Show HELP FEED THEM “Of all the problems facing the poor hunger is the easiest to fix We have the resources but we don’t have the political will to make the most helpless Americans our priority Our failure to do that is being written on the bodies of children” continued HELPING TO FEED OTHERS Arayna Duran was once one of the 1 3 million if people in America know how hard we're struggling” American children facing hunger Today she volunteers as a server at the Denver Rustlers Kids Cafe Dakota wakes up crying and Adair takes a fancy pink cookie out of her food box and places it in his mouth quieting him “It’s not like we’re moochers” she adds “We work hard but we're barely surviving If only people who could afford to give out more would Without this food here I don’t know if we'd make it” J —Dr Deborah Frank director of the Grow Clinic for Children at Boston Medical Center HEALTH PROBLEMS OF HUNGRY CHILDREN Failure To Thrive The younger a child is when exposed to severe hunger the more serious the health consequences of that hunger are likely to be Consequences of hunger among children include: poorer overall health and compromised ability to resist illness more frequent hospitalization higher levels of aggression hyperactivity and anxiety impaired cognitive function lower test scores and poorer academic achievement Without a nutritious diet children can suffer severe health damage Nowhere is that so starkly evident as in the Boston Medical Center's Grow Clinic for Children The director Dr Deborah Frank and her team rescue children who have become too malnourished to be treated by their regular doctors In the last two years referrals to the clinic have doubled named Reviewing the chart of a frail she Dr Frank that discovers weighs only 16 Ruby — child — and is normal for a pounds suffering from pneumonia Dr Frank lectures the food girl’s mother on the importance of protein-ric- h then writes a "prescription” for provisions from the hospital's food pantry For the next year Dr Frank w ill monitor Ruby until she's out of danger In the newscasts about African famine munch graham crackers and wait their turn “If you're wondering which refugee camps these little guys came out of most of them live just down the street” Dr Frank says She explains that these children exhibit such problems as decreased attention spans delayed language development impaired motor skills and recurring infections “In the medical mecca of the world in one of the richest cities in the richest country in the world” she points out how do you turn INTO 12 Source: “ The Consequences of Hunger and Food Insecurity for Children The Center on Hunger and Poverty Heller School for Social Policy and Management Brandeis University June 2002 waiting room a dozen toddlers several as thin as children appearing in 3 "we're running this program like a mission in Africa" The good news Dr Frank says is that child hunger is treatable After 8 months on a nutritious diet the children here should be healthy “Of all the problems facing the poor hunger is the easiest to fix” she says “We have the resources But what we don’t have is the political will We have to make the most helpless Americans our priority Our failure to do that is being written on the bodies of children” 1 DOZEN COOKIES DOZEN MEALS for the hungry? Hold your own bake sale with help from Betty Crocker ' Participate in The Great American Bake Sale and raise funds to fight childhood hunger Betty Crocker makes Just 3 it easy to bake the goods dozen cookies at 75e apiece will help a food bank fund 12 dozen meals for at-ris- k children ESf As a key sponsor Betty Crocker helps you make a difference For more information c ( 'hocolate hip $iiprloist - — Ct ocfcy ORKINAl SUPREME ''sr: PIVl i — cSSh) and recipes visit wwwbettycrockercom Make Every Day Homemade 02003 General Mills Inc |