Do Latinos suffer from issue fatigue? A recent survey by the Pew Hispanic Center revealed what we care about most is education, jobs, and health care. But what about hunger?
According to current figures from the USDA, 23.3% of Hispanic households in this country face food insecurity. For nearly one in four of us, this means wondering when we’ll eat next, and how we’ll feed our aging parents and young children. Nothing affects us more personally, more viscerally than hunger. It’s an issue that can’t be forgotten.
We worry that our young people are dropping out of school, but what if they haven’t had anything to eat that day? Among children, food insecurity leads to other health-related problems. For example, our children are at much greater risk of obesity and diabetes than their non-Hispanic counterparts.
According to the AARP Foundation, hunger is particularly acute among the Latino elderly, of which 18% are at the poverty level. And the people who need it most remain underrolled in SNAP, or food stamps, the federal government’s primary safety net.
No one in America should go hungry, though nearly 50 million of us do. But Latinos are twice as likely to go hungry as other Americans. It’s the most glaring health disparity facing us today.
That’s why LATINO Magazine launched NO MAS HAMBRE, an intiative that seeks to raise awareness of hunger in the Latino community. Because we believe that if we can spread the word about this crisis, then Latinos will want to get involved. That’s the goal of our third annual NO MAS HAMBRE Summit taking place on Thursday, June 19 at the Capital Hilton, 1001 6th St. NW in Washington, DC.
So pleasejoin us! At the NO MAS HAMBRE Summit, you’ll hear distinguished speakers and participate in roundtable discussions with community leaders , anti-hunger advocates, and government officials. Registration begins at 8 AM and the conference will take place from 9 AM-12 noon. Attendance is free so please reserve your place online at http://www.latinomagazine.com/registration.htm.
Por favor, help us spread the word about NO MAS HAMBRE. Because hunger in the Latino community is something that we can’t ignore.
Alfredo Estrada is the editor of LATINO Magazine. For more information about NO MAS HAMBRE, please contact him at ajestrada@latinomagazine.com.
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