Swine Flu & Hunger

Right now, while the media is bombarding us with "news" about the swine flu, more than 500 million people are living in absolute poverty and more than 15 million children die of hunger every year. The World Health Organization estimates that one-third of the population is underfed and another third is starving.

Even in the United States, 46 percent of African-American children and 49 percent of Latino children are considered chronically hungry.

You can do something about it. You can help a family through Heifer International or you can lend as little as $25 to someone in the third world through Kiva.org. You can also donate to a food bank or feed the homeless in your community. Talk about it, blog about it. Do whatever you can, because every bit helps.

Just a quick reminder: The swine flu may or may not become a pandemic in the near future, but hunger is already one and the way it spreads is by the rest of us doing nothing.