Food Insecurity Contained Inside This City Essay

Food Insecurity and food accessibility are major problems not only in rural areas but also low-income urban areas throughout the United States. The term “food desert” or an area with limited or no access to healthy, affordable and nutritious food was coined during a U.K. Study into food accessibility for those in the lowest income neighborhoods which contained no major grocery store and had the lowest rate of car ownership. This problem has come across the pond and we've seen many major grocery retailers flee from cities and move to the more profitable suburbs, what's worse is as grocery stores consolidate they leave many neighborhoods under served by convenience stores or fast food outlets. The prevalence of more processed, unhealthy

In South Central, Los Angeles, there is a food epidemic taking place among the population. For miles and miles, the only easily attainable food source is fast food; causing the overconsumption of un-nutritious, greasy, and fattening food. This is the problem brought to the public’s attention by speaker Ron Finley in his Ted Talks speech, “A Guerilla Gardener in South Central L.A.” Finley explains how everywhere he looks in his native South Central, all he sees are fast food chains and Dialysis clinics opened due to the lack of nutritious food. Finley views the lack of a healthy food source as a serious problem, and brings up

All food should be available to all people. The concept of this is dwelled on in the article, “Food justice and Food retail in Los Angeles” by Mark Valliantos. Throughout the article, Valliantos maintains the notion that healthy food should be within everyone’s reach, yet inner cities are still suffering from shortages of fresh produce. To see this issue in action, Valliantos documented this reoccurring phenomenon in Los Angeles. The author gives a description of two areas within the city of Los Angeles, and how they are economically divided based on the amount of healthy produce one has at its disposal. He makes note of programs that already exist to help low income families receive healthy foods that they could not afford. He also

Many areas in the United States contain an abundance of neighborhoods that function with little to no healthy food sources nearby because of the large number of people in poverty. With the fleeing number of locally owned grocery stores and convenient fast food restaurants sprouting in urban and rural areas, residents do not have an adequate quantity of fruits and vegetables readily available. The City of Baltimore defines a food desert as “an area where the distance to a supermarket is more than one quarter of a mile; the median household income is at or below 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level; over 30 percent of households have no vehicle available; and the average Healthy Food Availability Index score [convenience stores, corner stores, and supermarkets] is low” (Food Deserts). Baltimore City today “ranks second among similarly sized cities for the number of low-income people living in food insecure areas” (Freishtat, 2014). Leaving eight percent of white Baltimoreans living in food deserts compared to the 35 percent of black Baltimoreans, and 30 percent of children living in food deserts in Baltimore alone (Buczynski, 2015).

For numerous amounts of people, fruits and vegetables may take a backseat to other foods such as junk food, but for many these healthy food choices are just not options. This is a very widespread issue that has swept the nation and the individual cities that formulate it. In particular, the lack of food security in Columbus, Ohio has had devastating effects for many residents, especially those who live in rural areas and the many underserved communities. These effects include being more prone to chronic diseases and unhealthy Body Mass Index (BMI) measurements. For adults “Twenty-five percent of Franklin County, Ohio, adults say they don’t eat five servings of foods and vegetables each day” (NLC). The residents of Columbus City should be able

Food security is a basic human right, which is essential for life. It exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for a healthy and active lifestyle [Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), 1996]. Food insecurity at household level can be referred to not having sufficient food; experiencing hunger as a result of running out of food and being unable to afford more; eating a poor-quality diet as a result of limited food options; anxiety about acquiring food; or having to rely on food relief (Rychetnik et al, 2003). At community level, food security also depends on the availability and affordability of a variety of food items sold through retail and other food resources [United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 2015a]. The geographical areas where accessibility to affordable and healthy food (especially fresh fruits and

Citizens have been struggling for far too long, and that is when former First Lady Michelle Obama created her own fresh food initiative, the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, was launched and opened supermarkets in close reach to some of the most low-income neighborhoods. Many people would think the opening of closer stores would help the low-income families, but “a 2011 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed no connection between access to grocery stores and more healthful diets using 15 years’ worth of data from more than 5,000 people in five cities” (Gilligan). The problem is not always what it seems to be, and sometimes many people forget that, Bruce McEwan, a researcher in biology believes strongly that there is other things behind low-income families not eating healthy.

Excessive food intake and improper diet is a major contributor to obesity. Families of lower SES are more likely to reside in neighborhoods that make it difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Fresh fruits and vegetables tend to be considerably more costly and scarce compared to abundant accessibility of processed and canned foods. According to a 2010 estimate by the researchers in the US Department of Agriculture, 9.7% of the American population live in low-income neighborhoods that are more than one mile from a supermarket or health food store (Ver Ploeg et al., 2012).

Food disparity between poor and affluent communities doesn't just end at accessibility. Even when both communities have access to supermarkets, the type of supermarket plays a profound role in furthering food inequality. Renee Walker of the Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences and the University of Pittsburgh and corresponding author at the Department of Society, Human Development, and Health Harvard School of Public Health, along with Christoper Keane and Jessica Burke, also from Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences and the University of Pittsburgh, collaborated and conducted a review of numerous accredited studies done on food deserts titled “Disparities and access to healthy food in the United States: A review of

The intersection of nutrition and access to healthy foods shows great disparities. A great example of this is the existence of food deserts in Los Angeles Although definitions of food desserts vary, in class, we defined food deserts as urban areas where there is an absence of a major grocery store within one mile of people’s homes. Food deserts are usually found in low income neighborhoods. Many Angelinos live in food deserts and resort to eating fast food or putting meals together from ingredients bought at liquor and convenience stores. Most of these ingredients are packaged, processed foods, high in sodium and low in healthy nutrients. On the other hand, resident’s other residents have abundant access to the foods they need through restaurants, farmer’s markets and grocery

The system has trapped the poor and racialized into an unhealthy cycle. They lack the power to make their own food choices and don’t have much access to affordable and nutritious foods. Essentially, they lack food security. This leads to a reliance on cheap, low-quality fast foods, which may result in malnourishment and the reliance on medication (Billings & Cabbil, 2011, p. 104). “Food deserts” are usually located in low-income communities of color (Billings & Cabbil, 2011, p. 105). Detroit, for instance, was considered to be a food desert in 2007, as very few

Healthy fruit, vegetables, and other wholesome food alternatives in impoverished areas such as these are often far from accessible, or are lacking altogether (Allen, 20). My previous essay and interview detailed that factor, finding and interviewing a manager employed at one of the only available slow food, organic grocery stores: Stehly Farms Market. It is my hope that through my efforts on assignment in Linda Vista, both a proverbial and literal seed of change will take root in my neighborhood to disseminate information about the just food revolution and create stronger ties to the community and its members on the

In order for an urban community food model to be successful, the consumers must have unfettered access and the community must provide unadulterated support. One of the main strengths of Allen’s “community food center” is a focus on both low income families and the surrounding populace. Since the beginning, Allen set his focus on those who had no access to fresh produce. Using food that would have otherwise gone to waste, Allen sells what he calls ‘Market Baskets’ in which “all of the food in [the baskets is] food stamp eligible” (Allen, 116). Allen’s inclusion of lower income families within his model provides him greater opportunity to transform the urban food system. Rather than diverting resources to high income families, as can be seen by the high prices of local and organic foods, Allen’s attention for those who need fresh produce the most both strengthens his model and draws the

Bringing Healthy Food to Underserved Areas. Washington: Poverty & Race Research Action Council, 2010. ProQuest. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.

Food is a basic need on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and the less an individual has to worry about food, the more likely they are to succeed and focus in other areas of their life. Those living in lower-income environments, such as communities of color and rural areas, find it difficult to access fresh, healthy foods. The lack of healthy foods and programs associated to it leads to insufficient physical activity in these communities, which is essential for controlling stress, being aware of weight, and most importantly preventing disease. According to a recent analysis by the nonprofit, Share Our Strength, about 4 million American families have children who lack access to adequate nutritious food (Food and Nutrition Service, 2010). For children, food insecurity can lead to a lifetime of future complications, including health issues and academic achievement. Public health measures often fail because they have an outsiders perspective and are often blind to the culture of the communities they’re striving to serve. Strategizes are created without consideration of those who will be directly affected. (Food and Nutrition Service, 2010). Research demonstrates that insufficient distribution of healthy food options in lower-income communities affects individuals in regard to their health and education, as well as the community as a whole. This paper will reflect a structural approach to help decrease this problem by exploring potential solutions, past and present policies, and