28 Years Later & We’re Still Walking

On May 1st, Lighthouse held its 28th annual Hunger Walk.  Like so many other charities, our walk is intended to help us raise dollars and awareness of the important work we do to solve the problem of hunger in our community.  Charitable walkathons have their roots in the protest marches of an earlier age.  In essence we walk because we want to change the world by demonstrating our common concern with just a little bit of energy and shoe leather.   After all these years I have to ask — how are we doing?

Unlike some of the civil rights marchers of the 1960′s, this year’s Hunger Walkers did not face angry opposition, fire hoses or attack dogs.  Though we did have to dodge a few raindrops, few people would oppose our efforts to overcome hunger, homelessness and poverty.  The “enemy” we are fighting is much more difficult to identify and overcome.  Why in one of the wealthiest counties in the United States are there families that continue to struggle to provide enough food for their children?

The root causes of hunger are many.  An underfunded and inefficient public welfare system certainly plays a role.  Another factor is the weakened local economy that offers very few jobs for those without 21st Century skills.  Our staff and volunteers have expressed concern that the food that’s available in inner city markets is too expensive and of poor quality.  Some of the families who come to us for help are struggling with problems that are the result of their own poor choices.  Perhaps the largest single obstacle is a sense of complacency that allows us to view the problem of hunger as unsolvable.  Even those who work on the problem every day are slow to abandon the programs and strategies that only treat symptoms rather than root causes.

Despite our best efforts, the problem of hunger is growing.   Why aren’t we angry and more committed to finding a real solution?  What will it take so a walk on a spring day is simply a fine way to spend time with friends rather than a former of social protest?