<p>Have him get a job. It will help work wonders for his perspective. He can send his paycheck to someone who truly needs the money. </p>
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<p>Where in that does it say anything about the “hunger rates”? Maybe your should go back to easily googling and finding something else.</p>
<p>It says the same thing that I said. 20% have food insecurity in their household.</p>
<p>But, an even higher percentage get free or reduced food at school.</p>
<p>Oh, let them eat lunch? The cure for childhood hunger? Do your kids eat more than one meal a day?</p>
<p>Better an idealistic teen than an apathetic or cynical one. Time and experience will temper the idealism somewhat, but it’s refreshing in a time when so many other kids just seem to care about making as much money as possible. </p>
<p>Your son will see that an education is a means to position yourself to assist others, whether it is through physical, cultural, or spiritual means.</p>
<p>If he’s any good music can be a great way to raise money.</p>
<p>1 in 5 is a rate, fluffy. But since it all relies on the USDA data, it just can’t be true. (Rolleyes). I hope you never had and will never have to experience “food insecurity” in your life, because “food insecurity” IS hunger.</p>
<p>Apologies if this has already been said, but is it possible that this isn’t really about the millions in poverty, but actually a manifestation of a deeper, personal issue? It seems to strike me as a symptom of anxiety or depression - quitting things he used to love, not wanting to spend, etc… I was a lot like that at his age.</p>
<p>Not that Fluffy needs any help, but some of you are confusing terms. To clarify - The definition of food insecurity…</p>
<p>“Anxiety concerning availability of sufficient nutritional resources; a possible psychological contributor to obesity.”</p>
<p>In other words, it’s not hunger. Nearly 50-million Americans receive food stamps and recipients selling them for cash is a real problem.</p>
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<p>You are missing the point.
Here is the definition of food insecurity from the USDA: “one or two reported indications–typically of anxiety over food sufficiency or shortage of food in the house. Little or no indication of changes in diets or food intake.”
That is 1/5 households.
That is not "childhood hunger’.</p>
<p>Especially when an even greater number of kids get free/reduced lunch.
Or, if there is not enough food in the house that ONE day (that qualifies as being food insecure), but the kids go to grandma’s house to eat.</p>
<p>DS must have grown up at a much slower pace than OP’s child. He never thought about that question when he was that age. He is about 10 years older than OP’s child, and he only started to volunteer just a couple of years ago (exluding those somewhat not very sincere volunteer activities in high school or college to boost the resume only - he really hated that at that time…)</p>
<p>In this semester, he went to a hospital in a poor neighborhood to volunteer likely every Saturday. (I don’t know how he commutes there as he does not have a car and a zipcar is too expensive.) He said if he and his peers do not show up and volunteer there, many patients would wait much longer.</p>
<p>Oh, talking about the music: in college, he used his music skill to perform at a wealthy church and he and almost all other musicians donated the money they gave them to charity.</p>
<p>He actually took some private music lessons also in college by his own initiative (he could not resist it) - after he has been receiving music instructions essentially all his life. He does not now though. But his dorm room is still full of music gears (we kind of “spoiled” him in this area over the years - shipping these gears was a great pain.) and there is a Steinway on the first floor of his dorm building.</p>
<p>Wow, I never meant to start an argument about child hunger in America. </p>
<p>I mean, I would love to get people talking about it, but it was just an off-hand close to home cause I could think of. </p>
<p>I can absolutely relate to the OP. I became a vegetarian very early on (early teens) because the thought of eating animals sickened me. A decade later, I’m still going strong on it. In high school, I started two clubs: Animal Rights Club and Awareness & Activism. It wasn’t until I started down a path in global health that the other side to feel good volunteering and well meaning donations was made apparent. </p>
<p>OTOH, I was that student whose parents made 20k and couldn’t afford to GIVE anything monetary so I’ve learned creative, at-home things I could do to help people suffering right here in the US. I worked at an inner city school as a math and reading tutor. I’ve used my foreign language skills to help translate for refugee families. I’ve worked at an intimate partner violence center. There are so many things that can be done close to home, on a small scale, until he can make a bigger impact on a larger scale- which he can do provided he goes to college and gets the necessary skills and credentials to go about helping in a smart and legitimately helpful way. </p>
<p>I am not a musical person but I absolutely recognize how music can help children’s lives. Music programs are almost non-existent at poor (and even average) schools. They are desperate for people who can volunteer their free time to after school activities. </p>
<p>I agree that volunteering locally–maybe at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter or elsewhere allows one to make a difference with time and whatever skills one brings. Money isn’t needed to make a huge difference and later if he earns a lot, he will have more he can donate.</p>
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<p>Sure. If you are making up your own definition.
If you are use the definition that the USDA uses when they did the survey, you would see that you are wrong.
Which, besides the point @actingmt made, includes “worried food would run out”, “food bought did not last”.</p>
<p>Well, based on that last one, chalk me up to the 1/5 households with food insecurity. These kids eat way more than I thought.</p>
<p>Priesthood
Social worker
Peace corps
Teacher on a Native American reservation
Immigration activist
There are plenty of jobs that don’t pay while helping others. Just choose your others who you want to help.</p>
<p>By the way, my son is studying to be an artist so I’m not being facetious in my suggestions. I understand exactly. I think that we have a money obsessed society. We want to avoid any kind of deprivation whatsoever. I think many kids don’t see the joy in that pursuit. Of course, many kids haven’t experienced any deprivation whatsoever. It’s a catch 22 and the irony can not be missed.</p>
<p>Healthcare professional working with low income people and working in underserved areas would be a HUGE boon to whatever community is chosen–if there are translation language skills, all the better!</p>
<p>Public health and policy people may or may not make money while helping others as well.</p>
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<p>Unfortunately people start talking about solving the wrong problem: “food insecurity” by using the statement of 1/5 kids live in those households and people start equating that to perpetual hunger or even hunger. The media does a terrible, terrible job on this.</p>
<p>The problem is real hunger is not adequately addressed since we take limited resources and limited people time and now try to solve “food insecurity”.</p>
<p>Instead we should focus on real hunger and when we can declare victory that we solved that, we can decide what is the next food-related problem we should solve.</p>
<p>NYmom,
Is your son an anxious person? I have to agree that this sounds more like an anxiety/guilt/depression thing rather than a finding one’s passion kind of thing. I don’t mean to imply that your son is not a caring and empathetic person. I’m sure he is but perhaps there is a component of OCD or another anxiety based problem.</p>
<p>What those kids in Africa experiencing is not “hunger” - it is starvation, quite often to the point of death. It is a real issue and I agree that it needs attention. However, I should say that we are too ashamed to admit that there is a food-related problem in the US since we are the greatest country in the world, so we simply use an euphemism “food insecurity” to mask the issues of malnutrition and hunger that are - surprise! - very real in the US. Off my soapbox.</p>
<p>Agree with posters who said that it could be related to anxiety and possibly depression. Have you noticed any other changes, like a change in his sleep patterns?</p>
<p>irlandaise, EPTR, and BunsenBurner, I think that anxiety/depression is worth considering. I don’t think anything like this is going on, but I will watch things carefully and have him evaluated if it seems necessary. He is a calm and happy person who copes well with life. He’s very disciplined about schoolwork, practicing, exercises he does every day. He has been very concerned about animals for years, and has donated to several animal-related charities, and is a vegetarian, flirting with being a vegan. He is often happy and excited about music, the most recent time was yesterday. </p>