungry. I remember telling my parents that if every household put an extra blanket and an extra bag of groceries on their doorsteps, it would make a huge difference to the people who didn't have enough. In my mind, this was a simple solution.
As an adult, I now know that these issues of poverty, hunger, and food insecurity are deep and complicated. But I still have the audacity to believe that we can do something about it.
My husband, Zach, works for Bread for the World, a non-profit organization that works on hunger issues both nationally and abroad. A couple of months ago, I had the privilege of attending a work event with him, a pre-screening of the documentary on hunger, A Place at the Table. This movie was both straightforward and powerful about the massive problem of food insecurity in our country. I left with a full mind and a heavy heart, anxious to do something about this problem. Tears came to my eyes as I realized that I have never had to put my children to bed hungry, and there are countless moms, living right in our midst, who do.
What would you do if you were hungry? I urge you to consider this question. Children that are hungry are not able to concentrate in school. People who are hungry are getting sick and are becoming overweight because of the reality that cheap, processed food costs less and has more calories that can fill up their bellies. Many people do not even have access to a full grocery store. To try to bring this reality to a deeper understanding for us and our children, we took a challenge to go to the store and shop with $4 (the average amount per person that millions of Americans that participate in the nation's food stamp program have per day). We explained to the children what we were doing, and we went to Aldi to buy our dinner. Now, thankfully, we have an Aldi grocery store in our area, where we can buy food that is quite inexpensive. With our four dollars, we bought a box of whole grain spaghetti ($0.99), a jar of pasta sauce ($1.19), a bag of frozen broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots ($1.09), and a bunch of bananas ($.58). We came home, fixed our meal, and ate every bite. We were still able to buy vegetables and fruit, but we were limited, with our set budget, in what we could buy. Many times when our family has spaghetti, we make homemade sauce, sometimes with meat, and we always have the option to put fresh vegetables into our sauce or a salad. We also usually make garlic bread with our spaghetti meal. So even though it was still a fine meal, it wasn't the usual made-from-scratch-with-lots-of-vegetables meal that we are accustomed to having the privilege of cooking and eating. And most people who are food insecure would not even have such a nice meal.
In honor of Food Bloggers Against Hunger day, I would like to share with you a few of my favorite, inexpensive recipes for you and your family to try. (In the two recipes including chicken, please note that less chicken and more beans could be used to make it even more cost-effective.)
Blackened Chicken and Beans Skillet (click here)
Chunky Marinara Sauce to serve with pasta (click here)
Chicken Tortilla Soup (for full post on this recipe, look here.)
In a crockpot, combine the following ingredients...
4 chicken breast halves (they can even be frozen)1 can stewed tomatoes1 can (14 oz.) black beans (drained and rinsed)1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce1 can corn (drained and rinsed)1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies1 cup salsaCrushed red pepper
Stir up ingredients and cook 8 hours on low (or 4 hours on high).Before serving, take out the chicken breasts, cut or shred, and put back in the soup.Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, and corn chips (or tortilla chips)!
So...you may be asking, "What can I DO?"
First of all, please, please, please watch A Place at the Table. To watch the trailer, click here. I believe it is imperative for all of us to understand the magnitude of this problem in our very own country. To see this movie, check to see if it is playing in your city, or watch in on demand through iTunes or Amazon.
Second of all, click on this link to take just 30 seconds to send a letter to congress asking them to support anti-hunger legislation. For just a small click and less than a minute of your time, you can make a difference to help stop this problem in our country!
In my opinion, it doesn't matter if you are a Republican or a Democrat. What matters is that way too many people are hungry in the United States, and we have a responsibility to do something about it. In our current standing, the only way for hunger to be eliminated is for policies to change. We must make our voices heard.
Please help.
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8
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