Food Insecurity And Hunger Among Children

More than 1 billion people in the world right now are suffering from hunger. Food security is “the access by all people at all times to the food needed for a healthy life,” as defined by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. There are four points to food security, which are “availability, access, utilization, and stability.” When one or even all these points are missing, it is described as food insecurity. The rise of food prices in 2008 shocked and affected millions of people, many of whom were very poor. Because of the rise of food prices, there were protests and hunger was put at the top of the list, although it did not stay there. Science has to understand how to deal with hunger as the problem grows. Using scientific research and changing policies can have a huge impact on the issue of hunger. Population is

Hunger in America can be hard to recognize. With how the economy is now, the effects of hunger are more severe. Many Americans are relying on food stamps and private organizations to help with this crisis. Millions in this nation are currently suffering from hunger in America. Half of that being from job loss. More than 12,000,000 children suffer from food insecure hunger because of limited or uncertain access to nutritious food. About 900,000 are hungry in the three- country Detroit metropolitan area alone. The hardest hits are the elderly, the unemployed, immigrants, and the mentally and physically impaired.

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

Many people do not realize that hunger and malnutrition is a problem that many Americans face on a daily basis. Maybe, we are failing to realize that our country is not perfect, but if we don’t try to do anything then more and more children will die. The problem with child hunger is that the United States may not face as dramatic problems with hunger as that of other countries, but

Imagine your stomach growling, a feeling of emptiness, fatigue, and an inability to concentrate. Most people would associate these feelings with hunger and eat. Unfortunately, many Americans do not have the luxury of eating because of living in poverty. According to the Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the number of people living in poverty rose from 31.6 million in 2000 to 36.5 million in 2006. The number of people living in households facing food insecurity rose from 31 million in 1999 to 35.5 million in 2006. More than 12 million of the people living in food insecure households were children (Labue, 2009). Food America (2017) reports:

Did you know in 2014, 48.1 million households in the United States were food insecure? (Feeding America, 2016) Additionally, household with children reported higher rates of food insecurity compared to households without children. According to new research, a great proportion of college students are suffering from food insecurity (Hughes et al., 2011; Patton-Lopez et al., 2014). According to the United States Department of Agriculture, food insecurity is defined by “the state of being without reliable access to sufficient quantity of affordable nutritious food” (2015). Since 2006, the USDA introduced new terms to categorize food insecurity ranges. Marginal food security is described as “anxiety over food sufficiency or shortage of food in the house. Little or no change in diet” (Gaines et al., n.d.). Low food security “reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet without reduced food intake. Very low food security “disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake.”

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.

Hunger is a big social issue facing America today. According to (“Do Something.com”) 1 out of 6 people face hunger in the US. Also 49 Million Americans Struggle to put food on the table. America is the best country in world, we shouldn’t have so many people hungry. Many people have thought of fixing this problem but one company has found a way to help fix this problem, this company is Feeding America. They have been giving people food since 1979. They’ve helped out 46 million Americans. ( feedingamerica.org )

Although the United States government spends $176 billion on hunger programs every year, there are currently more than 46 million Americans going hungry every day. In the U.S. every county, state, or congressional district experiences some form of malnutrition and hunger. Right now there is a rapid increase in the number of hungry Americans and the issue is quickly becoming problematic. Today one in six Americans participate in one or more of the fifteen nutrition assistance programs funded by the government and provided by the USDA. Recently more people have begun to question what hunger really is, what all the programs actually do, and what their results are.

In the United States of America, the richest nation of the world, one in six Americans do not have enough food to eat. Have you ever wonder why there are so many food banks and food pantries throughout the country? They are not simply, as you thought, existent to offer emergency food assistance. Indeed, they are the main sources of food to millions of food-insecure Americans. Food insecurity, the state of not having sufficient quantity of affordable and nutritious food, has been very widespread and common in America. It affected millions of Americans and has been increasing dramatically in recent years; in 2012, more than 48 millions of food-insecure Americans rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (McMillan). The depth of deprivation varies in each family. Some families have to skip meals in order to save food for the next meal, some families get enough food but eat an unhealthy diet due to economic reasons, and some families get to eat but in the cost of other family members go hungry. Food insecurity is one of the most serious nutrition-related public health issues in the United States. Obesity in America is due in part to the consequences of food insecurity because of innutritious and unbalance diet. Food insecurity is associated with

In 2014, approximately 5.7 million people over the age of 60 were food insecure which comprises 9% of the entire senior population. This number is projected to increase by 50% by the time the youngest of the Baby Boom Generation reaches age 60 in 2025. It has been proven that food insecure seniors are at an increased risk for chronic health conditions where 60% of the aging population experience depression, 53% report a heart attack, 52% develop asthma, and 40% report a congestive health failure (Feeding America, 2016). Recognizably, for seniors in poverty, protecting themselves from food insecurity and hunger is a lot more difficult than the general population. For instance, researchers conducted a study that focused on the experience of food insecurity among the elderly population. They took a sample of 46 elderly households from three large cities in upstate New York utilizing purposive sampling. Older adults were recruited via subsidized housing programs, churches, congregated and home-delivered meals programs, and a Latino community worker. The elders varied by age, sex food programs used, spousal status, and mobility. The final sample comprised of 25 Latino older adults living in one large city, 28 non-Latino elders residing in two large cities. They found that most of the time, food insecure older adults did not have the means to afford the right foods for health and they did not have the capability to prepare food (Wolfe et. al, 2003). To slowly combat the issue of this insecurity, Title III Grants to State Formula of the 2016 OAA Reauthorization Act accounts for geographic changes in the older population. The bill regulates the formula for the Title III supportive services, assemble meals, home-delivered meals as well as preventive service programs. The formula

‘’Food insecurity nationally is about 85 percent of all US homes have access at all times’’(Household food insecurity). Which means about 15 percent has no food or a very low food insecurity level. “In 2014 5.4 million seniors were food insecure”(Food insecurity and very low food security). Elderly people should not have to be hungry if they can not work for disability reasons or retirement. So for elderly people there is more than likely

The implications due to this social issue can implicate a client’s life in so many arenas including their health physically, mentally, and emotionally. Due to this addressing food, insecurity needs consideration within social welfare and social services concerns.

USDA (2014) study estimated that 48.1 million people, including 32.8 million adults and 15.3 million children in the United States lived in households that struggle to afford an adequate diet. The health of individuals affected by food insecurity can become compromised as some rely on less expensive and less healthy food which results in the development of chronic illness including mental illness (Seligman, Laraia, & Kushel, 2009), (Leung, Epel, Willett, Rimm, & Laraia, 2014).

Food insecurity is one of the leading public health challenges in the United States today, since millions of people (children and adults) are food insecure because of insufficient money income and other socioeconomic and demographic factors. (Seligman, Kushel, & Laraia, 2010)