Indeed, hunger is a problem of epic and global proportions. Despite a worldwide harvest of wheat, corn, rice and other grains that meet the minimum nutritional requirements of every person on our planet, hunger plagues an estimated 841 million people. Nearly 30 million hungry people live right here in the United States, many of them children. The Indian subcontinent has nearly half the world's hungry people. Africa and the rest of Asia together have approximately 40 percent, and the remaining hungry people are found in Latin America and other parts of the world.
Poverty is the main cause of hunger.
Poor people often lack access to land to grow food or inadequate income to buy food. The wealthiest countries, which contain one quarter of the world's population, consume three-fourths of the resources produced worldwide. As alarming as those statistics are, perhaps it's even more unsettling to realize the extent of hunger in the United States. A 1995 study by Tufts University estimates that 20 million to 30 million Americans are too poor to meet their monthly expenses and buy enough food to live healthy, productive lives. Poverty is becoming more prevalent among young people.