Blog 5: Spain Recoils as Its Hungry Forage Trash Bins for a Next Meal

This article talks about the growing hunger problems in Spain, especially a city called Girona. In the city of Girona it was becoming so common to see people looking through trash bins instead of going to local soup kitchens or food banks. It became so common that the city made the decision to put padlocks on the trash bins. An official in Girona, Eduardo Berloso said that he made this suggestion so the hungry would be encouraged to go to the local soup kitchens and food banks. Others said he put the padlocks on to protect Girona’s image because it is a popular town for tourists.  Hunger is becoming such a problem because the employment rate is over fifty percent in Spain and it is still growing because jobs and salaries are still being cut. On top of this the government has recently raised the value- added tax three percent. This comes to a total of twenty- one percent on most goods, making it even harder for people of Spain to provide for themselves and their families.

The author of this article, Suzanne Daily not only uses facts to show the increase in people who are unable to buy food. She also uses other people personal experiences with scavenging for food in Spain. In doing this more people are able to relate to the article because an increase in the hungry is not only happening in Spain but it is happening around the world. The unemployment rate is rising everywhere, making it harder for people to be able to afford food. The city the article mentions, Girona, is more concerned about their image rather than the well- being of the people. I feel that America often times is like this too. America has a tendency to try and hide people who are in desperate need of basic necessities to try and reassure not only the world, but the people who live in America as well that everything is fine. It isn't fine though. People are struggling and without help it isn’t going to get any better, it will only get worse. This article is significant because it shows that many places are struggling and it takes all people to work together to truly make a change and improve the increase in hungry people around the world.