Paul Wong

I chose the Mammen 2008 article because it talks about food insecurity and how it relates to poverty. Food insecurity is a big persisting problem among the impoverished and I want to learn how it directly relates to poverty.

One of the most interesting points that the author points out in the article is the fact that the US is one of the richest nations in the world based on its per capita GDP, but when compared to other developed nations, there are many prevalent paradoxes that emerge from the US. The US has lower levels of life expectancy and higher rates of infant mortality and child poverty than other developed countries. The main concern as the author points out, is that the US spends less time trying to help families out of poverty and instead is growing more and more in class inequality. This article, based on research, shows that low-income families in the US are more susceptible to food insecurity than any other demographic. But there is also another paradox where rural low-income families are more food insecure in prosperous states compared to those in less prosperous states. From this conclusion, it seems clear to me that food insecurity doesn’t relate to where someone is located in the nation. Rather, low income is the most determining factor to food insecurity and this makes a lot of sense because access to food and produce isn’t hard to find anywhere in the country. It comes down to if one can afford to eat.

The point of this article is to find the underlying reasons why a family could be food insecure. The article has very interesting finds claiming that persistent food insecurity among low-income families are a consequence of place and personal circumstances. Families are reaching out with their human capital skills to other people for help. Whether it be seeking help from extended family members or visiting a local food bank, the research shows that families tend to seek federal help as a last resort. It is not exactly clear why families will seek out federal help last, but the article assumes that it is because these existing federal assistance programs are inadequate. Perhaps this can help with ASC’s assistance programs by giving them another perspective to assist these poor families seeking help. From this article, it is clear that one must get to the underlying factors and behaviors that causes poverty and food insecurity so that one can be truly assisted.