I interviewed Ms.Katherine Lynn. She is an employee of a food bank.
She stated that 811 million people suffer from food insecurity, and half of them, 480 million people are in Asia. I had under the impression many people suffering from hunger are from Africa, so I was shocked to hear that half are in Asia. Japan is a member of Asia, so I believe we have to change the situation more because the current happening is not someone else’s business. Besides, people in Africa have more severe trouble with hunger even though half of those suffering are from Asia. Developing both areas’ hunger problems is difficult, so we need to select which situation solving should be prioritized. In other words, we have to keep balance when we try to improve the starving circumstances.
In order to improve the situation, she said we should access local agriculture, hire local people, and better transportation. These methods help hunger issues directly and sustainably. Like importantly, interconnected ways are also essential, and we can revise policies, economic, and education. These measures support the improvement of other SDGs like poverty, education, organization, and environment, not just hunger. I think trying to make sure zero hunger connects to improve various issues. Likewise, she mentioned that actions for the land, job, and working together improve hunger problems.
Next, she notes she always reduces food waste, volunteers, and donates money in her private life to change the situation. Significantly, she said the loss of food waste is the most important thing because we can help supermarkets donate their merchandise more and more to starving people and care about food waste in their daily lives. The select politician also decides the methods to reduce hunger issues. We can choose candidates who care about people’s food. To do that, we need to discuss our opportunities with other citizens.
The food bank encourages people to get nutritional food. When they purchase delivery items, a nutritious team, including two dietitians, leads the shopping, and they follow nutritious policies and follow the commitment. In research, they found 60% of food that underserved people have is perishable. It relates to high death rates and lifestyle-related diseases, so they keep serving balanced food.
Finally, she illustrated the connection between the COVID-19 situation and hunger. The percentage of people in food insecurity is 60%, and the number is double compared to spreading COVID-19. The hunger situation gets worse caused by the disease. In addition to the worsening concern, they had to try different ways, such as new partnerships and work systems. Therefore, their work amount has been increasing. They attempt to close the state official in response to the dire situation. For example, they implement wearing face-covering masks and checking users’ temperature. Also, they began a new system that people pick served meals up without handing them directly. It can avoid spreading the infection if volunteers or users have COVID-19.
Nao Miyama