Editor’s note: Today’s letters to the editor are from Southwest Junior High students learning about persuasive writing.

To the editor:

According to whyarewehungry.com, 11.7 million children live in houses where people have to skip meals or eat less to make ends meet. That means one in ten households in the USA live with hunger or at the risk of it. In 2007, close to one in eight Americans struggled to feed themselves and their families. In 2006, 12.2 percent of Americans didn’t have the money or assistance to get enough food to maintain active, healthy lives, according to CNN.com. The poor economy has taken so many jobs away from people forcing them to give up everything resulting in hungry children.

I know one job may seem like enough but some people have to work two or three jobs just to buy the necessities in life. Some places you can help out are: Lawrence Interdenominational Nutrition Kitchen, Lawrence Free Community Christmas, Salvation Army, Penn House Food Pantry, Ballard Center food pantry, Angel Food pantry and Trinity Interfaith food pantry. So take your children this winter to serve the hungry or donate to one of these organizations.

Alyssa Hicks,

Southwest Junior High