Book Summary: Megan Carney Part 2

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) administers food assistance programs that help provide food for low to no income families. It is their goal to increase food security and reduce hunger by increasing access to food, a healthful diet, and nutrition education for low-income Americans (Caswell, 2013, para. 1). Some of the current nutrition assistance programs include “the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)”(Caswell, 2013, para. 1). SNAP will be the primary nutrition assistance program of the paper at hand. No matter how morally good it is to try to help reduce hunger and increase food security within the United States, there are still many questions regarding issues with SNAP. This paper will be discussing why there is such a strong support for the program, how it helps the United States as a whole, problems with the program, and why some people are against SNAP.

When asked about the hunger problems in America one would imagine a homeless person asking and begging for food in the streets. However, what we fail to understand is that hunger is closer to us than what we think. A fellow co-worker or perhaps even the next door neighbor may be an example of someone who suffers from food insecurity. Food insecurity is when a person does not know when or where the next meal will come from. Food insecurity is most likely to develop in food deserts, a place where there is little to no fruits, vegetables and whole healthy foods. The documentary, A Place At The Table, is attempting to shed light on the argument that many Americans suffer from food insecurity because of low income and as result those individuals face various complications.

After reading the extensive “The New Face of Hunger” (Tracie McMillan), my eyes became more open to the overall issue of hunger, faced by many people today. In a few words, I was absolutely shocked by the true meaning and examples provided of what exactly food insecurity is. Honestly speaking, when I hear the word “hunger” I think of a human who has no food, living on the streets. “The New Face of hunger” brought to my attention that food insecurity is much more than simply having no food. In fact, “In 2006 the U.S. government replaced “hunger” with the term “food insecure” to describe any household where, sometime during the previous year, people didn’t have enough food to eat” (The New Face of Hunger). Not only was I able to see the harsh

It was difficult to read that countless millions of federal dollars and many of our country's most successful efforts to halt the spread of childhood hunger and starvation have recently been withdrawn. And as a result, this problem of childhood hunger is not getting better but is actually getting worse. The most recent estimates compiled by the USDA in 1999 indicate that 36.2 million Americans live in food-insecure households, which means that their access to adequate and safe food is limited or uncertain. This too is very disturbing information.

Mornings without breakfast transition to nights without dinner, but the situation does not change for America's poor and needy. The face of food insecurity is often invisible. Behind lowered blinds and shut doors, poverty establishes itself in many styles and we attempt to defeat it in numerous ways. Food assistance programs are the primary tool the government uses to alleviate the hunger pangs and empty diets caused by nutrition insecurity. Increased government oversight is generally not helpful, but in the case of America's SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), such government management would probably do good. Right now, there is an array of problems facing

The articles “The Return of American Hunger” by Ned Resnikoff and “Shift to ‘Food Insecurity’ Creates Startling New Picture of Hunger in America” by Tracie McMillan along with A Place at the Table, a documentary, all share the same premise, hunger in the United States. Although many Americans know to some effect of the food insecurity problem in the United States, they do not know the extent and some causes of food insecurity. Resnikoff explains some of the reasons behind the growing hunger rate by focusing his piece on how changes made to the SNAP program on federal and state levels made it more difficult for low income persons to receive aid. The main focus in McMillan's article is there was a rise in hunger because the terminology has changed and due to wages not rising with inflation. The film showcased many aspects of hunger, such as food banks, government subsidizing some farms while neglecting others, and cuts to SNAP.

both argue that food issues should be addressed by public policy. To combat hunger, malnutrition, and growth deficiencies in children, Frank argues that public policy relating to food has to be changed. Poor families should be supplemented with federal grants such as WIC vouchers to care for their young ones. Robertson et al. take a slightly different approach in their article “Food is a Political Issue” by not only holding the government accountable for reducing issues associated with food, but also the food producers and suppliers. Who should decrease the health disparities and care for the disadvantaged members of society? Robertson et al. advocate that although health disparities caused by food have to be primarily tackled through government policies, the health disparities are everyone’s problem and have to be addressed by everyone— from government officials, to religious groups, to the farmers and food suppliers

In 1965, United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Stamp Program (FSP) began its organization to help low-income families pay for food (Super). Yet, this program does not provide the proper food choices in order for these families to get the necessary nutrients one needs. Many people do not realize the negative affects food stamps have when it comes to people’s health. Not experiencing something first hand makes it difficult for government officials to understand the everyday struggle of low-income families regards to buying groceries. Supporting oneself off minimum wage is hard enough but having to support a family off nine dollars an hour is nearly impossible.

“The numbers are astonishing in the land of the all-you-can-eat buffet.” Ana shows in her essay that despite the United States abundance of food, many families are dependent on food provided by the government. Sometimes this is

The first item on the agenda was the “ Analysis of the Food Insecurity Lectureship by the Myrlie Evers-Williams Institute.” Joanna Puddister-King led a discussion on the significance of information presented at the event. Several community organizations attended the meeting ( MS Food Network, Good Samaritans, Society for St Anthony, Jeremiah’s Bread, MS Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, etc.). They were extremely impressed by information they received and the panel discussion. They were also interested in our next events.

Reports from Feeding America, 42 million americans go hungry every night(CNBC). Nearly 1 in 7 Americans go to bed hungry at night. Also with 15.8 million U.S households didn’t have food to eat at some point. Last year the government handed out $74 billion in food-assistance benefits about double the level of 2008(CNBC). As of 2016, there were 95 million americans without a job in the workforce(CNBC). Over 20 million children in the U.S will have received the supplemental nutritional benefits also known as food stamps. With new restrictions on food-stamp eligibility, in the form of work requirements, mandatory drug testing, and so on. It’s ironic the world's “richest” country has nearly 1 in every 7 americans going to bed hungry. With all of the food this country prepares through schools, restaurants or even at home think about the amount of food being wasted and thrown away throughout only half of the

Although there are many problems in my community, the greater Washington DC area, I’ve chosen to address the issue of food security, more importantly a lack of access to nutritional food and food assistance via federally funded programs.

Typical discourses have concentrated on the dilemma between espousals of feigned concerns for insecure and impoverished people, while simultaneously projecting particular anxieties with supporting their dependency on the state. For the past three decades, US policy has positioned itself in conjunction with neoliberal philosophy, composed with the intention to discourage political aid. Not necessarily to foster an environment of starvation, but rather to encourage private individual living without state intervention. However, the consequence of neoliberal policy often results in marginalized identities, specifically people of color and women, left to navigate without a safeguard. Unfortunately, neoliberal interests control the contemporary conversations regarding the food crisis, ignoring the systemic issues of food insecurity and the specific identities it

Poverty is an issue that affects people globally. Countless of people, women, and children die because of the lack of nourishment and the inability to access food. Even in the most advanced, progressive, and economically prosperous societies food insecurity is present among those marginalized individuals, women and people of color. This week’s topic focused on migration and the social issues that emerge because of their migratory status. One major issue that presents its ugly face and is hard to fathom is that of food insecurity.

“The United States is the only nation besides Australia that refuses to embrace the right to food” (Chilton). The country that prides itself on valuing and protecting human rights has been denying one of the simplest forms of rights. In 2007, food insecurity, the technical term for lacking access to enough quality food, affected 11.1% of the US population (Chilton). Chilton also claims that the US spends more than $50 billion per year on nutrition assistance programs, but there has been little change in overall rates of food insecurity since the annual measurement began in 1995. America is truly hungry and since healthy food is a right, our country needs to find new, effective resolutions to decrease food insecurity.