Feeding Kids Solves Part of the Problem

On the surface, the celebrity-studded opening of the new Kids Cafe in Venice is to be applauded. Hungry children are being fed by caring people (“The Stars Shine Brightly for Hungry Kids,” Nov. 20).

But for many of us involved in anti-hunger work, the growing number of Kids Cafes nationwide raises disturbing questions. Are soup kitchens for children really the way the most prosperous nation in the history of the world should address the problem of childhood hunger? Since a hungry child is most likely to live in a poor family, what are the implications of feeding hungry children without also addressing family poverty and disintegration?

We all feel good when we feed hungry children and all hungry children deserve to eat. But we should not let “feel goodism” lull us into accepting what should be unacceptable: poverty and hunger in a land of plenty and the public policies and attitudes that perpetuate these tragedies.

SUSAN CRAMER, Executive Director, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, Los Angeles