Hear the Crunch!

I am grateful for the opportunity to experience aspects of dining and culinary arts. I am also very aware that not everyone has the opportunity. Today I want to talk about hunger.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) (U.N. 1948), Article 25, states, “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food..."

I live in Maryland. Maryland is one of the wealthiest states in the United States and yet one in eight Marylanders struggle to put food on the table each day. I am concerned about all who don't have access to the food they need, but especially children. A hungry school aged child is less likely to be able concentrate on tasks and is more likely to be tardy or absent from school.


Michael J. Wilson, MDHS Executive Director

Today,  Maryland Hunger Solutions (MDHS)  hosts "Hear the Crunch", an educational and fun event informing the public about the impact of hunger on school aged chilren. I asked MDHS Executive Director, Michael J. Wilson, to tell me a little more about  "Hear the Crunch".

"Maryland may be the wealthiest state in the nation, but hunger runs deep. It affects old and young alike, but it can be solved by connecting all who are eligible to the federal nutrition programs. If we start with breakfast,we know that about 56% of student who qualify for free and reduced lunch are actually getting breakfast in school. How do we get that to 100% where it should be? What if we create something to celebrate breakfast, to focus on the importance of breakfast? Not just breakfast, but on the health and the nutrition and importance of breakfast?

We are not the first state to do an apple crunch; D.C. has done it, New York City did what it called "The Big Apple Crunch", and there was even  a school in Prince George's County that did it once. But our goal was to have kids crunching an apple from the Allegheny Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, from the D.C.suburbs to Baltimore. People have really rallied to it; apples will be served on the menu in hundreds if schools. Not only that, but apples will be served in Head Start centers in Howard County and senior centers throughout Baltimore. Offices in Montgomery County, food banks, and dozens of organization have pledged to take photos biting an apple, in solidarity with their neighbors from across the state.

 

Focusing on health and nutrition should start with breakfast and in Maryland, #HearTheCrunch is the beginning part of the continuing conversation of the addressing hunger in our state."

The event concludes with  thousands of Marylanders state wide taking a bite into a crunchy apple to help fight childhood hunger. I will take a bite into an apple later this morning and I have opted to participate in the "Hear the Crunch!" Paper Apple activity.

Why do I care you ask? I care because I have been unemployed, looking for work and have gone to bed hungry. I have tried to purchase a week's worth of  groceries with less than $5. Access to food is a human right.

If you live in Maryland I hope you will consider participating in the "Hear the Crunch" event and. If  you live outside of Maryland, consider taking a bite of your favorite variety of apple anyway.

No child should be hungry.
#HearTheCrunch!