...Could you survive a month in the life of a person who is food insecure? The constant thought of wondering where your next meal will come from. Food insecurity refers to the lack of availability of food and an individual’s access to it. The image of food insecurity and hunger most people have is of individuals living in poor countries like Africa, however that is not accurate. Food insecurity and hunger is a big problem around the world, happening in powerful countries like the United States. In the year 2012, approximately “50 million Americans were food insecure” (A Place at the Table). These individuals live in hunger or fear of starvation, and in severely food insecure households the children experience hunger. These people could be your...
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...Food insecurity- (not knowing when or how the next meal will be obtained) is only one facet in the operation a Food Pantry which distributes food to various groups of people of a community. A food pantry or commonly known as a food closet, food shelves or local food bank are non-profit organizations that provide assistance to communities in need. Their main focus is to assist people of various groups to maintain a healthy life. You will be surprised to see the groups within the community affected by food insecurity. Food insecurity, defined by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is a limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways. Children are the number one victims of food insecurity because their family has to make the hard decisions whether to pay bills or to feed their child in a manner that is healthy. On a national average, 15.9 million children suffer from food insecurity. Food insecurity in children can hinder not only their physical health but their state of mind as well. Most children in a food insecurity environment might have a difficult experience in the performance of normal learning objectives in school. Low income families make up a very small percentage of food insecurity’s total population because most low income family has at least one working adult. Most people believe that people living in poverty, the homeless,...
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...Food, any nutritional substance that humans eat, or drink in order to grow, maintain their body, and most importantly to survive. Conflict, on the other hand, deals with aspects of human clashes, or a state of opposition between two parties. However, even if these two aspects of human life are very different they do intensely relate to each other. Food is considered to be the most important resource that humans without a doubt need to survive, but conflicts like war, it is resources that are fought by other people through obtaining land for agriculture or fighting to pillage it through the conquest of other states. With humans draining resources and accelerating climate change, it is inevitable that conflict both between and within...
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...because it’s all I could think of, food, when I went to school,” recounted Jahzaire (Strauss). Jahzaire is but one of many children who wind up going to school hungry, and it is negatively impacting their chances of success both in the classroom, and in the real world. In schools,...
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...Increasing the Efficiency of SNAP According to the latest annual food insecurity estimate from the federal government, fourteen percent of U.S. households lacked access to enough good food at some point last year (Delaney). Food insecurity exists in every county in America. The Do Something Organization stated that, in 2013, 17.5 million households were food insecure. More and more people are relying on food banks and pantries. (“11 facts about hunger in the USA”). It may be surprising to some people that such a problem is happening in the United States; the land of freedom and opportunity. There are many different programs in the USA that try to help decrease food insecurity, however, the most influential program in...
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...In the world, there are a significant amount of places that have disparities such as hunger and food insecurity. One disease that might have a relation to food insecurity within various places in the world is diabetes. For example, people who are food insecure will have a high significant risk for getting diabetes within the United States (López and Seligman 14-8). Another example is the appearance of diabetes within Mexico where there are people who are also food insecure (Pérez-Escamilla S63). These examples indicates that diabetes occurs within other countries due to food insecure individuals in the world. The research question for this study is to determine the relationship between food insecurity and diabetes. The objective of the study...
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...The Obesity Paradox: The Causes and The Consequences Irony not only exists in the idea of the obesity paradox, but in the food situation in Salinas Valley, California. The Salinas Valley produces crops such as broccoli, lettuce, spinach and other vegetables earning this city the title of “the Salad Bowl of the Nation” (Fuller). As a major agricultural town, the Salinas Valley population consists mainly farmers and their families, most who earn minimal income. In the New York Times article “In a California Valley, Healthy Food Everywhere but on the Table”, the obesity paradox prevails through food insecurity caused by poverty and creates increased risk to diseases. Due to the increasing rate of poverty among the farming families in Salinas...
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...Is the Food Stamp Program a Substantial Contribution to Childhood Obesity? Is the Food Stamp Program a Substantial Contribution to Childhood Obesity? Introduction Is the rising rate of childhood obesity within the United States affected by the food stamp program? This is the question that formulated the basis of my research. Looking at the rising statistics of obesity rates within America’s youth and researching why the weight of the United States community is significantly passing those of its surrounding countries. In researching this topic I hope to determine if the food stamp program is in any way responsible for this increasing health issue. As the years progress the health of today’s youth is rapidly decreasing. Although the lacks of exercise and poor food influences serve as a high influence on this issue, researching this topic has shown that the food stamp program has helped contribute to the issue at hand. Presenting Argument and Supportive Research To be classified as an overweight child, the body mass index is in the 85th percentile and the ratio of weight to height is unhealthy (Baun, 2011 p. 623). This number has increased drastically among America’s youth over the past decade. As obesity increases among youth, there is a decrease in physical activity as well as healthy eating habits. Healthy eating choices are the focus of my research, as I concentrate on the eating habits of children participating in America’s Food stamp Program. The heaviest children...
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...Affiliation A) Write a rationale for the presentation in which you do the following: Hunger is a discomfort that emerges as a result of lack of food accompanied by the desire to eat. In the United States, hunger does not take the extreme form as it is experienced in some third world countries. Instances of severe food deprivation are rare in the United States. Clinical symptoms of food deprivation are sometimes used to determine if children in a country are faced by hunger. Such symptoms include low weight in relation to body height, low height for age and wasting. Such symptoms characterize children who are starved although in the USA they are rare and when they occur they are limited. The impact of hunger as seen in the United States is usually difficult to be measured. The impacts include; tiredness, irritability, frequent headaches, frequent colds and infections. The clinical objective of measuring hunger is very difficult hence alternative methods have been deployed in both the private and public sector. The alternative measures of measuring hunger are using a person’s self-report of his/her psychological or subjective experience of hunger. Researchers may not agree on any particular definition of hunger. But for the purpose of policy making and measurement hunger is defined as taking in inadequate amount of food resulting from lack of money and resources. It can also be defined as the mental or physical condition resulting from not eating due to poor economic or...
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...Climate change and childhood obesity Jose Tello Professor: Martha Monetti Devry University, San Jose Ca. This article focuses on what the title says; climate change and childhood obesity in the United States of America, it refers to this problem of childhood obesity as an “epidemic” it gives possible causes for Pediatric Morbidity in the United States and it shows us some evidence regarding influences on obesity. I don’t really agree with this article 100% because I am very skeptical when people show me “proof” or “evidence” of something which in this case is Climate change, and the way climate change is making kids fat. Climate changes is a global issue and as such the problem should be pretty equal everywhere globally, but it probably affects us more here in the United States because of other factors like: not giving our kids chores, or kids playing too many video-games, or too much time on Facebook and not playing outside, also eating on the couch and staying there after they eat. This would be a problem even if the food that the kids eat was healthy but it is not healthy so it makes it ten times worse. Eating fast-food everyday doesn’t help; frozen food has extra salts to make it last more than normal, and all the sugars in sodas and juices are really bad for our Kidneys. I could argue the opposite; I could argue that obesity is causing a climate change, and not the other way around like this article claims, For example, many obese individuals are...
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...healthy food, quality health care, financial education, and a supportive educational system enables all Passaic County residents of all ages (children, teenagers, adults and seniors) to thrive, and lead healthy lifestyles. United way of Passaic County understands the socioeconomic and community-level factors that contribute to health outcomes. Our work is helping to create healthier communities as well as motivating individuals in our community to take steps to a healthier life. Inspiring the community to engage, mobilize and volunteer around health issues, we're working to improve nutrition and support healthy lifestyles for youth and adults. Learn About the Issue • 18% of low-income preschool children (ages 2 – 5 years) in New Jersey are obese. • Across the state, 15.4% of children (ages 10 – 17) are obese and only 29.1% of children (ages 6 -17) participate in vigorous physical activity every day. • Almost 30% of New Jerseyans report no leisure-time physical activity or consumption of fruits and vegetables. • The leading causes of ill-health in Passaic County are diet-related chronic illnesses such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. • The cost of food locally, in particular for fresh vegetables and fruits, has increased by almost increased 5% since 2010 – making purchasing nutritious food even more difficult. • Recent estimates note that ~6% of Passaic County residents experience some level of food insecurity. •...
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...countries of the world. It is important to maintain health standards in world’s one of the most developed country like America. Malnutrition can result into a number of nutrition disorders which include abundance or deficiency of important nutrients required from food (Water H. R., Penny M. E., R. C., Narro R., Willis J., Caulfield L. E., & Black, 2008). The increased uptake of unhealthy food products is also one of the main reasons of malnutrition. Children aged less than 18 are the main victims of the food irregularities. The data collected in this paper includes the communities of America and according to statistics there are around 16 million children in America who live in food insecurity in recent times. The problem is rarely a concern for adults because they are more aware of their nutrition choices and adult body is developed and not requires a continued supply of nutrients which is the case with children. Children under the age of 5 years are at the greatest risk of developing malnutrition. There are food secure and food insecure states defined based on the findings of the Community health services for children suffering from malnutrition (Schaible U. E., & Kaufmann, 2010). There are prospects of emergency food assistance and there are children who depend on them for their nutrition which remain inadequate. The problem of malnutrition has affected children world over but this...
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...Of the 73 million children living in the United States, over 32 million are in households considered low-income or below the federal poverty level (“Child Poverty,” 2017). While elementary and secondary public school education are available to all residents under age 18, students from low socioeconomic status (SES) households (under 200 percent of the federal poverty level) have an academic disadvantage when compared to non-poor peers (income over 200 percent of FPL). As the “lottery of birth” of growing up with or without financial stability determines a child’s overall standard of living, it thus also determines the quality of their education (Kristof, 2014). This paper will outline three areas of inequality between low SES and non-poor public...
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...There are some terrific organizations out there that continuously raise awareness of the growing problem of hunger in the world. The problem is there are too many people and families who don’t make enough money to support their family and who struggle to even put food on the table. Poverty and hunger seem to be one in the same in America. But, according to FeedAmerica.org, poverty is not the only factor of food insecurity. Even people considered above the poverty line are at risk of hunger also. Research shows that unemployment is a bigger result of food insecurity as opposed to poverty among Americans. So, how should we address the issue of hunger and food insecurity? The first step is creating aware of this epic problem our society...
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...contributor to disease in the world, according to the UN's Standing Committee on Nutrition (SCN). Malnutrition is a global problem that affects not only developing countries but developed ones as well. In the United States alone, the annual cost for illnesses linked to hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity is $130.5 billion with only $17.8 billion of charitable contributions devoted to addressing these issues. Often thought of as undernourishment in the sense of not getting enough food, malnutrition is the lack of proper nutrients in a person’s diet that contributes to health problems. This means that individuals can be getting enough to eat but are not consuming the daily requirements of calories, protein or micronutrients. ● The global food system is broken. In total around 3.5 billion people — half the people on the planet today — are malnourished ● 2.3 million children die every year due to malnutrition ● Largest single contributor to disease in the world, according to the UN's Standing Committee on Nutrition (SCN) ● Iodine deficiency is the world's greatest single cause of mental retardation and brain damage ● Countries lose 23% of their GDP as a result of malnutrition Why choose this problem? The annual cost of malnutrition or its threat to US(i.e. “food insecurity) includes: ● $130.5 billion: Illness costs linked to hunger,malnutrition and...
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