Intergenerational Summer Reading: Two Books on Hunger

Art Simon and Phyllis Vos Wezeman have the same message for different audiences in books that were published recently. As a society, we have the ability and resources to end hunger, particularly if we address structural inequalities.

Vos Wezeman, a religious educator, tailors her message to children (5-10 years) in her book Petra's Pier Picnic (Acta Publications, 2018) The book is illustrated by Oscar Hoyo, a native of Malawi, who lives in Chicago.

Simon, who released Silence Can Kill: Speaking Up to End Hunger and Make Our Economy Work for Everyone (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2019) at Bread for the World's Advocacy Summit in June, makes the case that we can end hunger and poverty as a society if we take intentional steps to address economic inequities.

I am fortunate to have autographed books from both authors. I've known Art Simon since the early 1980s, and getting his signature on my book at the Bread Advocacy Summit is very meaningful.  Vos Wezeman was in Albuquerque on the weekend I was in Washington for the Bread events, so I didn't get to see her.  However, a very thoughtful friend purchased a copy of Petra's Pier Picnic and had her sign it for me. 

Here are excerpts from the two books.

Petra's Pier Picnic

"Catch anything?" Petra asked the people on the pier, offering each of them a jelly worm.  

Have you been throwing your fish back too?" Petra asked the couple on the pier. 

"No, this is the only one we caught," answered the man.

"Your'e gonna need more than that if you want enough for supper," Petra replied.

The woman looked at Petra. "We were hoping to catch enough fish to feed us for a week."
"Wow! You must really like fish," said Petra

"Well, they're better than going hungry!" responded the woman. 

Silence Can Kill

Siging a book for Kimball Forrester

Simon, founder of Bread for the World, has written half-a-dozen books dealing directly with hunger and poverty, including Bread for the World,  The Rising of Bread for the World: An Outcry of Citizens Against Hunger. Grace at the Table: Ending Hunger in God’s World (co-authored with David Beckmann). Faces of Poverty and Harvesting Peace: The Arms Race and Human Need.

In May of this year, Reps. Cheri Bustos and Mike Bost of Illinois introduced a resolution in Congress honoring the accomplishments of Art Simon. “Under Art Simon’s leadership, Bread for the World helped establish programs that have improved nutrition and reduced mortality for children in the U.S. and worldwide. He taught hundreds of thousands of people of faith that citizen advocacy is an important aspect of discipleship; as the title of his new book explains," said the resolution.

Here is an excerpt from Simon's book:

When we appeal to our nation's leaders for an end to hunger, we are implicitly asking for a stronger and just economy that serves the good of all...

As long as 40 million Americans live in food-insecure households, while an overlapping 40 million live in poverty and additional millions a notch or two above them struggle to stay in place, the need of a more vigorous, inclusive economy is apparent. 


A Plan of Action
The great thing about the two books is that Simon and Vos Wezeman offer a plan of action.

In her book, Vos Wezeman offers these suggestions to children

Discuss

• causes of hunger including conflict and war, distribution, economics, farming methods, land use, natural disasters, political conditions, poverty, waste, weather conditions, and more
• differences between myths and realities of hunger
• distinguishing true information from false statements

Discover

• local programs that address hunger such as soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and food pantries.
• community gardens, gleaning sites, and co-op food programs

Do 

• food drives for hunger causes such as disaster relief, backpack programs, and neighborhood assistance. 
• awareness campaigns about the results of hunger like malnutrition, school dropout, and health risks. 

Here is what Simon proposes in his book,
US public opinion is split about whether hunger and poverty are more attributable to structural inequalities or dysfunctional behavior. But rather than argue about how the fire started, let's agree to put it out. We could tackle both structural inequalities and behavior rather than addressing only one or the other. Doing so would bring liberals and conservatives together for an effective plan of action.