Food Insecurity In Philadelphia Essay

School lunches are often unsung heroes of many modern American households. Frequently overlooked and disregarded because of their stigma, school lunches are a key ingredient that may help make the world a better place. Unknowingly, great numbers of individuals in our communities deal with food insecurities every day of their lives. It baffles me that in an advanced society many people do not have the resources to provide food for themselves or their families. Until it affected me personally, I was unaware nor passionate about the struggles of food insecurity. My passion for solving food insecurity in my local community has led me to gain both experience and leadership through understanding and advocating for those around me.

In our course of study we have learned the difference between primary, secondary and tertiary prevention levels. Primary prevention is aimed at preventing or reducing the effects on populations. Primary prevention occurs when we educate our patients, families or the community, providing them with the tool of knowledge needed to prevent illness. My project on food insecurity promotes primary prevention in university students by attempting to identify those students experiencing food insecurity, then providing those students with the resources to obtaining supplemental food within their community.

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

Can you imagine not being able to access good quality, fresh food? That’s the struggle that the residents of Homewood, Pennsylvania, face every day. Homewood is a food desert, which is defined by google as “an urban area in which it is difficult to buy affordable or good-quality fresh food.” For our last project in my Urban Research and Design class this year, my teacher challenged us to turn our newfound knowledge into action, and attempt to apply what we’d learned to a real community problem.

Being homeless brings the challenges of eating nutritionally and at regular intervals. Thus, food poverty (Jenkins, 2014), food insecurity (Martins et al., 2015), health risks, chronic health conditions, and obesity as an adaptive response (Koh, Hoy, O’Connell, & Montgomery, 2012) to the aforementioned, are the priorities of my future academic work. My immediate goals then, are to ensure that food donations, for disbursement and preparation purposes, meet the recommendations provided by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture, n.d.) as to decrease health discrepancies, the rates of incidence and prevalence of chronic diseases (specifically Diabetes, Heart Disease, and Hypertension) and other health risks like dental caries. The objectives to reach these goals are: educational workshops focusing on nutritional guidelines (Hamm, 2010) for applicable agencies, churches, pantries and soup kitchens, and homeless

Philadelphia is not exceptional in terms of the characteristics or poverty status from its residents when compared to other large urban areas. Yet it has the second lowest number of supermarkets of major cities in the nation. The greater Philadelphia region has seventy-two fewer supermarkets in low-income neighborhoods (Duane Perry). This shortage of supermarkets means that poor residents must travel out of their neighborhoods to purchase food, or shop at more expensive convenience stores with less selection and often-poor quality. The insufficient access to affordable and nutritious food in lower-income neighborhoods reduces the chance for a healthy lifestyle. Many low-income families in Philadelphia have limited funds from which to

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

I am currently attending Loyola University, in Baltimore, Maryland and I have witnessed only a glimpse of the mountain of food insecurity contained inside this city. Baltimore contains many areas that operate with little to no healthy food sources nearby, because of the large population that cannot afford these goods. With the fleeing number of locally owned grocery stores and convenient fast food outlets sprouting, residents do not have an adequate quantity of fruits and vegetables readily available.

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.

Record-high levels of food inequality are being felt most prominently in the world's cities. Since the year 2000, New York City food costs have increased by 59 percent, while the average income of working adults has only increased by 17 percent. (Breggin 1) rising food costs and lack of food availability in urban areas has created effects that are felt by millions of people around the world. The USDA defines Food insecurity as a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food, and it is plaguing our nation. Characterized by inability to find healthy food and not having enough to sustain a household are problems that an estimated 12.3 % of American households experience regularly (USDA 1).chart food sec..png

When tackling the subject of food insecurity, uncertainty is the key notion. Many of us live our lives fleeing from the term; however, some Americans know this awareness as their existence. Food insecurity simply means the lack of the ability to provide food and sustain a healthy lifestyle. The USDA explains, “It is a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food;” adequate food being the key word. The USDA further goes on to categorize it into two sub categories; low and very low food security. “Low food security” is explained as “reduced quality, variety of diet; little or no indication of reduced food intake.” “Very low food security is multiple indications of disrupted eating patterns

Hunger and homelessness is one big problem in todays world.More people are dying every year of hunger and homelessness. Every year the FAO published a report titled “The State of Food Insecurity in the World.” Homelessness and hunger are growing problems nationwide ,claims the national student campaign against Hunger and homelessness (NSCAHH) in the following viewpoint. And even though the United States is’ the richest country in the world, millions of americans experience hunger and homelessness each year.

“A place at the table” has depicted a portrait of hunger and malnutrition in the U.S. It showed us the true stories from individuals and families living in different parts of the country. They do not know where their next meal comes from. As mentioned in the movie, according to the survey of the U.S. department of agriculture report, 1 in 6 of American does not have enough food to eat. Food security have increased

Justification / Feasibility Studies have suggested that there are specific ties between food insecurity and student success rate. (Cady, 2014) Among college students, financial hardship can translate into budget demand that directly competes with food dollars (Patton-López, López-Cevallos, Cancel-Tirado, & Vazquez, 2014). Research has shown that food insecurity has shown a reduction in physical and mental health, which in turn, diminishes an individual’s ability to learn, work and care for themselves and reduces social participation (Hughes, Serebryanikova, Donaldson, & Leveritt, 2011). Research is necessary to also show the need to expand programs on college campus and further the support systems that increase access to nutritious food for the college population (Patton-López, López-Cevallos, Cancel-Tirado, & Vazquez,

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.