Much of the food that is produced in North America comes from California.  It should be a concern to everyone living in America that many fields are not planted, and orchards are dying from lack of water.  The local farmers call this a "Congress Created Dust Bowl" and are putting up signs along the highway that say so.

This sign from Southern California says Congress Created Dust Bowl.

News video on the man made drought in Southern California that the local farmers are calling the Congress Created Dust Bowl of 2009.

 

Click here for   More information and videos on the Congress Created Dust Bowl

Americans do not want to believe that there is Poverty and Hunger in America, but there always have been some people that fall through the cracks and are hungry.  Now with the worsening economic crisis there are more and more families that are losing thier homes and ending up in the tent cities that the government is setting up to house them.

Below are some personal stories about Poverty in America.

It was a chance meeting. Our car needed to be parked in front of her house for a little bit, and we needed to ask permission. "Are you moving?" I asked, noting the moving van backed up to the front porch. "No," she replied, "my boyfriend’s family lost their home and are going to be living with us until they can get back on their feet." Eleven people sharing four small rooms and one small income. Two families, one traveling over a thousand miles to try for a fresh start in a new State, the other willing to share what they had yet struggling to keep food on the table, the lights on, and the mortgage paid as well.
Across our Nation this story is being repeated time and time again. It is tempting to think that it’s a small problem, or that it won’t touch us. Yet I am reminded of the words of an ex-college professor who I met while he was resting under a tree in a city park, his head pillowed on plastic trash bags which contained the remainder of his earthly possessions. "I used to go talk to the homeless in the park, I’d try to help them whenever I could. I never thought I would be one of them. The sad truth is," he observed, "most Americans are only one missed paycheck away from being where I am today." As companies downsize, small businesses wobble and then collapse under the weight of increasing costs that one missed paycheck has turned into months, and in at least one case I know of, over a year of missed paychecks for some families. For every missed paycheck possibly another home is foreclosed, have you ever wondered what happens to the family that used to reside there? Was it your neighbor? Are you angry that their failure to pay the bills has lowered the value of your home? Do you just assume they’ve moved on and are okay somewhere else, that they were just able to get into a rental a few blocks over? Maybe you’ve wished you could help but the realization that you can’t help everyone has paralyzed you so that you are afraid to try. That’s not surprising, as even the charitable organizations that are normally able to step in and give aid are now overwhelmed. Do you think it’s someone else’s responsibility?

If you’ll let me, I’d like to take you on a little journey. See, I’ve been living in a motorhome, traveling the country with my family for the last two years. I have seen what has been happening to your neighbors, the lucky one’s have families who will take them in, other’s have moved into that RV that they bought for their family vacations, some are setting up another tent in the growing number of tent cities currently dotting the landscape, and still others are searching for an overpass to shelter them from the rain. I have already begun out West where I met the ex-college professor, and headed East where a home meant for six now shelters eleven. Now I would like to visit some places in between.

I believe one of the biggest concerns for the homeless is finding water, especially out West in the summer months. "Oh that’s easy" you may think, "everyone knows that all you have to do is go into a restaurant and they’ll give you free water." Will they? Picture someone who hasn’t been able to shower for days or weeks, maybe they haven’t been able to comb their hair, and there has certainly been no place to change clothes after sleeping on the dusty ground. Would you want that person in your establishment? If they approached you on the street would you stop to listen? Or would you turn away? I started carrying water with me and asking, "Do you need some water?" I was never turned down.

Once when I was handing out water and sandwiches with a local church group I met a lady who asked if I would pray with her. She had lost her home several months earlier, and after six months of living on the streets had finally made it to number eighteen on the waiting list for public housing. One of the young girls had felt impressed to bring a Bible with her that day, and when she saw that I had prayed with this lady handed the Bible to her. Tears streamed down her face as she told us that she had been praying for a Bible, she said, "In all the confusion leaving my home I forgot to pick up my Bible, and I have missed it so much. I can’t tell you how much this means to me."
Another told me as he reached for his sandwich, "I can see the love of God shining out from your face, thank you so much."

I’ll never forget the single father, trying to raise his three children. They had lost their home, but shelters are designed for women and children or men only and he had two daughters. He asked, "Do you have any food?" Fortunately we did have a little and the children munched as he told us about his day. "I heard that a mission across town was going to be giving out food today so we went, but by the time we got there they had given out their last meal, the food was all gone. I didn’t know what I was going to do to feed my children, and then I saw you and thought I would ask."

It was pouring rain outside, we were eating at Taco Bell when I noticed a man who was obviously homeless filling out a job application form. My heart was drawn to him, and I felt that I should give him some money, but he was done with the paperwork and had to leave the restaurant—no further excuse to stay. As I exited the building with my family I noticed him, hunched over staring out at skies that had no mercy in their downpour, the expression on his face sharing their gloom. I approached and said, "I felt that I should give this to you." His face brightened, tears rolled down his cheeks and he exclaimed, "Praise God, now I can catch the bus to the hospital." First, however he ducked inside to place an order to fill his hungry belly. It’s hard for me to watch a grown man cry over something I would take for granted, a warm meal and shelter from the storm. I know that there are too many out there who are truly hungry. This is not the first time I have helped someone only to watch them head directly for food.

I was with a friend in a large city. A man staggered towards us and asked if we had any water. His words were slurred and we were sure he was drunk. My friend has a large bottle of water that she carries with her as she walks around the city and it was nearly full. She offered it to him and he drank deeply. She then went to a nearby restaurant to purchase some food for him. It was amazing the transformation that took place in this man after eating and drinking. His eyes became clearer, his stagger left him, and his speech cleared. He told us that he had arrived in the city three days earlier, that he knew no one, and had hoped to get a job, but not only had he not been able to find work, he also hadn’t had anything to eat or drink for those three days, and no one would help him. When he first approached us he had said, "I’m not drunk, I just need water." and we hadn’t believed him even though we couldn’t smell alcohol on his breath he looked and acted drunk. Yet he had been telling the truth, he truly was only dehydrated and hungry. How ashamed I felt that I had judged him and at first had tried to turn away.

Ahead of us a car pulled out right in front of another car. She had no chance to stop. The force of the collision sent her tail pipe crashing to the ground. We pulled into a nearby park and my husband went to see if everyone was okay, and to set up traffic triangles to keep other cars from becoming involved in the accident. She was hurt, we couldn’t tell how badly, the couple in the other car appeared to be fine. Police and Ambulance arrived and soon the only evidence of the wreck was a pile of debris swept to the side, and a slightly smushed car parked in the nearby grocery lot. The other car was driven home by it’s owners, her car was parked by a police officer as an Ambulance whisked her away. Our children played in the park for awhile then we all went to the store. Upon our exit we saw her looking at her car with a friend. She had a big bruise on her forehead, and she couldn’t turn her neck, but said that she was sore but okay. My husband offered to hook her tailpipe up so she could drive the car, and I talked with the friend while he went for the tools he would need. "She’s really had it rough," I was informed, "she lost both of her parents and has nobody in the world. She lives near me in a little travel trailer. She has no running water or anything. I don’t know how she survives, and now this. The car had some problems already and she was waiting until next payday to be able to fix it." She hoped the other driver had insurance, but in that state it wasn’t required. If not then she was now responsible for huge medical bills. Yet she thanked us profusely for the little bit that we did, checking to see that she was okay and helping to get her car driveable again. "Thank God there are still people like you in the world," she stated over and over again.

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So many faces, each with it’s own story, and I do not have time or space to share them here. The needs are great and if taken as a whole, overwhelming, but if everyone does a little maybe we can help ease the burden. Many are surprised to discover that most of the homeless these days have full time jobs, they’re just not making enough to pay the bills.
So please, if you can, take action in your local community. Donate to your local Food Bank. They are struggling to keep their shelves stocked. If your church has a local homeless ministry and you’re not comfortable going out among the people to help then donate ingredients for sandwiches, or bake up a batch of cookies to be included as a treat. Ask what is needed. Remember, a puzzle is never finished all at once, but taken piece by piece it will eventually form a beautiful picture. Which piece of the picture can you be?

Note from webmaster: I realise that there is more to America then the US, but I live in the US and it is easier for me to find info on poverty in the US.  Please feel free to send me info on poverty in the rest of America and I will include it.  webmaster@povertyandhunger.org