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Through regular correspondence with each other, our college will grow, and thrive in the most positive ways. I want to know what you think about our institution and how it can be a more powerful force in your lives. That’s why you see administrators walking around, sitting in on your classes, eating what you eat, enjoying your events and openly answering any questions you may have on almost any subject.
This time, I want to bring up something that you may want to consider and I would like to hear from you about this matter when we talk. It concerns food, how we are using it at Concordia College – Selma and what’s going on in Haiti, Africa, and in fact all over the world. Even in America, the land of abundance, food costs are steadily rising. In the US about 10% of our income is spent on food. In developing countries food costs can represent up to 80% of the family’s budget.
Changes in weather patterns, the rising price of oil and increased food demand in heavily populated counties like China and India have been identified as factors in the scarcity of wheat and other grains and escalating food costs. Grain and corn prices are said to have risen due to research with bio-fuels. Experts are still trying to sort it all out while people are starving in 31 countries around the globe. And, the results are easy to see. Consider: clashes over food in Egypt resulted in the death of 2 innocent people, food riots occurred in Cameroon, and in Haiti, 40 people were shot and 7 died as they tried to food for their families. Despite these tragedies, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization reports that prices are not expected to go down soon and no where near to where they were a year ago. In fact, they say, over 700 million dollars are needed to keep people they serve in food supply by July or else.
What does all of this mean to you? Last week, I was in a conversation with one of our 6’6” athletes and noticed he was preparing to throw away some perfectly good food. He had an excuse, but the real reason he and so many of our students waste food is that they simply take more than they can eat comfortably. When I brought this up to the Brother in question, I made the mistake of telling him to think about the starving children throughout the world. Jokingly, he said they could have his food. He was joking but then remembered, it’s the same thing I said to my mother many, many, many years ago and it was said in all sincerity because I, just like this student, knew it wasn’t a joke. “Let’s send our food we don’t want to the starving children in Africa”, I suggested to my mom.
We are under new management in our cafeteria. The food is good and we promise you we won’t run out as happened some time ago. You can have all you can eat, not to take away, but to eat in the CAFÉ. If you want more, just walk up to the friendly servers and ask for it. If you will cooperate in this, Concordia College – Selma will be able to send money for food to Haiti or Uganda, or Cameroon, or Liberia, or whatever you decide.
Just take a minute to think about this. Attendance in school in Haiti is not a problem because lunch is served. Nevertheless, out of 2,300 school children in the schools last week, only 1,300 were able to be fed. There simply wasn’t enough food to pass to the others. Just think about it.
Portia Shields
Madame CEO
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