The Action I decided to take on behalf of my social justice project was making a poster that illustrated the ills of world hunger. I chose this action because I can recall as a junior and also as an underclassman at Serra, walking down the halls and seeing every spring the poster put up by Padres past displaying their social topic. I remember quite clearly that I would always (and still do) stop and examine the poster and read what it was saying. I was genuinely interested in the topics these seniors displayed in a creative way. I think that a poster would grab the most attention in my local community, because I knew that it would have grabbed my attention as a younger Padre
I felt I was successful in my poster, it displayed a rather shocking and attention grabbing image and statistic, and have been questioned about it by my peers more than once about it while they sat on my desk.
This action has made me think about the power of the written word—displayed correctly or “whispered in the right ear” it can be very powerful. Someone who sees this might not have a side of French fries with their lunch, and end up giving that extra money to a soup kitchen or to UNICEF. I think that small actions like this one, can have a snowball effect into greater action, these posters will not end world hunger, but if they can change just one person’s mind about this topic than the cost of putting the posters together, the paper and ink, will all be well spent.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Interview with Larry Diskin
My partner interviewed Mr. Larry Diskin of the Second Harvest Food Bank in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties for our Social Justice Project, the injustice of world hunger. The interview took place at the Starbucks coffee shop located at El Camino Real and 17th avenue in San Mateo California, on March 28th 2010. Mr. Diskin is an expert in hunger in our local community of San Mateo County, he has worked for a number of years expanding Second Harvest as a non-profit organization to feed a huge portion of people in our county—over 230,000 people on average every month
My partner Andrew and I met Mr. Diskin at the Starbucks and were received quite warmly. I warned Mr. Diskin that the results of this interview may be posted on the internet on our project’s blog, and he assured me that he was fine with whatever I posted on the site. I bought him and myself a cup of coffee (my partner Andrew came about 5 minutes after I did) and we traded niceties about each other, he was interested in where I would be attending college, and told me he had two daughters who went to Notre Dame Belmont High School, and I was intrigued as to where they went to college and asked how they were. The attitude of the entire interview was relaxed and friendly, he answered every question I asked, although he did say he was uncertain at times on certain statistics, but this was only for statistics on a global scale (e.g. the poverty level of this county when compared to a third world country), but facts about our local areas he was quite certain the figures he used.
What I expected to learn was that hunger is a virulent problem not only around the world, in photographs we see in magazines of African Babies emaciated into marionette dolls in a God-forsaken republic, the former colony of a European power now under civil war. But also in our own community, where it is a problem that goes unnoticed, often times because of organizations like Second Harvest, which feed at-risk families who need the food without complaint or burdening either the families that receive the food or the people who donate their time, money, and agricultural products to them. As one of their mottos states, 96 cents of every dollar given to Second Harvest goes to buying more food for their clients.
What I did not expect to learn is the scale of operations of Second Harvest and the amount of energy it takes to bring this product to the people who need it without compromising the quality or the healthiness of the food. The organization boasts a fleet of heavy-rig 18-wheeler trucks and vans which transport food to enormous warehouses, where food of every type and quality from cereals and pasta to fruits, vegetables and sometimes frozen goods are kept, only to be shipped once again to the families in need. As Mr. Diskin put it “it is constantly moving, all of the time, nothing is kept in our warehouse for more than 24 hours—the demand is sometimes that great.” What is fascinating is also the progress being made in the organization, it is not just a turning wheel, but there are programs to eliminate all sodas and other unhealthy items from their menus, programs where excess crops from a certain farm (where, under certain laws it is no longer profitable to sell at market) are given to them to give to the families. Also, there are certain “farmer’s Market buses” which have become extremely popular, as they can venture into very underprivileged neighborhoods and provide a real farmer’s market—selling fresh fruits and vegetables—to mothers in that neighborhood who usually must buy from a grocery store where the fruits and vegetables are usually old or tarnished by the time they reach the shelves. It is astounding to see that these good programs, which help the entire community go unseen by the media in our community, replaced instead by car-chases and crime on the prime-time news.
My overall impression of the interview is very positive. It gave me perspective of my project, made it real to me. I’m not just creating an expository project about a problem that seems so far away, and pointing at it for my classmates and myself, but I’m speaking about a subject that is very close to home, and affects many people in my community, I might know some people who use Second Harvest, my neighbor might have to use food-stamps to make it from meal to meal. I think those that do not use these programs do not see how prevalent they are and how prevalent the issue of being able to provide for one’s family is, around the world and even in our own community.
My partner Andrew and I met Mr. Diskin at the Starbucks and were received quite warmly. I warned Mr. Diskin that the results of this interview may be posted on the internet on our project’s blog, and he assured me that he was fine with whatever I posted on the site. I bought him and myself a cup of coffee (my partner Andrew came about 5 minutes after I did) and we traded niceties about each other, he was interested in where I would be attending college, and told me he had two daughters who went to Notre Dame Belmont High School, and I was intrigued as to where they went to college and asked how they were. The attitude of the entire interview was relaxed and friendly, he answered every question I asked, although he did say he was uncertain at times on certain statistics, but this was only for statistics on a global scale (e.g. the poverty level of this county when compared to a third world country), but facts about our local areas he was quite certain the figures he used.
What I expected to learn was that hunger is a virulent problem not only around the world, in photographs we see in magazines of African Babies emaciated into marionette dolls in a God-forsaken republic, the former colony of a European power now under civil war. But also in our own community, where it is a problem that goes unnoticed, often times because of organizations like Second Harvest, which feed at-risk families who need the food without complaint or burdening either the families that receive the food or the people who donate their time, money, and agricultural products to them. As one of their mottos states, 96 cents of every dollar given to Second Harvest goes to buying more food for their clients.
What I did not expect to learn is the scale of operations of Second Harvest and the amount of energy it takes to bring this product to the people who need it without compromising the quality or the healthiness of the food. The organization boasts a fleet of heavy-rig 18-wheeler trucks and vans which transport food to enormous warehouses, where food of every type and quality from cereals and pasta to fruits, vegetables and sometimes frozen goods are kept, only to be shipped once again to the families in need. As Mr. Diskin put it “it is constantly moving, all of the time, nothing is kept in our warehouse for more than 24 hours—the demand is sometimes that great.” What is fascinating is also the progress being made in the organization, it is not just a turning wheel, but there are programs to eliminate all sodas and other unhealthy items from their menus, programs where excess crops from a certain farm (where, under certain laws it is no longer profitable to sell at market) are given to them to give to the families. Also, there are certain “farmer’s Market buses” which have become extremely popular, as they can venture into very underprivileged neighborhoods and provide a real farmer’s market—selling fresh fruits and vegetables—to mothers in that neighborhood who usually must buy from a grocery store where the fruits and vegetables are usually old or tarnished by the time they reach the shelves. It is astounding to see that these good programs, which help the entire community go unseen by the media in our community, replaced instead by car-chases and crime on the prime-time news.
My overall impression of the interview is very positive. It gave me perspective of my project, made it real to me. I’m not just creating an expository project about a problem that seems so far away, and pointing at it for my classmates and myself, but I’m speaking about a subject that is very close to home, and affects many people in my community, I might know some people who use Second Harvest, my neighbor might have to use food-stamps to make it from meal to meal. I think those that do not use these programs do not see how prevalent they are and how prevalent the issue of being able to provide for one’s family is, around the world and even in our own community.
Background: The problem of World Hunger
The agricultural-economic system in which we live in today affects all people. Not only is this system the reason farmers cannot profit from fruits of their land, but also why countless millions starve, famine reaches its tentacles across the third world, and also why a staggering amount of people are obese and overweight. The primary justice issue we are exploring in our social justice project is the agribusiness system. This system of a few, incredibly large (however not very well known) corporations distribute food around the world and base what they distribute and to whom on cold economics and profitability. Every trying to turn a dollar into a dollar ten, when they shift their business away from small farms and into large co-operations they not only fail to redistribute that locally grown food to the communities in which they buy from, but also devastate the economies of the rural areas left out from under their roof.
As demonstrated in the narrative accompanying this document, the first place that is oppressed by the abuse of this system is the farmers and producers themselves. Farmers in countries around the world who depend solely on their crops are unable to compete with large combines owned by multinational corporations (Patel 83). This has in fact caused a “soaring” increase in suicide rates in rural areas around the globe (not only in India and Thailand, but in the United States as well). For example, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh (an Indian state on the eastern tip of the Indian Subcontinent, the capital being the city of Hyderabad) is a state of 75 million people, and is mostly a rural “hinterland of Mumbai [to the west]” (Patel 25). This state has a suicide rate in the thousands upon thousands per year. The mad for-profit system combined with the new interest in expensive “green” technology has resulted in a world where thousands of independent farmers are left in a no-win situation, where their families will starve and their land be seized by Government (or bought at a pittance by these large-multinational organizations) (Patel 102). This is why suicide is seen as the only means of protest or ‘way out’ these men and women see.
The next level of oppression caused by the injustice of this system is the countless hungry around the world. What has been coined as “chronic malnutrition” by UNICEF affects countries not only on their per capita income, but also on the strength of their governments. This means that some governments around the world are complicit with the abuse of this system, and make a profit from it, at the cost of their people. There were an estimated 1.02 Billion people on this planet who are undernourished in 2009—the highest number since they started recording these statistics in 1970. Of that well over half live in Asia and the Pacific, and more than 15 million live in developed, Western Nations (FAO). An example of this oversight is Guatemala. Despite emergency aid donations helping around 300,000 starving inhabitants (mostly descendants of the indigenous Maya ethnicity) there are an estimated 400,000 not receiving adequate aid or aid at all. The result?
“Rehabilitation centers have admitted dozens of children who are so malnourished that their black hair has turned blonde, their faces are chubby from fluid build-up as their organs fail, their legs become a visible black spider-web and their face muscles are too weak to smile.” (Economist 33)
The injustice here is that Guatemala has a per-capita income higher than most neighboring countries, and for all intents and purposes should be able to feed its people. The Guatemalan government has become too corrupt or weak to devise or implement any action for this. “The government fails to collect enough taxes from wealthier Guatemalans to provide…for the majority, let alone the kind of targeted [programmes] that have cut poverty in other nations in the region” (Economist 33). What this means is that not only do the select multi-national corporations have a hand in the injustice caused by this agribusiness complex, but also the governments of nations whose people starve to their deaths for the profits margins of the few.
The extent of hunger and famine around the world can be attributed to these two industrial-complexes, corrupt or weakened government and greed fueled corporations (for instance, of all the wheat grown around the world, 95% of the market is controlled by 5 companies). The name of this game is profit—“since 1984, the real price of a market basket of food has increased by 2.8 percent, while the farm value of the food has fallen by 35.7 percent” (Patel 104). And the profit is shared between both branches of this complex; we can look to the history of the United States to see how clearly this is. The United Fruit Company, now known today as Chiquita Brands International (yes it still does exist) has been the cause of wars, rebellions, and US backed coups all over South and Latin America. In 1954, Guatemalan President Arbenz Gúzman planned on divvying up unused UFC land to the landless peasantry of Guatemala at an “artificially low price, the value at which the [UFC] declared the land’s value on its tax returns” (Patel 100). In response, the U.S. Government authorized a CIA-backed invasion of Guatemala, known as the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état which destabilized the country for more than forty years. More than 200,000 Guatemalans died from the series of coups and wars in the country, but the land remained (profitably) in the United Fruit Company’s hands, and those profits flowed from the Company to the US government in the form of subsidiaries Washington power-plays, effective lawyers and “lobbying the right offices” (Patel 98).
The social systems involved in this injustice are the very staples of society that almost all Americans live by every day—the supermarket. This is the result of the actions of these corporations after all; store shelves stocked with assorted fresh produce that is not locally grown by any stretch of the imagination are the product which we are complicit in this injustice. It is not just the United States; it is burgeoning areas around the world following our example. For instance, “until recently, many African Governments also overvalued their currencies, making imported food artificially cheap, and undercutting local producers of Millett sorghum and cassava” (Lappé 12). The protests of the policies of the WTO, the effects of NAFTA and other similar agreements all go unheard of in the media; the deaths of millions of hungry around the globe and the rash string of suicides of farmers over the last decade are all written off as tired stories in the news. Yet there appears to be no way out of this system, we all have to eat don’t we? When one walks into a supermarket and buys their food, they never think of the sweat and often heartache it took to produce that quart of milk, that steak, or that sack of rice one is buying. However outrage erupts should any of those products go up in price by 25¢. All political candidates are expected to know the average price of milk to seem more down-to-earth to his or her constituents, but other than that the price is meaningless, it is an inconvenience. This is the complicity we have in this global injustice, the evil disguised as good in our stores and supermarkets.
While world hunger is often trumped around the world as an unstoppable evil that has and will plague humanity for all eternity, it is only recently that humanity has been able to turn a profit from this suffering. By and large this new age of famine and chronic malnourishment among millions is because of the actions of man, not by any act of God. This is a profound injustice that goes unnoticed by the millions and millions of consumers who collectively have the power to curtail this gross injustice and abuse of the agribusiness system. Regulations must be put in place that force organizations to compete on a fair market, and programs must be implemented that encourage local farming around the globe, and not just the bulk of combine style farms owned by large multi-national organizations. First and foremost, Food must be grown for nourishment, not for profit.
As demonstrated in the narrative accompanying this document, the first place that is oppressed by the abuse of this system is the farmers and producers themselves. Farmers in countries around the world who depend solely on their crops are unable to compete with large combines owned by multinational corporations (Patel 83). This has in fact caused a “soaring” increase in suicide rates in rural areas around the globe (not only in India and Thailand, but in the United States as well). For example, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh (an Indian state on the eastern tip of the Indian Subcontinent, the capital being the city of Hyderabad) is a state of 75 million people, and is mostly a rural “hinterland of Mumbai [to the west]” (Patel 25). This state has a suicide rate in the thousands upon thousands per year. The mad for-profit system combined with the new interest in expensive “green” technology has resulted in a world where thousands of independent farmers are left in a no-win situation, where their families will starve and their land be seized by Government (or bought at a pittance by these large-multinational organizations) (Patel 102). This is why suicide is seen as the only means of protest or ‘way out’ these men and women see.
The next level of oppression caused by the injustice of this system is the countless hungry around the world. What has been coined as “chronic malnutrition” by UNICEF affects countries not only on their per capita income, but also on the strength of their governments. This means that some governments around the world are complicit with the abuse of this system, and make a profit from it, at the cost of their people. There were an estimated 1.02 Billion people on this planet who are undernourished in 2009—the highest number since they started recording these statistics in 1970. Of that well over half live in Asia and the Pacific, and more than 15 million live in developed, Western Nations (FAO). An example of this oversight is Guatemala. Despite emergency aid donations helping around 300,000 starving inhabitants (mostly descendants of the indigenous Maya ethnicity) there are an estimated 400,000 not receiving adequate aid or aid at all. The result?
“Rehabilitation centers have admitted dozens of children who are so malnourished that their black hair has turned blonde, their faces are chubby from fluid build-up as their organs fail, their legs become a visible black spider-web and their face muscles are too weak to smile.” (Economist 33)
The injustice here is that Guatemala has a per-capita income higher than most neighboring countries, and for all intents and purposes should be able to feed its people. The Guatemalan government has become too corrupt or weak to devise or implement any action for this. “The government fails to collect enough taxes from wealthier Guatemalans to provide…for the majority, let alone the kind of targeted [programmes] that have cut poverty in other nations in the region” (Economist 33). What this means is that not only do the select multi-national corporations have a hand in the injustice caused by this agribusiness complex, but also the governments of nations whose people starve to their deaths for the profits margins of the few.
The extent of hunger and famine around the world can be attributed to these two industrial-complexes, corrupt or weakened government and greed fueled corporations (for instance, of all the wheat grown around the world, 95% of the market is controlled by 5 companies). The name of this game is profit—“since 1984, the real price of a market basket of food has increased by 2.8 percent, while the farm value of the food has fallen by 35.7 percent” (Patel 104). And the profit is shared between both branches of this complex; we can look to the history of the United States to see how clearly this is. The United Fruit Company, now known today as Chiquita Brands International (yes it still does exist) has been the cause of wars, rebellions, and US backed coups all over South and Latin America. In 1954, Guatemalan President Arbenz Gúzman planned on divvying up unused UFC land to the landless peasantry of Guatemala at an “artificially low price, the value at which the [UFC] declared the land’s value on its tax returns” (Patel 100). In response, the U.S. Government authorized a CIA-backed invasion of Guatemala, known as the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état which destabilized the country for more than forty years. More than 200,000 Guatemalans died from the series of coups and wars in the country, but the land remained (profitably) in the United Fruit Company’s hands, and those profits flowed from the Company to the US government in the form of subsidiaries Washington power-plays, effective lawyers and “lobbying the right offices” (Patel 98).
The social systems involved in this injustice are the very staples of society that almost all Americans live by every day—the supermarket. This is the result of the actions of these corporations after all; store shelves stocked with assorted fresh produce that is not locally grown by any stretch of the imagination are the product which we are complicit in this injustice. It is not just the United States; it is burgeoning areas around the world following our example. For instance, “until recently, many African Governments also overvalued their currencies, making imported food artificially cheap, and undercutting local producers of Millett sorghum and cassava” (Lappé 12). The protests of the policies of the WTO, the effects of NAFTA and other similar agreements all go unheard of in the media; the deaths of millions of hungry around the globe and the rash string of suicides of farmers over the last decade are all written off as tired stories in the news. Yet there appears to be no way out of this system, we all have to eat don’t we? When one walks into a supermarket and buys their food, they never think of the sweat and often heartache it took to produce that quart of milk, that steak, or that sack of rice one is buying. However outrage erupts should any of those products go up in price by 25¢. All political candidates are expected to know the average price of milk to seem more down-to-earth to his or her constituents, but other than that the price is meaningless, it is an inconvenience. This is the complicity we have in this global injustice, the evil disguised as good in our stores and supermarkets.
While world hunger is often trumped around the world as an unstoppable evil that has and will plague humanity for all eternity, it is only recently that humanity has been able to turn a profit from this suffering. By and large this new age of famine and chronic malnourishment among millions is because of the actions of man, not by any act of God. This is a profound injustice that goes unnoticed by the millions and millions of consumers who collectively have the power to curtail this gross injustice and abuse of the agribusiness system. Regulations must be put in place that force organizations to compete on a fair market, and programs must be implemented that encourage local farming around the globe, and not just the bulk of combine style farms owned by large multi-national organizations. First and foremost, Food must be grown for nourishment, not for profit.
Interview Write-up Prepared By Andrew Gaddis
Interview with Larry Diskin
Prepared by Andrew Gaddis
On Sunday March 21, 2010, Andrew Comstock and I interviewed Larry Diskin, the Human Resources Director for Second Harvest Food Bank, in San Mateo at Starbucks, on the El Camino. Mr. Diskin took time out of his busy weekend schedule to meet with us on a Sunday morning. He welcomed us warmly and was eager to answer our questions. He was very easy to have a conversation with, which encouraged us to explore the causes of hunger in greater depth with him.
Andrew and I asked questions of Mr. Diskin, which allowed him to focus on issues relating to his experiences and opinions about hunger in the United States and around the world. Although, this interview was structured around our own questions, Mr. Diskin was able to elaborate on a broader basis, due to his extensive experience in this field. He answered our questions about the causes of hunger and he offered opinions regarding potential solutions to this ongoing problem. By the end of our interview, Mr. Diskin had fully answered our questions, and had given us a new perspective on the causes and solutions of hunger in the United States and around the world.
In preparing for this interview, I had learned that food banks help many people that live in our area. Based on my research, I thought that there was enough food for everyone, and Mr. Diskin confirmed this. During our interview, Mr. Diskin stated that his organization, Second Harvest, as well as many other food banks in the Bay Area and around the country are able to effectively redistribute a large amount of food to needy people. He explained that most of the hunger in our area is due to the cost of living in this area; people simply cannot afford to pay for food.
During our interview with Mr. Diskin, there were a few issues that came as a surprise to us. First, we were surprised to learn that homeless people, who live on the street, are only a small minority of the people Second Harvest Food Bank helps. Many of the people they assist are from families that live in houses where both parents are working and they are just bearly able to earn enough to pay the rent and gasoline. This leaves little money for food, so Second Harvest assists them in providing food for their daily needs. Another surprising issue that contributes to hunger is the specific order to a person’s wants and needs. We learned that one’s most basic and primary need is food. Next, there is a need for some form of security. Then after security, comes the aspect of being in a relationship with someone, and after relationships, comes self-esteem. Finally, a person has a need for self-actualization, or learning. The biggest surprise that Mr. Diskin related to us was the fact that the ultimate goal of Second Harvest Food Bank is to “eliminate” it self. Basically, we learned that if at some point in the future, if everyone were able to be self-sufficient, then Second Harvest’s mission would be complete and they would happily close.
I was impressed by Mr. Diskin’s knowledge of hunger in the Bay Area. Although, I have been concerned about hunger in homeless communities, I never fully realized how prevalent hunger is among the working poor. Clearly, there is a sufficient food supply, but there is a problem with the distribution system in our country and around the world. Fortunately, there are organizations in the Bay Area and throughout most of our country that provide food to needy people through the generosity of others. However, the poor and hungry in many other parts of the world are not so fortunate. Many people in these other countries go hungry even though there is sufficient food to feed them within their own countries or available from other countries through donations.
Prepared by Andrew Gaddis
On Sunday March 21, 2010, Andrew Comstock and I interviewed Larry Diskin, the Human Resources Director for Second Harvest Food Bank, in San Mateo at Starbucks, on the El Camino. Mr. Diskin took time out of his busy weekend schedule to meet with us on a Sunday morning. He welcomed us warmly and was eager to answer our questions. He was very easy to have a conversation with, which encouraged us to explore the causes of hunger in greater depth with him.
Andrew and I asked questions of Mr. Diskin, which allowed him to focus on issues relating to his experiences and opinions about hunger in the United States and around the world. Although, this interview was structured around our own questions, Mr. Diskin was able to elaborate on a broader basis, due to his extensive experience in this field. He answered our questions about the causes of hunger and he offered opinions regarding potential solutions to this ongoing problem. By the end of our interview, Mr. Diskin had fully answered our questions, and had given us a new perspective on the causes and solutions of hunger in the United States and around the world.
In preparing for this interview, I had learned that food banks help many people that live in our area. Based on my research, I thought that there was enough food for everyone, and Mr. Diskin confirmed this. During our interview, Mr. Diskin stated that his organization, Second Harvest, as well as many other food banks in the Bay Area and around the country are able to effectively redistribute a large amount of food to needy people. He explained that most of the hunger in our area is due to the cost of living in this area; people simply cannot afford to pay for food.
During our interview with Mr. Diskin, there were a few issues that came as a surprise to us. First, we were surprised to learn that homeless people, who live on the street, are only a small minority of the people Second Harvest Food Bank helps. Many of the people they assist are from families that live in houses where both parents are working and they are just bearly able to earn enough to pay the rent and gasoline. This leaves little money for food, so Second Harvest assists them in providing food for their daily needs. Another surprising issue that contributes to hunger is the specific order to a person’s wants and needs. We learned that one’s most basic and primary need is food. Next, there is a need for some form of security. Then after security, comes the aspect of being in a relationship with someone, and after relationships, comes self-esteem. Finally, a person has a need for self-actualization, or learning. The biggest surprise that Mr. Diskin related to us was the fact that the ultimate goal of Second Harvest Food Bank is to “eliminate” it self. Basically, we learned that if at some point in the future, if everyone were able to be self-sufficient, then Second Harvest’s mission would be complete and they would happily close.
I was impressed by Mr. Diskin’s knowledge of hunger in the Bay Area. Although, I have been concerned about hunger in homeless communities, I never fully realized how prevalent hunger is among the working poor. Clearly, there is a sufficient food supply, but there is a problem with the distribution system in our country and around the world. Fortunately, there are organizations in the Bay Area and throughout most of our country that provide food to needy people through the generosity of others. However, the poor and hungry in many other parts of the world are not so fortunate. Many people in these other countries go hungry even though there is sufficient food to feed them within their own countries or available from other countries through donations.
Interview Write-up Prepared By Andrew Gaddis
Interview with Larry Diskin
Prepared by Andrew Gaddis
On Sunday March 21, 2010, Andrew Comstock and I interviewed Larry Diskin, the Human Resources Director for Second Harvest Food Bank, in San Mateo at Starbucks, on the El Camino. Mr. Diskin took time out of his busy weekend schedule to meet with us on a Sunday morning. He welcomed us warmly and was eager to answer our questions. He was very easy to have a conversation with, which encouraged us to explore the causes of hunger in greater depth with him.
Andrew and I asked questions of Mr. Diskin, which allowed him to focus on issues relating to his experiences and opinions about hunger in the United States and around the world. Although, this interview was structured around our own questions, Mr. Diskin was able to elaborate on a broader basis, due to his extensive experience in this field. He answered our questions about the causes of hunger and he offered opinions regarding potential solutions to this ongoing problem. By the end of our interview, Mr. Diskin had fully answered our questions, and had given us a new perspective on the causes and solutions of hunger in the United States and around the world.
In preparing for this interview, I had learned that food banks help many people that live in our area. Based on my research, I thought that there was enough food for everyone, and Mr. Diskin confirmed this. During our interview, Mr. Diskin stated that his organization, Second Harvest, as well as many other food banks in the Bay Area and around the country are able to effectively redistribute a large amount of food to needy people. He explained that most of the hunger in our area is due to the cost of living in this area; people simply cannot afford to pay for food.
During our interview with Mr. Diskin, there were a few issues that came as a surprise to us. First, we were surprised to learn that homeless people, who live on the street, are only a small minority of the people Second Harvest Food Bank helps. Many of the people they assist are from families that live in houses where both parents are working and they are just bearly able to earn enough to pay the rent and gasoline. This leaves little money for food, so Second Harvest assists them in providing food for their daily needs. Another surprising issue that contributes to hunger is the specific order to a person’s wants and needs. We learned that one’s most basic and primary need is food. Next, there is a need for some form of security. Then after security, comes the aspect of being in a relationship with someone, and after relationships, comes self-esteem. Finally, a person has a need for self-actualization, or learning. The biggest surprise that Mr. Diskin related to us was the fact that the ultimate goal of Second Harvest Food Bank is to “eliminate” it self. Basically, we learned that if at some point in the future, if everyone were able to be self-sufficient, then Second Harvest’s mission would be complete and they would happily close.
I was impressed by Mr. Diskin’s knowledge of hunger in the Bay Area. Although, I have been concerned about hunger in homeless communities, I never fully realized how prevalent hunger is among the working poor. Clearly, there is a sufficient food supply, but there is a problem with the distribution system in our country and around the world. Fortunately, there are organizations in the Bay Area and throughout most of our country that provide food to needy people through the generosity of others. However, the poor and hungry in many other parts of the world are not so fortunate. Many people in these other countries go hungry even though there is sufficient food to feed them within their own countries or available from other countries through donations.
Prepared by Andrew Gaddis
On Sunday March 21, 2010, Andrew Comstock and I interviewed Larry Diskin, the Human Resources Director for Second Harvest Food Bank, in San Mateo at Starbucks, on the El Camino. Mr. Diskin took time out of his busy weekend schedule to meet with us on a Sunday morning. He welcomed us warmly and was eager to answer our questions. He was very easy to have a conversation with, which encouraged us to explore the causes of hunger in greater depth with him.
Andrew and I asked questions of Mr. Diskin, which allowed him to focus on issues relating to his experiences and opinions about hunger in the United States and around the world. Although, this interview was structured around our own questions, Mr. Diskin was able to elaborate on a broader basis, due to his extensive experience in this field. He answered our questions about the causes of hunger and he offered opinions regarding potential solutions to this ongoing problem. By the end of our interview, Mr. Diskin had fully answered our questions, and had given us a new perspective on the causes and solutions of hunger in the United States and around the world.
In preparing for this interview, I had learned that food banks help many people that live in our area. Based on my research, I thought that there was enough food for everyone, and Mr. Diskin confirmed this. During our interview, Mr. Diskin stated that his organization, Second Harvest, as well as many other food banks in the Bay Area and around the country are able to effectively redistribute a large amount of food to needy people. He explained that most of the hunger in our area is due to the cost of living in this area; people simply cannot afford to pay for food.
During our interview with Mr. Diskin, there were a few issues that came as a surprise to us. First, we were surprised to learn that homeless people, who live on the street, are only a small minority of the people Second Harvest Food Bank helps. Many of the people they assist are from families that live in houses where both parents are working and they are just bearly able to earn enough to pay the rent and gasoline. This leaves little money for food, so Second Harvest assists them in providing food for their daily needs. Another surprising issue that contributes to hunger is the specific order to a person’s wants and needs. We learned that one’s most basic and primary need is food. Next, there is a need for some form of security. Then after security, comes the aspect of being in a relationship with someone, and after relationships, comes self-esteem. Finally, a person has a need for self-actualization, or learning. The biggest surprise that Mr. Diskin related to us was the fact that the ultimate goal of Second Harvest Food Bank is to “eliminate” it self. Basically, we learned that if at some point in the future, if everyone were able to be self-sufficient, then Second Harvest’s mission would be complete and they would happily close.
I was impressed by Mr. Diskin’s knowledge of hunger in the Bay Area. Although, I have been concerned about hunger in homeless communities, I never fully realized how prevalent hunger is among the working poor. Clearly, there is a sufficient food supply, but there is a problem with the distribution system in our country and around the world. Fortunately, there are organizations in the Bay Area and throughout most of our country that provide food to needy people through the generosity of others. However, the poor and hungry in many other parts of the world are not so fortunate. Many people in these other countries go hungry even though there is sufficient food to feed them within their own countries or available from other countries through donations.
Interview Writ-up Prepared By Andrew Gaddis
Interview with Larry Diskin
Prepared by Andrew Gaddis
On Sunday March 21, 2010, Andrew Comstock and I interviewed Larry Diskin, the Human Resources Director for Second Harvest Food Bank, in San Mateo at Starbucks, on the El Camino. Mr. Diskin took time out of his busy weekend schedule to meet with us on a Sunday morning. He welcomed us warmly and was eager to answer our questions. He was very easy to have a conversation with, which encouraged us to explore the causes of hunger in greater depth with him.
Andrew and I asked questions of Mr. Diskin, which allowed him to focus on issues relating to his experiences and opinions about hunger in the United States and around the world. Although, this interview was structured around our own questions, Mr. Diskin was able to elaborate on a broader basis, due to his extensive experience in this field. He answered our questions about the causes of hunger and he offered opinions regarding potential solutions to this ongoing problem. By the end of our interview, Mr. Diskin had fully answered our questions, and had given us a new perspective on the causes and solutions of hunger in the United States and around the world.
In preparing for this interview, I had learned that food banks help many people that live in our area. Based on my research, I thought that there was enough food for everyone, and Mr. Diskin confirmed this. During our interview, Mr. Diskin stated that his organization, Second Harvest, as well as many other food banks in the Bay Area and around the country are able to effectively redistribute a large amount of food to needy people. He explained that most of the hunger in our area is due to the cost of living in this area; people simply cannot afford to pay for food.
During our interview with Mr. Diskin, there were a few issues that came as a surprise to us. First, we were surprised to learn that homeless people, who live on the street, are only a small minority of the people Second Harvest Food Bank helps. Many of the people they assist are from families that live in houses where both parents are working and they are just bearly able to earn enough to pay the rent and gasoline. This leaves little money for food, so Second Harvest assists them in providing food for their daily needs. Another surprising issue that contributes to hunger is the specific order to a person’s wants and needs. We learned that one’s most basic and primary need is food. Next, there is a need for some form of security. Then after security, comes the aspect of being in a relationship with someone, and after relationships, comes self-esteem. Finally, a person has a need for self-actualization, or learning. The biggest surprise that Mr. Diskin related to us was the fact that the ultimate goal of Second Harvest Food Bank is to “eliminate” it self. Basically, we learned that if at some point in the future, if everyone were able to be self-sufficient, then Second Harvest’s mission would be complete and they would happily close.
I was impressed by Mr. Diskin’s knowledge of hunger in the Bay Area. Although, I have been concerned about hunger in homeless communities, I never fully realized how prevalent hunger is among the working poor. Clearly, there is a sufficient food supply, but there is a problem with the distribution system in our country and around the world. Fortunately, there are organizations in the Bay Area and throughout most of our country that provide food to needy people through the generosity of others. However, the poor and hungry in many other parts of the world are not so fortunate. Many people in these other countries go hungry even though there is sufficient food to feed them within their own countries or available from other countries through donations.
Prepared by Andrew Gaddis
On Sunday March 21, 2010, Andrew Comstock and I interviewed Larry Diskin, the Human Resources Director for Second Harvest Food Bank, in San Mateo at Starbucks, on the El Camino. Mr. Diskin took time out of his busy weekend schedule to meet with us on a Sunday morning. He welcomed us warmly and was eager to answer our questions. He was very easy to have a conversation with, which encouraged us to explore the causes of hunger in greater depth with him.
Andrew and I asked questions of Mr. Diskin, which allowed him to focus on issues relating to his experiences and opinions about hunger in the United States and around the world. Although, this interview was structured around our own questions, Mr. Diskin was able to elaborate on a broader basis, due to his extensive experience in this field. He answered our questions about the causes of hunger and he offered opinions regarding potential solutions to this ongoing problem. By the end of our interview, Mr. Diskin had fully answered our questions, and had given us a new perspective on the causes and solutions of hunger in the United States and around the world.
In preparing for this interview, I had learned that food banks help many people that live in our area. Based on my research, I thought that there was enough food for everyone, and Mr. Diskin confirmed this. During our interview, Mr. Diskin stated that his organization, Second Harvest, as well as many other food banks in the Bay Area and around the country are able to effectively redistribute a large amount of food to needy people. He explained that most of the hunger in our area is due to the cost of living in this area; people simply cannot afford to pay for food.
During our interview with Mr. Diskin, there were a few issues that came as a surprise to us. First, we were surprised to learn that homeless people, who live on the street, are only a small minority of the people Second Harvest Food Bank helps. Many of the people they assist are from families that live in houses where both parents are working and they are just bearly able to earn enough to pay the rent and gasoline. This leaves little money for food, so Second Harvest assists them in providing food for their daily needs. Another surprising issue that contributes to hunger is the specific order to a person’s wants and needs. We learned that one’s most basic and primary need is food. Next, there is a need for some form of security. Then after security, comes the aspect of being in a relationship with someone, and after relationships, comes self-esteem. Finally, a person has a need for self-actualization, or learning. The biggest surprise that Mr. Diskin related to us was the fact that the ultimate goal of Second Harvest Food Bank is to “eliminate” it self. Basically, we learned that if at some point in the future, if everyone were able to be self-sufficient, then Second Harvest’s mission would be complete and they would happily close.
I was impressed by Mr. Diskin’s knowledge of hunger in the Bay Area. Although, I have been concerned about hunger in homeless communities, I never fully realized how prevalent hunger is among the working poor. Clearly, there is a sufficient food supply, but there is a problem with the distribution system in our country and around the world. Fortunately, there are organizations in the Bay Area and throughout most of our country that provide food to needy people through the generosity of others. However, the poor and hungry in many other parts of the world are not so fortunate. Many people in these other countries go hungry even though there is sufficient food to feed them within their own countries or available from other countries through donations.
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