Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, November 24, 2010, Page 17, Image 17

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    November 24, 2010
^.lortlanb (Dbaeruer
O pinion
Page 17
New Prices
Effective
May 1,2010
Martin
Cleaning
Service
Carpet & Upholstery
Cleaning
Residential &
Commercial Services
Minimum Service CHG
$45.00
A sm all distance/travel charge
m ay be applied
CARPET CLEANING
2 Cleaning Areas or
more $30.00 Each Area
Pre-Spray Traffic Areas
(Includes: 1 small Hallway)
1 Cleaning Area (only)
$40.00
Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area
(Hallway Extra)
Stairs (12-16 stairs - With
O ther Services): $25.00
Hunger in a Season of Plenty
Area/Oriental Rugs:
$25.00 Minimum
Area/Oriental Rugs (Wool):
$40.00Minimum
A crisis we must solve
Heavily Soiled Area:
M arian W right E delman
T h anksgiving is a season to
celebrate plenty, and a day w hen
m any fam ilies sit dow n to tables
overflow ing w ith favorite foods
to give thanks for all they have
been blessed w ith.
F or m any people, T hanksgiv in g d in n er is
the largest m eal o f the y e a r— and by the tim e
th e y ’ve finished that last piece o f pie, their
stom achs are so full th e y ’ll be physically
uncom fortable.
B ut the canned food drives and o th er pleas
fo r donations this m onth are a quiet rem in d er
that for too m any fam ilies, T h an k sg iv in g w ill
be like any o th e r m e a l: not a tim e o f plenty but
a tim e o f w ant.
S hare O u r Strength, a national nonprofit
that fights child h o o d hunger, notes 50.1 m il­
lion A m ericans a re n ’t able to regularly put
enough nutritious food on the table, and that
food insecurity, w hich includes “running out
o f food w ithout m oney to buy m ore, cutting
portion sizes o r skipping m eals, and not feeding
children in the fam ily b ecause there isn ’t m oney
for fo o d ,” exists in alm ost 15 percent o f all U.S.
h o u s e h o ld s .
A lm ost 70 percent o f food insecure fam ilies
live above the poverty line. T h ese num bers
a re n ’t ju s t statistics. T hey reflect the reality
m any o f us are already seeing in o u r ow n hom es,
neighborhoods, or co m m unities right now , as
fam ilies w ho w ere b lessed enough to be able to
con trib u te to those can n ed food drives during
by
past T h an k sg iv in g s are today jo in in g the lines
o f those in need.
Food insecurity is esp ecially devastating for
children, w hose developm ental w e ll-b e in g d e ­
pends on access to adequate nutrition. E n su r­
ing all ch ild ren access to healthy, nutritious
food w ill ultim ately im prove educational o u t­
com es, reduce rates o f ch ild h o o d obesity, and
en h an ce the m ental and em otional health o f our
Several years ago, an advertising campaign for the
Children’s Defense Fund created a new version of
the moving words of Langston Hughes’s poem
“God to Hungry Child:
Hungry child,
I did not make this world fo r you.
You didn 't buy stock in my corporation.
You didn’t invest in my mutual fund.
Where were you when my company went public?
I made the world fo r the rich
And the will-be-rich
And the have-always-been rich.
Not for you,
Hungry child.
children.
In addition to ev ery th in g w e know about the
d ev astatin g s h o rt- and lo n g -te rm effects h u n ­
g er has on individual children, w e also know that
allow ing ch ild ren to go hungry is taking an
econom ic toll on o u r entire country.
T his is d o cu m en ted in reports like Feeding
A m e ric a ’s “C hild F ood Insecurity: T he E co ­
nom ic Im pact on O u r N atio n ,” w hich concluded
“the d irect and indirect effect o f child h u n g er in
the U .S. is a co n trib u tin g facto r to the n a tio n ’s
econom ic w oes and puts A m erica at a co m p eti­
tive d isad v an tag e.”
C h ild h o o d h unger in the U nited States is a
sham eful and p reventable crisis and w e m ust
w ork together to solve it right now , from indi­
vidual efforts in our ow n com m unities to sup­
porting policies that fight h u nger at the national
level. A first im m ediate step is to m ake sure the
m assively underutilized federal sum m er feeding
program ’ s b ureaucratic barriers are elim inated
so that the m ore than three m illion children
w ho get free and reduced price lunches can
ease h u n g er during the long su m m er m onths.
H u n g er does not stop in Ju n e w hen school is
out.
P resident O bam a has set a goal o f ending
ch ild h o o d h u n g er by 2015, and the federal
ch ild nutrition program s, w hich provide n u tri­
tious m eals and snacks each day to m illions o f
children, are an im portant co m p o n en t in these
efforts.
R ight now there is an im portant C hild N utri­
tion bill stalled in C ongress because it is c u r­
rently paid fo r w ith cuts in food stam ps. The
President and C ongress m ust find an o th er
w ay to pay for the bill oth er than food stam p
cuts. It is all ab o u t c h o ic e s— w hat do w e value?
T ell y o u r m em b er o f C ongress that hungry c h il­
dren need help but not by taking from one hand
to give to another.
A s w e are giving thanks to G od fo r all o u r
blessings this season, is that really the m essage
G o d w ants us to give to A m e ric a ’s hungry
children
Marian Wright Edelman is president o f the
Children’s Defense Fund.
Additional $10.00 each area
(Requiring Extensive Pre-Spraying)
UPHOLSTERY
CLEANING
Sofa: $69.00
Loveseat: $49.00
Sectional: $ 109 - $ 139
Chair or Recliner:
$25 - $49
Throw Pillows (With
th 9
Other Services): $5.00
ADDITIONAL
SERVICES
Area & Oriental Rug
Cleaning
Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning
Deodorizing & Pet -"s
Odor Treatment
Spot & Stain
Removal Service
Scotchguard Protection
Minor Water Damage
Services
SEE CURRENT FLYER
FOR ADDITIONAL
PRICES & SERVICES
Call for Appointment
(503) 281-3949