Food Insecurity In America

884 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Effects of food insecurity on health essay

Hunger has become a world problem and affects a large number of people. the United States is also not immune from the influence of hunger. On the website of Feeding America, I select Arizona and North Dakota to study the food insecurity rate. In 2014, the food insecurity rate in Arizona was 17.1% and it involved more than one million people; the food insecurity rate in North Dakota was 8% and it involved about 60 thousand people (Feeding America). The map shows that the food insecurity rate in the United States in 2014 was 15.4%. The food insecurity in Arizona is a little higher than the national average and that in North Dakota is much lower than the national average. The average cost of a meal in the United States is $2.89 and the money required …show more content…

However, the inequality gap in the United States is large. In recent decades, one of the economic trends in the United States is the growth in the centralization of economic power. According to the textbook, the bottom 90% of stock owners owned only 19% of all stock value and the real control of the American economy belongs to a small amount of people (Harper and Leicht 106). In addition, the economies have changed a lot and the number of labor-intensive companies is decreasing the the number of technology-intensive companies is increasing. Therefore, many people lose their jobs. The unemployment deprives people of the ability to buy enough food. The decreasing salary also makes it difficult for residents to buy adequate food. According to the documentary Inequality for All, the typical male work was making about $48,000 a year in 1978, but he earned less in 2010. The living cost is increasing, but the income of the workers is decreasing. It becomes more difficult for people to make ends …show more content…

The causes of food insecurity include unemployment, high living cost, low wages, increasing taxes and inequality, as well as the lack of access to foods and SNAP. In spite of some efforts, the meal gap does not improve apparently in recent years. The food insecurity is an economic and political issue and the government and individuals can take some actions to address the problem. For example, the government can increase the investment in SNAP and raise the minimum wage. Individuals can donate money and food to local food

Show More
Related

  • Wealth Inequality in the US with Sociological Viewpoints

    1100 Words  | 3 Pages

    3. What are the effects of this wealth inequality in the US and what causes it, as well as some possible solutions and their ramifications, will all be discussed and answered below. There has always been a wealth gap between the richest and poorest in society. However, in the past decade, the wealth gap between the richest and poorest citizens in the US has been growing rapidly. In the 70s and 80s, the wealth and income growth rate for both poor and rich people were similar, however, between the years 2009 and 2012 the top 1% income increased 31% while for the bottom 20%, their income actually dropped and for the vast majority of Americans, the average yearly income only increased by 0.4% [4].

    Read More

  • Income Inequality Dbq

    662 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the years, “ U.S income inequality has been increasing steadily since the 1970s and now has reached levels not seen since 1928” (Source A).

    Read More

  • Analysis of Food Insecurity Among Hispanics

    1509 Words  | 4 Pages

    Food insecurity is one of the major social problems that we have in our world today. The concern about this problem is the increasing number of people that are beginning to experience hunger more often. “While hunger has long been a public health concern in developing countries, it has received varying degrees of attention in the United States, most notable during the 1930s and 1960s” (Poppendieck 1992). In addition to lack of food, there are consequences that follow. People, especially children, who suffer from food deprivation also undergo some health issues such as malnutrition and obesity, which leads to more health care and hospitalizations. “In the early 1980s, most reports of hunger involved families with children, the elderly, the unskilled and unemployed youth, the mentally ill, the homeless and minorities” (Brown 1992; Nestle and Guttmacher 1992). However, a particular ethnic group that is greatly affected by food insecurities are the Hispanic...

    Read More

  • A Classless Society In Mantsios's Class In America

    1410 Words  | 3 Pages

    With each class comes a certain level in financial standing, the lower class having the lowest income and the upper class having the highest income. According to Mantsios’ “Class in America” the wealthiest one percent of the American population hold thirty-four percent of the total national wealth and while this is going on nearly thirty-seven million Americans across the nation live in unrelenting poverty (Mantsios 284-6). There is a clear difference in the way that these two groups of people live, one is extreme poverty and the other extremely

    Read More

  • Working Poor: Food Insecurity

    1285 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are several programs in the Muncie area that assist those who are dealing with food insecurity. Some of these programs are: Indiana school breakfast and lunch program, Second Harvest Food bank and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program. These three programs help those who suffer from food insecurity but do so in different ways.

    Read More

  • Food Insecurity In Canada

    2107 Words  | 5 Pages

    British Columbia (BC) is a wealthy province that provides a variety of publicly funded services to its residents, however, from 2011 to 2012 almost 1.1 million British Columbians and 4.9 percent of Canadian children were affected by food insecurity (Rideout & Kotasky, 2014, Statistics Canada, 2015). Food insecurity goes beyond not having enough to eat but also has an impact on health equity and social justice. “Children experiencing food insecurity have poorer school performance, and having not learned healthy eating habits in childhood; they face additional challenges of healthy living as adults” (Rideout & Kotasky, 2014).

    Read More

  • A Sociological Perspective On Food Insecurity

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the year 2015, around 40 million U.S. citizens were food insecure (Randall para. 3). Food insecurity can be defined in paragraph 3 by “[having] difficulty at some time during the year providing enough food for all their members due to a lack of resources. This 12.7% of American citizens also contains another group - children. Aged 10-17, 6.8 million adolescents struggle with a food insecurity. There have been several years of cuts to the social programs designed to help these people, along with the Great Recession continuing to leave an impact on the U.S. economy (para. 6). Under the Obama administration, $8.6 billion was cut from the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps. From 1993-2001 under the Clinton administration, former President Bill Clinton’s administration “gutted the welfare system” (para. 15). Because of these budget cuts, the families who rely on food assistance from the government have been allotted less throughout the years. From a sociological perspective, the concepts of sociological imagination, class stratification, and social location are in effect when it comes to child hunger in the United States. Being hungry is an issue larger than any one individual can control.

    Read More

  • Child Hunger in the USA

    1436 Words  | 3 Pages

    The United States is known as the wealthiest country in the world. But, there are many people that can't afford to buy food for their families, many are also homeless. “While hunger affects people of all ages, it's particularly devastating for children even short-term episodes of hunger can cause lasting damage."(“Child Nutrition Programs") Child hunger in the United States is caused by poverty, unemployment, food insecurity, and food shortage; however there are many solutions to this problem like FRAC strategies, food banks, summer feeding programs, and backpack feeding programs.

    Read More

  • America’s Food Crisis, by Bryan Walsh

    961 Words  | 2 Pages

    Walsh, Bryan. “America’s Food Crisis.” NEXUS. Eds. Kim and Michael Flachmann. Boston: Pearson, 2012. 166 – 173. Print.

    Read More

  • Income Inequality

    939 Words  | 2 Pages

    Income inequality has affected American citizens ever since the American Dream came to existence. The American Dream is centered around the concept of working hard and earning enough money to support a family, own a home, send children to college, and invest for retirement. Economic gains in income are one of the only possible ways to achieve enough wealth to fulfill the dream. Unfortunately, many people cannot achieve this dream due to low income. Income inequality refers to the uneven distribution of income and wealth between the social classes of American citizens. The United States has often experienced a rise in inequality as the rich become richer and the poor become poorer, increasing the unstable gap between the two classes. The income gap in America has been increasing steadily since the late 1970’s, and has now reached historic highs not seen since the 1920’s (Desilver). UC Berkeley economics professor, Emmanuel Saez conducted extensive research on past and present income inequality statistics and published them in his report “Striking it Richer.” Saez claims that changes in technology, tax policies, labor unions, corporate benefits, and social norms have caused income inequality. He stands to advocate a change in American economic policies that will help close this inequality gap and considers institutional and tax reforms that should be developed to counter it. Although Saez’s provides legitimate causes of income inequality, I highly disagree with the thought of making changes to end income inequality. In any diverse economic environment, income inequality will exist due to the rise of some economically successful people and the further development of factors that push people into poverty. I believe income inequality e...

    Read More

  • Hunger In America

    323 Words  | 1 Pages

    The America I believe in has food for everyone. In this world today, many people don’t know when their next meal will be. One in six people in America face hunger. We can help stop this by volunteering at food pantries or donating food to your local food bank. Just by doing something as simple as donating food, one by one we can each help stop hunger in America.

    Read More

  • Food Insecurity In The United States

    412 Words  | 1 Pages

    The main argument of “A Place at the Table” is Food Insecurity. Not knowing where your next meal will come from is food insecurity. One out of six people in America have food insecurity and unless told you, you would never know. The United States is ranked the worst among IMFs’, the International Monetary Fund, Advanced Economy countries of Food Insecurities. Researchers wanted viewers to understand that this is a huge problem within the United States. They want Americans to take a stand and make a difference. They wanted to showcase the problem to the United States government and make them see that innocent people are suffering. Funds for food stamps are getting cut, leaving people with little to no way to purchase groceries. School assistance

    Read More

  • Food Insecurity Research Paper

    472 Words  | 1 Pages

    When one imagines people facing food insecurity, the image of a gaunt, thinning individual often comes to mind. However, when it comes to food insecurity, Americans are struggling with the opposite issue. One study found that individuals experiencing food insecurity were 32 percent more likely to be overweight than those who were food secure. It already seems like the American government has combated this issue by distributing out food stamps to low income families and setting up food banks across the country. In fact, statistics from National Geographic found that around 48 million Americans are given food stamps. However, these families only receive about $133.07 dollars monthly, with equates to about $1.50 for each meal. With the anxiety of

    Read More

  • Essay On Income Inequality

    1524 Words  | 4 Pages

    Income inequality continues to increase in today’s world, especially in the United States. Income inequality means the unequal distribution between individuals’ assets, wealth, or income. In the Twilight of the Elites, Christopher Hayes, a liberal journalist, states the inequality gap between the rich and the poor are increasing widening, and there need to have things done - tax the rich, provide better education - in order to shortening the inequality gap. America is a meritocratic country, which means that everybody has equal opportunity to be successful regardless of their class privileges or wealth. However, equality of opportunity does not equal equality of outcomes. People are having more opportunities to find a better job, but their incomes are a lot less compared to the top ten percent rich people. In this way, the poor people will never climb up the ladder to high status and become millionaires. Therefore, the government needs to increase all the tax rates on rich people in order to reduce income inequality.

    Read More

  • Essay On Food Insecurity

    1859 Words  | 4 Pages

    Food insecurity and poor nutrition is an alarmingly large problem for low income families, especially in developing countries. Many strategies exist to fight this problem, although not many of these address all the factors contributing to it along with all the possible solutions to solve it. In many cases, multiple strategies must correlate and work together so that all the determinants of this issue are addressed and can fight food insecurity from different angles. This essay will discuss the significance of the problem, a range of possible strategies to solve the problem, and go into detail on a select few that will correlate and work together to solve different factors of food insecurity and poor nutrition.

    Read More

More about Food Insecurity In America

Open Document