I Hold The Torch To: Civic Integrity
Rylee Stenberg, NLC Executive Vice President
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, in 2012 15.8 million children under the age of 18 live in food-insecure households in the United States. I, Rylee Stenberg, once lived in one of these households. I was raised by a single mother who, before earning her degree in accounting, struggled to put food on the table. Some may say, “Well, why didn’t your mother wait to have children until after earning her degree?” or “She made the choice to have you, so she should’ve had to deal with it.” The reality is that my mom gave every ounce of effort to provide for us and earn a degree, and sometimes barely having enough food was our everyday life. Heck, at one point, we didn’t even have a car and my mom had to attach a baby seat to the back of her bicycle.
My mom’s determination finally paid off and she persevered to make sure our growling stomachs were a faint memory of the past, but I cannot stop thinking about all the children who still live in the circumstances we were able to leave behind. This is why I hold my torch to the elimination of child hunger.
Think about it and ask yourself…
- With a purchasing power that boasts $17.5 trillion, the United States is ranked the richest economy in the world. How is it that so many children go without enough food every day?
- 52% of counties in the U.S. that have a high food-insecurity rate are rural and 24% are urban. What factors do you think contribute to these statistics and what are ways to alleviate the hunger in each type of county?
- If hired by the government to address the issue of hunger in the United States, what proposals would you have to eliminate child hunger.
Learn all about “I Hold the Torch,” the Integrity Week 2015 Initiative of the NLC! Hold the torch, meet the challenge, and get involved as student leaders on your campus, all across the #NSCSnation! http://bit.ly/1zwE11K