By Angela E. Pometto
Herald Staff Writer
(From the issue of 3/10/05)

"Thirty-six million Americans suffer from hunger and 13 million of those are children," said Reuben Gist, director of advocacy and community outreach for the Capital Area Food Bank. Gist addressed a group of teens and adults at St. Thomas à Becket Parish in Reston last week.

The joint youth groups of St. Thomas and St. John Neumann Parish in Reston participated in a 24-hour fast and lock-in retreat March 4-5. With the teens feeling the effects of their fast, Gist’s talk brought new perspectives to the issue of hunger.

Anne Holsinger, a senior, had never done a 24-hour fast before.

"Our goal is to feel solidarity with people who are hungry," she said, adding that she found it hard to fall asleep during the fast. "People go through that every day. This helps me understand them better."

"We’re not feeling hunger pains like we thought, but we’re wiped out," said Mike Power, youth minister for St. Thomas. With the mix of retreat and service, sacrifice and fun, the teens responded well to the activities. Power was also glad to see adults and teens participating in the morning talk together.

"You don’t have a clue about hunger," Gist said. His goal was to shift their perception of hunger and poverty. "How we view things is based on what we’ve been exposed to. I want to shift that now."

Gist asked participants what it feels like to be hungry. They said they felt tired, grouchy, distracted and weak. He then asked them to describe what hungry people look like. Words like tired, thin, unkempt and homeless emerged, but according to Gist, these stereotypes account for only 18 percent of hungry people.

"The homeless are some of the best fed people who suffer from hunger," said Gist. This is because they are recognizable. The other 82 percent are people who look "normal" who have families and go to work or school every day.

"They don’t look like they need our help," he said. "If we put a face on a problem, it’s easier to deal with."

To help them with this, Gist led the participants in a role-playing activity. Each person was given an envelope that contained a new identity. He asked them to forget everything about their lives and step into the shoes of a real person who suffers from hunger. Their assignment was to purchase enough food for themselves and their families for one day.

Gist became the "banker" and other adult volunteers became grocers and social workers. Participants went to the bank to get money and to the store to buy food. They could also apply for an emergency loan or food stamps.

At the end of the day, the majority of participants returned with no food at all. In line at the bank, many forgot their identification cards and had to go and wait in line again. When they got to the grocery store, the prices had gone up from what was originally written. Those who attempted to get emergency funds or food stamps found poor service and forms written in strange languages.

According to Gist, the real people on the cards know that most aid organizations are too time-consuming to be of any help.

"Not a single one of those people would have failed in getting food," Gist said. "They would have gone straight to the store. That’s their mission."

The Capital Area Food Bank, now in its 25th year, distributes 35 tons of food each day to more than 287,000 people.

"If feeding people were the solution to hunger, we would have done it a long time ago," Gist said.

In order to find a solution, people need to seek out the root causes of hunger. He identified these as unemployment, poverty, education, discrimination and racism. In terms of racism, Gist described how difficult it is for immigrants to start out in this country, especially if they don’t speak English.

Gist believes that what prevents people from curing these root causes is politics. He gave examples of how he says the government has capitalized the farming industry. Even though cows could eat grass, 56 percent of cattle bred for consumption eat grain that could be used to feed people, according to Gist.

"The small farmers that started as the back bone of the country are being forced out of business," Gist said.

Most of his work involves haggling over policies with lawmakers. He enjoys talking to young people. It gives him hope.

"Right here, today, are potential solutions to the problem," Gist said. "It’s in your hands. You guys hold the answer. You guys are the solution.

"For you, it’s about choice," he said. "For a lot of folks, it’s about chance."

For more information on outreach programs with the Capital Area Food Bank, call Gist at 202/526-5344, ext. 295 or go to www.capitalareafoodbank.org.