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Why Does Food Insecurity Exist and how do we Solve it? President Obama once said, “As the wealthiest nation on Earth, I believe the United States has a moral obligation to lead the fight against hunger and malnutrition, and to partner with others.” Food insecurity has always been an issue of the public as well as around the world. For so long, many generations of Americans have been living in poverty or in a low income state. It would be surprise as to how many Americans are living in poverty. As a result of this living situation, there are problems that arise with it. One of the problems is food insecurity. Food insecurity can be simply explained as not having access to affordable and quality food. This problem can lead to serious …show more content…
As of 2007, there have been reports that 48.7 million Americans are or have experienced being food insecurity at some point in their life. According to Central California Area Social Services Consortium (CCASSC), it has been reported that 45% of people who are food insecure are not below the federal poverty line (2012). There are many situations that are created for a person to become food insecure. Some examples of how food insecurities are created are issues with job stability, job loss, low or minimum wages, being a single parent, and/or unexpected expenses that can cause families to sacrifice or relocate money for food to pay for bills such as car repairs and medical bills (CCASSC, 2012). Many believed that food insecurity and hunger are the same thing. However, they are two completely different things. Congressional Digest (2010) stated that, “although hunger is related to food insecurity, it is a different phenomenon. Food insecurity is a household-level economic and social condition of limited access to food while hunger is an individual-level physiological condition that may result from food insecurity.” According to the CCASSC, it has been reported that 40.4% of the citizens living in California are food insecure. Unfortunately, as we hit closer to home in Fresno County, where it has been reported that 41.9% of out own citizens are food insecure
Walsh, Bryan. “America’s Food Crisis.” NEXUS. Eds. Kim and Michael Flachmann. Boston: Pearson, 2012. 166 – 173. Print.
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...
As the world population grows so does the amount of people that live without the proper amount of nutrition and food. Hunger in America can be hard to recognize and many people do not realize that hunger and malnutrition is a problem that many Americans face every day. America is the land of plenty and one of the most powerful and wealthy countries in the world, however is well known that is subject to problem such as starvation, considered as “third-world problem”. For decades, Americans have gone above and beyond to aid other countries that were faced with problems such as malnutrition and hunger. Sadly, the US has failed to aid them and millions are currently suffering from hunger. In addition, with how the economy is now, the effects of hunger are getting worse every day. Many Americans are relying and most of them depend on food stamps and private organizations to help with this crisis. The documentary, “A Place at the Table” by Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush present some issues and real life story to explain what is really happening and how hunger and obesity are not problems on opposite ends of a spectrum, but are in fact intricately linked. Poor nutrition, health problem and poverty are all related.
Food insecurity is a concerning issue that need to be addressed in our current society. In population such as the elderly it is alerting issue. For instance, many older adults lack access, have chronic health conditions and limited support when obtaining food. As result older adults experience nutritional complication such as malnourishment and sometimes death. To reduce the complications associated with food insecurity in the elderly population interventions are needed. This paper will highlight several interventions that addressed the issue of food insecurity among the elderly population. Lastly, this paper will provide detail information on which intervention will be the best approach in increasing food intake and nourishment among the
The United States Department of Agriculture defines food unsecurity as the availability of nutritionally adequate and safe food, or the ability to acquire such food, is limited or uncertain for a household. Food insecurity also does not always mean that the household has nothing to eat. More simply stated it is the struggle to provide nutritional food for ones family and/or self. The people that suffer from food insecurity are not all living below the poverty line. In 2012 49.0 million people were considered food insecure in the United States of those 46.5 million were in poverty (Hunger & Poverty Statistics, 2012). For some individual’s food insecurity is only a temporary situation for others it maybe for extended period. Food insecurity due temporary situation such as unemployment, divorce, major medical or illness can be become more long term. The vast majority of these are families with children.
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.
“Food Deserts” as defined by the CDC, are “areas that lack access to affordable fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat milk, and other foods that make up the full range of a healthy diet” (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). In simpler terms, a food desert is a community with little to no grocery stores. Many reports show that neighborhoods with less access to neighborhood grocery stores have a higher risk for obesity and unhealthy diets unlike neighborhoods where residents have better access to neighborhood grocery stores. The “USDA estimates that 23.5 million people, including 6.5 million children, live in low-income areas that are than one mile from a supermarket. Of the 23.5 million, 11.5 million are low-income individuals in households with incomes at or below 200 percent of the poverty line. Of the 2.3 million people living in low-income rural areas that ...
Food insecurity is an issue faced by millions of Americans every day, and the biggest group affected by this is working families with children. Food insecurity is so big that the United States government has now recognized it and provided a definition for it. The United States government has defined food insecurity as “a household level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food” (USDA.gov). Food banks and anti-hunger advocates agree that some of the causes of food insecurity are stagnant wages, increases in housing costs, unemployment, and inflation in the cost of food. These factors have caused food banks to see a change in the groups of people needing assistance.
Hunger is an issue that is becoming more and more prevalent in cities across the United States. In a survey released last year by the United States Conference of Mayors’ Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness, it was reported that requests for emergency food assistance rose in 21 out of the 25 major cities that were surveyed. Among those seeking emergency food, 51 percent were in families and 37 percent were employed. (United States Conference of Mayors’ Task Force). These findings alone suggest a changing visibility of hunger where many previously middle class families are become dependent on food aid. This change would thus need to be addressed by institutions and interventions, that focus on the issue of hunger. However, in the same report it was found that “In 95 percent of the cities surveyed, food pantries cut the amount of food each person received and soup kitchens reduced meal sizes. In almost all the cities, pantries capped people's monthly visits as well.”(United States Conference of Mayors’ Task Force). While food pantries struggle to handle the increased demand as budgets are being cut, it may be necessary to approach this issue of hunger differently.
Imagine coming home as a single parent to your two small children. Their eyes are dull, their ribs are highly noticeable under their old shirts and they ask, “Did you bring us home anything to eat?” You can almost feel your heart being ripped apart as their little faces shine with hope, thinking maybe you finally brought some food home. Unfortunately, you have nothing to give them. Across the globe, people are living in situations much like I mentioned. They have leaky roofs, old clothes and little to no food. Children come home and search their cupboards only to find them bare. Then there are the kids who come home to find their cupboards chock full of unhealthy foods such as chips, sweets and processed goods. Some of these impoverished places are known as food deserts. Together, we can feed the hungry and give them the nourishment they need.
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.
The social conditions in which homeless youth find themselves, may result in absence of or poor access to nutritious food. This can be defined as food insecurity, where an individual has the inability to consume an adequate diet (Health Canada, 2012). For the youth living on streets, education becomes an obstacle, which may lead to unstable work, and therefore inconsistent income. They have to settle with low value jobs to earn just enough to feed themselves on a daily basis – the hand-to-mouth concept. Therefore, there are very limited options that the homeless youth are left with when it comes to food. When buying food, they tend to choose the cheaper alternative foods which are usually unhealthy and have little to no nutritional value to the body. Examples of these kinds of food include pizza, burgers, or perishable food items that are ready-to-eat (Dachner & Tarasuk, 2002). From our everyday experience, one can say that too much unhealthy foods can cause long-term health issues, ranging from diabetes to heart disease. Eventually, the immune system weakens, and serious complications may occur for the individual. It may be difficult for the homeless youth to access any health care services; so many times the symptoms for these diseases can go undiagnosed. At times, the homeless youth tend to go extending periods of time without food, resulting in intense hunger. Hunger is the consequence of food insecurity. It is the resulting feeling of discomfort, weakness, illness and pain – all of which play a great role on the health of youth (Jovanovic, Lecture 9). Though free food is available through charitable food programs such as food banks, they may not be accessible and travelling may not be an option, especially if they suffer fro...
Alaimo, K., Olson, C. M., Frongillo, E. A., & Briefel, R. R. (2001). Food insufficiency, family income, and
America is a capitalist society. It should come to a surprise when we live like this daily. We work for profit. We’ll buy either for pleasure or to sell later for profit. It should come to no surprise that our food is made the same way because we are what we eat. We are capitalist that eat a capitalist meal. So we must question our politics. Is our government system to blame for accepting and encouraging monopolies?
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.