Top Hunger News: Microlending Builds Community and Security in U.S.

Domestic

The Poor Always Pay. An Asian bank for low-income women is out to teach Wall Street a lesson. [Newsweek]

Farmers Struggling to Cultivate Markets. Vendors contending with low-income and ethnic communities see business withering. [The Chicago Tribune]

Huge Increase in Islanders on Food Stamps. One out of every 10 Staten Islanders now shops with food stamps. [SILive.com]

Five Myths about America's Homeless. Last month, the Obama administration released a plan designed to end homelessness in 10 years... [that was] fueled by recent research debunking a number of long-standing myths about homelessness in America -- and showing that many of our old policies were unwittingly making the problem worse. [The Washington Post]

International

Haitian Farmers Reaping Hard Times as Hunger Grows. In Haiti's rocky northern hills, Joseph Jean has planted seeds donated by U.S. aid group Trees for The Future hoping to reverse the deforestation that has washed away soil and impoverished farmers. [AFP]

China Moves from Aid Recipient to Aid Donor. When Britain announced it would stop giving public money to China as part of a plan to direct financial aid to countries in greater need, it was symbolic of China’s shift from aid receiver to aid giver. [IPS]

Malawi: There is Food but No Money to Take it to the People. Another year with a surplus harvest of maize, the staple food, is good news for Malawi, but dry spells in the south have left around 700,000 people in need of food assistance. [IRIN]

Africa: Help Out Small Farmers, Report Urges. Small-holder farmers, who make up almost all of Africa’s agriculture sector, need more support to reduce over-dependence on increasingly costly food imports, states a new report. [IRIN]

Cameroon Fears Imminent Hunger. There are fears of an imminent and unprecedented hunger and reduced farmers' income in most parts of Cameroon, particularly in the North West and South West regions as a cocoyam is spreading. [AfricaNews.com]

Climate Change/Environment

Oil Spill Has Not Spurred Change. For environmentalists, the BP oil spill may be disproving the maxim that great tragedies produce great change. [TheDay.com]

Plan to Save Indonesia's Forests Hits Snags. Environmentalists warn of loopholes as industries lobby for land rights. [The Wall Street Journal]