Posted: 10/17/03
Americans eat big, give little
VENTURA, Calif. (RNS) –Americans spend almost 50 times as much money on fast food in a year than they do on helping poor children, a survey by the Barna Research Group shows.
The typical respondent reported his or her household spends about $240 a year on fast food. In that same period, a typical household spends only $5 on assisting children in poverty.
The survey indicated half of respondents' households had not donated anything to organizations helping the poor in the last year.
Six in 10 Americans said they don't think it's their job to aid poor children abroad.
“Although it is a disappointment that so many Americans don't feel responsibility for children in poverty, I believe more people would participate if they knew who to trust and knew what to do,” said Wesley Stafford, president of Compassion International.
Two-thirds of respondents said the government of a child's country and the parents of poor children should bear “a lot” of responsibility to help poor children. Thirteen percent said individuals should have “a lot” of responsibility.
The survey results were based on 1,002 telephone interviews of adults older than 18, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
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