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Hunger in America: What is Food Insecurity?

sshakorahJuly 3, 2022

3 minutes read

Food Insecurity

Being a full time homemaker and food blogger, it isnt lost on me that food insecurity is a real issue. Food insecurity is defined as the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. “More than 800 million people live every day with hunger or food insecurity as their constant companion”.

Even in the richest country in the world, 38 million people, including 12 million children, are food insecure. Hunger in America is a very real thing. It really is hard to imagine that possibly your next door neighbor could be experincing food insecurity. But when you consider that come the end of the school year, 22 million children lose their access to food, you soon begin to realize that the crises is real.

Inflation

When the cost of living is at an all time high and the rate of food inflation rising to 9.5%, It’s no wonder that so many people face hunger on a daily basis. Some people don’t know where their next meal is coming from. Every community in America faces food insecurity, and some more than others. It seems unreal, but the underlying causes make it more clear. According to census.gov , poverty rates for people under the age of 18 increased from 14.4 percent in 2019 to 16.1 percent in 2020. Poverty rates also increased for people aged 18 to 64 from 9.4 percent in 2019 to 10.4 percent in 2020. Of course the pandemic has actively made the situation worse, but there are also other factors that have been long standing:

Access to Afforable Housing
Chronic Health Issues/ Access to Healthcare
Wages

Systemic Racism and Discrimination

Some of the most vulnerable groups include, children, Black, Latino, Native, rural community members, and seniors. This also includes families with children and single parent homes. Making the choice between food, rent, electricity, medicine, and transportation are not rare occurrences.

Food Deserts

Even when food is available, not all of it is nutritious. Food deserts compound the problem of food scarcity that much more. Food deserts are defined as “a low-income tract where a substantial number or substantial share of residents do not have easy access to a supermarket or large grocery store.”When people( children more specifically) don’t have access to simple non- processed foods, they can not thrive. About 13.5 million are impacted by this.

Education and Food

When I think of the country in which I live, I consider what key factors that make society better, and hands down that would be education. An educated society has so many benefits that we all reap the rewards of. Higher educated societies produce less crime, reduce independence on government assistance, overall improved public health, greater political and civic engagement, and greater tax revenue. But you can’t have children going to school hungry. Language and motor skills seem to take a hit when kids aren’t fed properly. Quite frankly when I’m hungry the amount I can accomplish is truly diminished. What can we expect out of our future leaders when so many who have vast potential can’t focus on learning because they have a rumbling tummy. Whether this be because of poor food choices from parents who have the ability to feed there kids properly( consider childhood obesity), or the lack of overall availability, this dosent change that we are less productive overall when the least of these are struggling.

Mitigating the Problem

There are some things that we can do to mitigate the problem:

Give monthly to a reputable charity

Volunteer your time
Thank a volunteer
Start a fundraiser

Host a food drive
Partner with a charity
Advocate and support policies for change

Empathy- walking a mile in someone else’s shoes

Feeding America is the nation’s leading organization that fights domestic hunger. They have networks that help with food pantries, food banks, and meal programs. 98% of all donations go directly to people in need and is supported to the Better Business Bureau. 1 in 7 people are fed via this program which is huge! If you are interested in what you can do follow the link! https://www.feedingamerica.org/take-action