#23 Hunger Walk 5K

Sometimes the charity walk creates more questions than answers.

#23 was the Hunger Walk 5K which benefited the Freestore Foodbank.  This agency serves 20 counties in Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana.  Working with food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, community centers and residential programs, it feeds 300,000 people annually.  The Freestore FoodBank collects food from a variety of sources.   They utilize a network of churches and community organizations to collect food and bring it to their warehouse for distribution. 

They have a program called Power Packs which gives kids shelf stable food during the school year to use over the weekend as there may be no food at home.  Another program helps out when the kids are out of school for the summer.  Another program, Kids Cafe, offers kids a hot meals after school and tutoring assistance as well.  They even have a community garden in Melbourne, KY which provides fresh produce for those in need.

This is all good stuff.  I can get behind it.

Just before the walk began, the announcer rattled off some statistics about hunger for the area.  The most surprising one was Cincinnati ranks #2 in the nation for child poverty.

Let me say that again.  Cincinnati ranks #2 (behind Detroit) with 53.1% of children below the poverty line.

That is unacceptable.  No other word for it.

So imagine my surprise when we cross the finish line and head to the after party area.  There are tents (perhaps 15 or so) and each one has a treat of some sort. Each participant is given a bag and can fill it with the treats you want.

I walk away from a HUNGER walk, with enough snacks to choke a horse.  Granola bars, gatorade, water bottles, rice krispy treats, peanuts, nutri-grain bars, crackers, more gatorade, oranges, chips, bananas, and bagels.  I mean, boxes of this stuff.  Spread all over the tables.

I am more than a little confused as to why this bounty was given to the racers instead of to hungry people.  With the exception of the Rice Krispy Treats (which I will happily eat so the hungry don't have to force down something so un-nutritious) everything appeared to be a great addition to a deficient diet.

So I am stymied.  If hunger is a problem...how does this solve it?