Increasing prices of energy and food have worsened and will continue to worsen the problems of world hunger and poverty. Even in first world countries such as the United States, rising food prices and inflation have made poor people poorer, have put more people at greater risk of poverty, and have worsened the financial conditions of most non-poor people.
I believe the current food crisis makes it even more important that we utilize long-term solutions to prevent, alleviate and hopefully eradicate poverty.
Let me play on an old metaphor: If you give a man a fish each day, when fishing prices go up you will not be able to afford to give the charity and the man will starve. If you teach a man to fish, then afterwards he can probably fully support himself regardless of fluctuations in the price of fish. Also, in the long run, teaching a man to fish costs less than giving him a fish each day for the rest of his life.
We can protect people and society as a whole from poverty and rising food prices. I believe we need to do it by getting people in poverty or at risk of poverty into programs that will turn poor families into self-sufficient families. Namely, we need to provide people with education, skills training, and job placement services. We need to help the people start their own businesses or get jobs that pay them enough to support themselves and their families. And we need to make sure the people have access to food, shelter and healthcare while they go through the process of getting the job, including the time it takes them to get the education and skills to get the job.
Healthcare can be especially important in cases where a person has an illness or mental disorder that prevents them from doing what it takes to get a job that pays them enough to support themselves and their families.
If you know of any good programs helping families become self-sufficient as I have described above, please post about them in my World Hunger and Poverty Forums. You can also use the forums to post other comments in response to this blog post.