For Some Kids, Hunger All Too Real
Some moments best forgotten are frozen in time.
In a photographic exhibit called "Witnesses to Hunger" the message is stunningly simple, reports CBS News correspondent Seth Doane.
One picture shows Imani Sullivan's son begging for food because she can't always afford to feed her kids.
"I am a witness to hunger every day," Imani, who lives in Philadelphia, says.
Her 9-year-old son De-Mire know what it's like to go without food.
"I cry … because I'm hungry," he tells Doane.
An estimated 15.5 million American kids don't have enough food - that's 3 million more than just two years ago.
Another picture shows Marinette Roman's youngest trying to get out of the house - back when they had one.
Home now is a single room in a Philadelphia shelter for Roman and her 13-year-old son Lewis.
Lewis, who's been losing weight, says he doesn't tell his friends about not having enough food.
"I just don't like … letting … nobody know that I'm hungry," he says.
But letting people know is the point of this exhibit.
It was Mariana Chilton's idea to give cameras to 42 lower-income Philadelphia mothers.
"It's a way of saying, 'My child is hungry. I've struggled and this is what my child looks like,'" says Chilton, of the Drexel University School of Public Health.
Their senator, Robert Casey, D-Pa., brought the women and their photographs to Capitol Hill and keeps a book of the pictures in his office.
"Is there anything that seems removed for you? Sitting in Washington looking at this book?" asks Doane. "It seems like two different worlds."
"Oh it is, sure," says Casey. "You could sit in a hearing for hours and you could read every statistic that would tell the story. But there's nothing like a picture and a witness."
Like a picture of Imani's pay stub. She's a full-time janitor but has an empty fridge. She photographed that too.
"How is it as a mom to realize that at points you can't really afford to feed your own kids?" asks Doane.
"Wow, that's a good question. It's heartbreaking," she says.
It is for Marinette too. Besides losing her house last summer, she lost both of her jobs. Already living at the edge, the recession pushed her over.
"To hear your kids say they're hungry, how does it make you feel?" asks Doane
"Horrible," she says, starting to cry. "Horrible because I always try to do my best … and it hurts that I have to put my kids in this situation."
That situation is six people sharing one room. Lewis says his stomach gets so empty he feels like throwing up.
"You just fall asleep," he says.
Chilton wants Americans to wake up and realize that a lack of nutrition at an early age can stunt both physical and mental growth.
"When regular American people think about hunger, they're thinking about a kid that has a swollen belly and flies in his eyes. That is when … that's like the point of no return. How bad does hunger have to be before we pay attention to it?"
The Obama administration vowed to end childhood hunger in America by 2015 and has proposed an additional $7 billion on food stamps next year.
Imani already receives $414 a month in food stamps now, but says a hundred dollars a week doesn't feed a family of four. Every penny of her paycheck goes to rent and utilities.
"This is a disaster," says Chilton. "So the economic downturn is affecting everyone and it's especially affecting the poor because they're already having to make more trade-offs."
Trade-offs like buying food stamps or paying the rent.
At 13, Lewis says he wants a job to help his mother out.
"I know, he's been telling me that," Marinette says as she starts to tear up. "He's been telling me he wants to help me."
Lewis didn't choose this life and is looking for a way out … just like so many other children of the recession.
Copyright 2010 CBS. All rights reserved. In a photographic exhibit called "Witnesses to Hunger" the message is stunningly simple, reports CBS News correspondent Seth Doane.
One picture shows Imani Sullivan's son begging for food because she can't always afford to feed her kids.
"I am a witness to hunger every day," Imani, who lives in Philadelphia, says.
Her 9-year-old son De-Mire know what it's like to go without food.
"I cry … because I'm hungry," he tells Doane.
An estimated 15.5 million American kids don't have enough food - that's 3 million more than just two years ago.
Another picture shows Marinette Roman's youngest trying to get out of the house - back when they had one.
Home now is a single room in a Philadelphia shelter for Roman and her 13-year-old son Lewis.
Lewis, who's been losing weight, says he doesn't tell his friends about not having enough food.
"I just don't like … letting … nobody know that I'm hungry," he says.
But letting people know is the point of this exhibit.
It was Mariana Chilton's idea to give cameras to 42 lower-income Philadelphia mothers.
"It's a way of saying, 'My child is hungry. I've struggled and this is what my child looks like,'" says Chilton, of the Drexel University School of Public Health.
Their senator, Robert Casey, D-Pa., brought the women and their photographs to Capitol Hill and keeps a book of the pictures in his office.
"Is there anything that seems removed for you? Sitting in Washington looking at this book?" asks Doane. "It seems like two different worlds."
"Oh it is, sure," says Casey. "You could sit in a hearing for hours and you could read every statistic that would tell the story. But there's nothing like a picture and a witness."
Like a picture of Imani's pay stub. She's a full-time janitor but has an empty fridge. She photographed that too.
"How is it as a mom to realize that at points you can't really afford to feed your own kids?" asks Doane.
"Wow, that's a good question. It's heartbreaking," she says.
It is for Marinette too. Besides losing her house last summer, she lost both of her jobs. Already living at the edge, the recession pushed her over.
"To hear your kids say they're hungry, how does it make you feel?" asks Doane
"Horrible," she says, starting to cry. "Horrible because I always try to do my best … and it hurts that I have to put my kids in this situation."
That situation is six people sharing one room. Lewis says his stomach gets so empty he feels like throwing up.
But sometimes he just tries not to think about it.
Read Seth Doane's Blog Post On Story
"Children Of The Recession" Section
"You just fall asleep," he says.
Chilton wants Americans to wake up and realize that a lack of nutrition at an early age can stunt both physical and mental growth.
"When regular American people think about hunger, they're thinking about a kid that has a swollen belly and flies in his eyes. That is when … that's like the point of no return. How bad does hunger have to be before we pay attention to it?"
The Obama administration vowed to end childhood hunger in America by 2015 and has proposed an additional $7 billion on food stamps next year.
Imani already receives $414 a month in food stamps now, but says a hundred dollars a week doesn't feed a family of four. Every penny of her paycheck goes to rent and utilities.
"This is a disaster," says Chilton. "So the economic downturn is affecting everyone and it's especially affecting the poor because they're already having to make more trade-offs."
Trade-offs like buying food stamps or paying the rent.
At 13, Lewis says he wants a job to help his mother out.
"I know, he's been telling me that," Marinette says as she starts to tear up. "He's been telling me he wants to help me."
Lewis didn't choose this life and is looking for a way out … just like so many other children of the recession.
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Both women in the story sounded like responsible young women- not just junkies who don't care about anything except the next fix. One even had a house and two jobs. As sweet and pretty as Marinette seemed in her interview, there would be no way I would have left her on her own. Not where I'm from or the way I was raised. No way.
I've seen the interviews twice and didn't hear how either one ended up single, so I went to www.witnessestohunger.com and read about some of their family problems. It apears that there is more than one way to end up single and alone. Until you know how they arrived in their individual circumstances I think all you holy-rollers and politico-bashers ought to keep your traps shut! The problem has been around for centuries and no-one person or entity has put an end to hunger yet. Not any religion, church, governing style or political party in history. Think about it. The question is "What can we do about it in our lifetime?"
I thank God & the Second Amendment that I live in the Midwest where I can feed myself or a family with or without a job. I have before. I may have to again. Even though I'm widowed I raised my step-children after my wife passed. Two children with differen't sperm donors that I love un-conditionally. That kind of love needs to be taught & re-learned by many young men in this day & age.
Maybe we should go back to some old traditions- like staying married until death do us part, stand up & be a man, stand beside your heterosexual partner in sickness and in health, and not judging lest we be judged ourselves. Walk a mile in someone elses shoes.
would like to hear from some of these families in need. Where I live in the Midwest
I don't see hunger as shown in pictures in Philadelphia. I think there would be
more people like me that could help out and want to hear from some of these
people in the shelters. Lewis' family's story is a real tear jerker and reminds me
of my childhood when my mother worked her fingers to the bone and gave us
her food. People took advantage of us . No cildren or grandchildren to hear from
and would like to help out Lewis' family. Don't know how.