For Unit 1 in the MDG course, I’ve completed a Local Profile about Target 1.3: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger. MDGs are eight goals that the United Nations created in 2000, and wanted to accomplish by the year of 2015. The purpose of this project was to statistically demonstrate the rates of hunger in Chicago of how it has changed over the years into our profile. I am proud of the information I received while conducting the interview, and my found research. I learned that there are billions of people who are dying of starvation, or are on the edge of it. After my research, I discovered that Chicago has done very little to accomplish goal 1.3.
KG
MDGs & You Action Project 1- Local Profile
September 23, 2012
This local profile explains what the community and other locations are doing to contribute to ending one Millennium Development Goal in Chicago. Target 1.3, is working towards ending hunger by the year of 2015. What I’ve demonstrated is proof of what is being done to end this goal in the city of Chicago.
The first graph shows the number of households with food insecurities between the years of 2006, 2008, and 2010. This graph is demonstrating how the # of households with food insecurities rapidly increased over 4 years. This information comes from the Food Research and Action Center website. This graph relates to my target because it shows the number of people who are hungry at home.
The second graph shows the number of students who get free or reduced lunch and the amount of students who pay full price in the years of 2006, 2008, and 2010. The number of students who are free or reduced is higher than the number of students who pay full price. This relates to my target because sometimes the students who have to pay the full price don’t have enough money each day to get lunch from school.
In Chicago, thousands of people are living in hunger and try to fight for food everyday. There are plenty of food pantries for the hungry, but not everyone can get there. In the 2010 Chicago Profile, it states that about 678,000 people each year depend on the Food Depository and 600 other food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters. About 37% of the people the Food Depository serves are under 18.
“More than 46 percent of clients served report having to choose between paying for utilities or heating fuel and food; 39 percent said they had to choose between paying for rent or a mortgage and food; 34 percent report having to choose between paying for medical bills and food; and 35 percent must choose between transportation and food,” the study reported.
In a recent conversation I had with MY, one of the staff’s children from Refugee 1, explained how she feels about world hunger. She says,“ When we don’t like what our mom cooked for dinner, we should remember that there are people dying of hunger.”
After getting statistics from articles and conducting and interview about Chicago of Target 1.3, it is clear that my target is not very close to ending by the year of 2015. Many people in Chicago and even worldwide are facing hunger each day. Having access to food and other resources for many people and families can be a struggle. I now know much more about the hunger rates and a lot of the struggles people are going through.