Food Insecurity Essay

Many college students are at risk for hunger. Low-income students do not prioritize eating because of their other financial responsibilities, including rent, textbooks, and transportation. Students who tend to buy their own food, do not buy the most nutritious meals which includes the infamous ramen for lunch or dinner. Two articles that discuss students experiencing food insecurity are “Students Shouldn’t Have to Choose Between Books and Food” by Clare Cady explains how low-income students cannot afford the food provided on campus because of other responsibilities which tend to relate to school whether its textbooks or transportation to get to class. The other article, “Student Food Insecurity: The Skeleton in the University Closet” by

Food insecurity the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food, "more than 800 million people live every day with hunger or food insecurity as their constant companion" (Definitions of Food Security) . People who suffer from food insecurity often live in low income areas that lack grocery stores, farmer markets, or healthy food at a reasonable price called food deserts. So, the question is how can we address this issue. In order to get a better understanding of my chosen issue, and make others more aware of this matter, I partook in several events on campus. For example, On April

Food insecurity is a major issue in Canada, affecting millions people across the country especially minorities. In 2012, four million Canadians experienced some form of food insecurity (Tarasuk, Mitchell, & Dachner, 2014). This paper aims to focus on how food insecurity affects women and children, and the costs associated with it. The results of food insecurity can be serious mental, and physical health problems for women and children. It shall demonstrate the need for government intervention, job security, prices of food, and public policies to protect low income families. This topic was chosen as it is an issue which often gets overlooked by many middle and upper class Canadians. Often times when people think of starvation, they picture children in Sub-Saharan Africa. The reality is that women and children in Canadian communities are affected by food insecurity daily. Action needs to be taken immediately in order for food insecurity to be fully eradicated, and justice to be achieved.

There are several programs in the Muncie area that assist those who are dealing with food insecurity. Some of these programs are: Indiana school breakfast and lunch program, Second Harvest Food bank and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program. These three programs help those who suffer from food insecurity but do so in different ways.

The second major issue that contributes to the food insecurity in the District and the United States collectively is the lack of available jobs and jobs that do not provide a living wage; one that is enough that can cover all living costs. This is why many working adults are forced to work more than one job, take odd jobs for some extra cash, and even why students drop out of high school early; so they too can join the workforce to support their family or

This body of research has also examined food insecurity among community college students. For example, a study conducted by Maroto, Snelling, & Link (2014) examined food insecurity among students at two community colleges in Maryland; one located in a low-income urban community and the other in a wealthy suburban community. The researchers found that there is an astounding number of students who are faced with the challenge of adequately and healthfully feeding themselves. Their findings also revealed that 53% of the students in the urban community compared with 59% in the suburban community were said to be food insecure. Additional results found food insecurity was significantly associated with lower self-reported GPA in the overall student sample and at the suburban college, but not at the urban college (Maroto et al., 2014). A more recent study found that 12.2% of students at community colleges in California are food insecure (Wood, Harris, & Delgado, 2016). The study called for measures to close the inequitable gaps in the number of students of color who had rates of insecurity above the rate of the overall community

Food security is one of the ongoing nutrition issue mainly in low income population groups. Univeristy students also fits in this category under different circumstances like first time home leavers, limited income due to part time and casual working hours (Hughes 2012) According to a recent Australian research study, food insecurity has negative impact on the learning outcomes and health of students . Food security is defined as the situation which arises when people have sufficient access to safe and nutritious food in order to meet their dietary needs for an active life (Radimer 2002). A new strategy was introduced by the Australian government in promoting food insecurity through tertiary education as a longterm economic challenge mostly

Philadelphia is the city of the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall among other sights. Yet to the most prevalent characteristics of the area is food insecurity. Poverty is a landmark of any city. Also a landmark is the inability to know here the next meal is coming from known as food insecurity. One may assume that Philadelphian college students do not face the dilemma, but, many face this every day. It has become important to the Philadelphia society and population. This needs to be addressed because it affects students’ expectations, healthy food access and it will be easier to investigate solutions.

Food insecurity is a problem in the United States, though people may not realize that it effects people differently. When it comes to food insecurity, disparities are seen in a variety different populations. These populations are the ones who utilize food pantries and food assistance programs. Some of these populations include: children, older adults, rural populations, immigrants, and single-parents.

Imagine you are an academically failing student sitting in math class your stomach growls at you as you fail to understand what the teacher is trying to explain. Why? Because you are considered food insecure, so you don’t have enough food to create the energy needed to focus on school meaning that you could get held back. Think about this 16 million children are considered food insecure just in America. In Buncombe county 34,340 people are food insecure. Many people confuse hunger and food insecurity as the same thing however the are not. A person can be hungry because they didn’t eat breakfast, but someone who is food insecure doesn’t have access to enough healthy food. One local organization working to solve this problem is MANNA Food Bank.

Socioeconomic status influences students in many different ways. When a child is hungry it’s extremely hard to concentrate on the curriculum. Furthermore, students who have not eaten anything usually have behavior issues too.

As tuition and the accompanying expenses and rise so do the rates of food insecurity on college campuses. In a study of 410 students was conducted at the University of Hawai’i at Ma¯noa in Honolulu, Hawai’i to evaluate food insecurity. The results exhibited 21 percent, approximately 86 out of 410, of students qualified to be food insecure with 24 percent, 98 out of 410 being at risk for food insecurity (Chaparro, Zaghloul, Holck, and Dobbs). It was also reported that out of the 410, only eight students used food stamps (Chaparro, Zaghloul, Holck, and Dobbs). This is reflective of most U.S. college campuses including that of Arizona State University, with food insecurity of 34 percent, 14 percent at the University of Alabama, and 24 percent

The SDSU Food Pantry Project aims to meet to goals of decreasing food insecurity on the campus of SDSU and increase the knowledge of nutrition. Bridgett Tuschen will be the project director of this program and will teach the nutrition classes. This program is needed because food insecurity affects over 15 million individuals worldwide and it can affect the future of students. Using a food pantry and nutritional classes we hope to educate individuals in making wise dining choices and provide food for food insecure individuals. This program will be focused on helping individuals that are freshmen and sophomores so that we can give them the information they need to advance in college. Our program will last for a year in which we will administer

The tragedy of hunger and food insecurity is the vast amount of food waste that takes places all around the country. May it be over production of food for a college or university or buying fresh fruits and veggies and letting them go bad before consumption. In order to combat the ongoing issue of food waste, as it relates directly to hunger, we first need to be informed to what is happening. Wasting food may be a habit that many people do not know they take part in. In all reality how many college students do you think worry about the amount of food they let go to waste after every meal? Not many, that is for sure. Dining halls should monitor how much of a typical food item is used on a daily basis. This is specifically relating to those foods that are offered every day. I know that students do not eat the same exact thing every day, however, this could be a gage as to about how much they should make. If there is a large amount of it that is let over, next time make less and if it runs out or barely lasts for the day, I would recommend making about the same amount in the future. It may also help to give the students a survey to see what they like and what they do not like, and as this data is gathered the food could be produced to meet the wants of the majority. I can also imagine that college dining halls face the dilemma of making sure that everyone that is a vegetarian, gluten free, allergic to certain food, etc. are accommodated for just as well as those that are not.

Food insecurity can range from sporadically having food uncertainty to living in full blown famine conditions. Food insecurity is nothing new. It’s something that has been around as long as human life. Food insecurity is not prejudice, it effects both developing and developed countries. The United States is no different than any other country, though we are a developed country, many people within its borders do not know where their next meal is coming from.