By Saeyon Ramraj
Hunger has no boundaries. No matter where you live, whether you are young or old, its effects can be felt. Especially coming off this recent pandemic, hunger rates have increased due to lack of supplies. The United Nations and World Bank have estimated that the pandemic caused at least 88 million people to fall into extreme poverty. Its impacts have demoralized families. With how big of an issue this is, we need as many people as possible that can help. This means that young people have an important role in stopping this hunger crisis, and there is
nothing that should be holding them back.
Considering how prevalent hunger is around the globe, many youth have learned about the challenges that hunger has created. A typical reaction to these findings would be to want to do something to create positive change. However, once they begin thinking deeper into how to help, they start to discover many obstacles. Some of these obstacles include not knowing where to start, and not feeling like their work is enough. However, these problems can be resolved. When tackling a widespread problem like hunger, it is difficult to figure out where to begin. A good first step could be looking for organizations that are contributing to combating hunger. Stay alert for opportunities that open up, so you can get involved. If that does not work out, you can always plan your own initiatives to make a change. In your family, you can encourage others to not waste food, and donate perishable food items that would have been left to expire. In school, you can plan events that raise awareness about hunger and provide valuable information to others. Within your neighborhood, you can set up a food drop box where you collect food from families who can donate.
Another obstacle that may prevent a student from wanting to make a change is not feeling like they are doing enough. If you are making a positive impact, this is never true. Sometimes, you need to start out doing something small, and slowly increase your impact to become greater. This can be done by setting many checkpoints on your way to your end goal so you always feel like you are making progress. It also makes sure you don’t feel overwhelmed from trying to accomplish a very large task immediately. You can overcome this feeling by working on these projects with others. Motivate each other and be proud of what you are doing. There are endless things you can do as a student to create change. Something I did to reduce the effects of hunger was start a food drive within my neighborhood during the pandemic. I sent letters to everyone in my neighborhood asking if they could donate some food items, by leaving it in front of their door. This was done so I could safely receive everything. Soon after, I collected all the food and sent it to a local food bank. Even during these very unprecedented times, I was able to do something to help hunger, an area I am very passionate about.
An important thing to accept is that no matter what you do, you will face obstacles. Challenges are expected, so you should be ready to overcome adversity. Strategies like creative thinking and brainstorming are useful in these scenarios. If something is not working, you may need to completely reroute your thinking and step outside your comfort zone. If you are trying something new, don’t fear failure. Instead, think of these moments as opportunities to improve for the future.
I hope you now feel motivated to make a difference in this hunger crisis. When you find something that inspires you, don’t let anything get in your way of reaching your goals. Something that always motivates me is knowing that I can help others. There is no better feeling than knowing you put time and effort into something that is for the better of the world. To every young person reading this, understand that your role in stopping this hunger crisis is just as crucial as everyone else's. Every action matters, so make sure yours counts!
Bibliography
Yonzan, Nishant, et al. “Available Data and Estimates of the Impact of the COVID-19
Pandemic on Global Poverty.” United Nations, Jan. 2021,
Yonzan, Nishant, et al. “The Impact of Covid-19 on Global Poverty under Worsening
Growth and Inequality.” World Bank Blogs, 9 Nov. 2020,
About the Author
I am a high school student, and a volunteer at Rising Sun Food Drive. In my spare time, I enjoy playing basketball, and I have an interest in robotics. In addition to that, I love helping around my community. I believe it is important for young people to take part in supporting their community because we should want the best future possible. Personally, there is no better feeling than when I put my time towards something I am passionate about, and knowing I contributed towards the greater good in the world!
Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed in the blog posts are those of the writers, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Rising Sun Food Drive Foundation.
Comments