Hunger

With less than three weeks remaining before "The Hunger Games" movie is released, I thought it was time to join the 20-plus millions who have read books in Suzanne Collins' hit trilogy. (That and the contunued urging of my teen-age niece, K.T.) Collins' tale about the life-or-death competition among youngsters in post-apocalyptic North America was aimed at a young adult audience -- much like Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series -- but has swept far beyond that group.

The $7,000 in campaign funds given to Gov. Martin O'Malley by a tax evader and former political appointee was sent today to Farmers and Hunters Helping the Hungry, said Rick Abbruzzese, a spokesman for the governor. The tainted political donation was given by Richard Stewart, a Prince George's County businessman who pleaded guilty last month to failing to pay nearly $4 million in social security and payroll taxes for his employees. Stewart also was one of O'Malley's appointees to the Governor's Redistricting Advisory Committee and on the board of the Stadium Authority.    Maryland's Republican Party noted between 2003 and 2008, the period in which Stewart was not paying taxes, the businessman donated nearly $75,000 to Democratic elected officials and called on the funds to be returned.

For most Maryland residents, Thanksgiving means large quantities of turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and sauerkraut (it's a Baltimore thing). But it is also a fitting time to remember those who do not have enough to eat. For all this nation's abundance, hunger is a growing problem. It's not restricted to those living below the poverty line or to only to those residing in certain areas of the state. The economic collapse of 2008 has continued to hit many families hard and, as Maryland Food Bank CEO Deborah Flateman observes, some people "who had the means to write a check of support to food pantries last year are being served by those pantries this year.

When a load of bagged salad arrived at the Fishes & Loaves food pantry in West Baltimore recently, people scooped it up quickly. Salad is a treat for the more than 100 people who come to the pantry each month but usually face a limited choice of high-sodium canned goods, cereal, and jars of spaghetti sauce. The Rev. Andre Samuels, who runs the pantry, wants to offer more nutritious options but said they are expensive or hard to find at the distributors, nonprofit and government agencies where he gets food.

I am glad for the work of Danielle Nierenberg and Amanda Strickler and their Nourishing the Planet project ("Shortening the food chain," Aug. 23). However, there was no mention in their recent opinion piece of the fact that there is already 3,600 calories per person per day available in the U.S., twice what is needed. Good food does not satisfy, although it fills you up. I recommend two cups of water four times a day which amounts to zero calories. Then have one pound of true vegetables such as carrots, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce or celery.

Churchville resident Cyndi Olivacz, 37, had a perfectly normal pregnancy with her now 3-year-old son, David. She and her husband, Joe Olivacz, 38, and a chiropractor in Bel Air and Havre de Grace, weren't expecting anything unusual. But when David was born almost four years ago "he was very lethargic. He didn't cry. He was basically asleep when he was born," Olivacz, a physical therapist in Havre de Grace, remembers. Doctors tested David's blood and a week later was diagnosed with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS)

This week, I started a liquid fast. I'm fasting to get Congress to stop using deficit reduction as a tool for the indefensible slashing of budgets that provide basic support to the poor and the hungry, at home and abroad. I am fasting because hunger and poverty are, at bottom, women's issues. Women and girls make up a little over half of the world's population, but they account for over 60 percent of the world's hungry. The hunger fast I joined was launched this week by former Ohio Congressman and Ambassador Tony Hall, who fasted for 22 days in 1993 when he was chair of the Congressional Select Committee on Hunger to draw attention to the needs of the hungry in the U.S. and abroad.

An average of 17.7 percent of all Americans were at times unable to feed themselves in the 12 months prior to September of this year. That's according to an analysis of data from the Gallup-Healthways Index, conducted and newly released by the Food Resource and Action Center (FRAC), an advocacy group. You may be wondering: In what universe does a 17.7 percent hunger rate qualify as good news? In this one, actually. That figure, after all, represents a slight drop from the average 18.5 percent rate recorded at the end of 2009.

The faces look familiar, but the circumstances aren't. Across Maryland, volunteers helping feed the poor report a curious phenomenon: families who once visited as donors of food and money showing up, often sheepishly, as customers. "Many don't know what benefits might be available because they've never had to use them before," says Paula Minsk, chief development officer for the Maryland Food Bank. Throughout Maryland, the economic recession and accompanying unemployment have continued to have a devastating impact on the health and well-being of families.