PLANO, Texas (ABP) -- Millions of the nation’s most vulnerable lie in bed each night struggling to win a seemingly hopeless battle -- the rumbling sound of their empty stomachs drowning out any word of hope.

But Christians nationwide involved in ministries to the poor insist hunger can be abolished in the United States.

Roughly 36 million Americans are what experts call "food insecure" -- unsure about where they might get their next meal. They are neighbors, friends and family, but many hide their need, causing many people to be unaware of their struggles.

Who are they? And why are they hungry? There is no single answer.

“Hunger has no face and no personality,” said Cheryl Jackson, founder of The Giving Movement, a non-profit organization headquartered near Dallas. “It has no respect for one type of person. It is the working poor and the people devastated by an unexpected loss.”

Food insecurity is defined as the uncertainty of being able to acquire enough food for a healthy lifestyle. While many people believe the hungry are mainly the habitually unemployed, Texas Hunger Initiative Director Jeremy Everett said that rarely is the case.

“The overwhelming majority of SNAP [food stamps]-eligible families are employed. They just need supplemental help to keep food on the table for their families,” he said. “I’ve heard of people pulling up in [Cadillac] Escalades to food pantries because the month before, they were the executive of a company. With our economic situation, a lot of families’ most basic needs are not being met.”

Hunger is linked to many circumstances. Among the greatest is poverty. Susan Edwards, director of the Baptist Crisis Center in Midland, Texas, said some families would rather keep utilities running than buy groceries.

“When all else fails, you have to get to work, put gas in the car, pay your bills and insurance and wear appropriate clothes to work. So, food becomes an expendable item,” she said.

This leaves many parents unable to provide for their young, leaving children to search for their own source of sustenance.

To provide food access, the federal government established the National School Lunch program in 1946. According to a fact sheet on the program's website, it provided low-cost or free meals to more than 30 million children nationwide in 2008. But it ends each year when school dismisses for summer.

“Where kids go hungry is when they don’t have access to food, like when they go home at night, on the weekends or during the summers,” said Jeremy Everett, director of the Texas Hunger Initiative, a partnership effort of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission and the Baylor University School of Social Work.

Texas developed its own extension of the federal feeding program. Called Seamless Summer Option, it helps schools continue to provide meals for low-income children throughout summer months.

The Texas Department of Agriculture also developed the Summer Food Service Program, which partners with non-profit organizations to provide summer feeding locations across the state. Texas has set up 3,200 feeding sites where any child 18 years of age and younger is eligible for free meals.

But Everett said there still are many barriers to kids in his state getting proper nutrition.

“We have 3 million kids who are on free- and reduced-lunch programs during the academic year, but only 78,000 children participate in summer-feeding programs,” Everett said. “So, where do the others eat during summer months? Our biggest obstacle is connecting these dots.”

If food insecurity -- particularly among children -- is ignored, it will create turmoil for the future, experts agreed. Hunger causes long- and short-term problems, including impeding learning and contributing to problems with intellectual development. From health and physical concerns to emotional issues, malnutrition causes stress to the mind and body.

“If every church in Texas would look, they would realize that in their city there is an area where there are children who are not eating because they don’t have food,” said Don Lane, pastor of Citychurch in Amarillo, Texas. “They don’t need to travel far to be involved.”

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Crystal Donahue is a communications intern for the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

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