Growing Up Empty's Growing Up Empty

Fortunately there are programs that assist families in crisis and can help to feed the children of the United States; however the number of hungry children is growing. Child hunger in the United States has been described as an increasingly complex problem and has been called the “silent epidemic.” (Goldstein, 2009)

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.

The United States is known as the wealthiest country in the world. But, there are many people that can't afford to buy food for their families, many are also homeless. “While hunger affects people of all ages, it's particularly devastating for children even short-term episodes of hunger can cause lasting damage."(“Child Nutrition Programs") Child hunger in the United States is caused by poverty, unemployment, food insecurity, and food shortage; however there are many solutions to this problem like FRAC strategies, food banks, summer feeding programs, and backpack feeding programs.

In today’s society, family is often attempted to be organized within a social structure. Within this structure family typically is consisted of mom, dad, daughter, and son. However, many families do not fit into this configuration. These families may include same sex couples, separated or divorced families, extended families, or even blended families. Even though these families may be happy and healthy, to many they are not considered real families. Going along with the topic of imperfect families, both Barbara Kingsolver and Richard Rodriguez try to break down the traditional family structure through their writing. While Kingsolver’s “Stone Soup” and Rodriguez’s “Family Values” explore the ideas of different family structures and traditional American values, “Stone Soup” breaks down what an actual family is like while “Family Values” expresses the value of family in different cultures.

Putting food on the table may become a difficult task putting the family at risk for hunger (Martin, 2011).

Although I had sufficient meals in morning and evening, I was still hunger during day time. I played tennis on Wednesday. While running on the court, I felt extremely dehydrated and starving. When I hit the ball, I suddenly felt that I was going to fall down because I was shaky and exhausted. I ran to the bathroom and squatted down. I was overwhelmed by my weakness that a sense of insecurity surrounded me. “I am weak”, I told myself, “I can not do this”. I suddenly reflected on my experience in Yemen. I was sitting in the car while I witnessed refugee children knocking on my window and tirelessly begging for food. In their eyes, I saw no anger but fear. All they worried about were the basic need of living: food. Many people, nowadays, fast to lose weight. For them, fasting shows their courage and persistence. They lose the sympathy to the poor who starve to death. However, many poor people, including labors and refugees, have to do heavy manual work for livings. In addition to physical pain, the poor also suffer mentally. For instance, the refugee children are always worrying about their next meals with no sense of secure. They have no hope to their futures. With the experience of working in hunger, I am able to relate my feelings to poor people’s feelings and show empathy toward them.

Nowadays, hunger is not only linked with food it is also related to the family income level, also, it represents the feeling of starving to the time that it is disturbing or even frustrating. Oxford dictionary define hunger as “A feeling of discomfort or weakness caused by lack of food, coupled with the desire to eat.” Indeed, most people would admit that when someone is starving, they are not performing to their absolute potential. This sense of resentment and anger when one is craving for food is prompted by a decline in the body’s blood- glucose level. In this case if the level declines, the human brain will recognize it as a threatening situation. The leading cause of hunger among

Food is essential in sustaining good health and strength. However, this was a major concern for the Sanchez family. Consequently, this family existed in a more modern time when so social workers and welfare embraces a more modern systematic nature. However, if one should picture this said family in a different era such as the centuries below 19. This family would have fallen into the

The United States faces many social problems. One of these problems is child hunger. It has sociological origins and challenges for government and citizens alike.

My mom always commanded, “Don’t take your emotions out on food.” In her essay “Young Hunger,” M.F.K. Fisher uses three anecdotes to prove her argument about the hunger young people have for love and attention. On the other hand J.J. Goode through “Single-handed Cooking” writes about the difficulties that a disability such as having no arms could introduce even with small chores such as cooking. Food represents struggles in the lives of both M.F.K. Fisher and JJ Goode. Fisher and Goode are both lacking something that they are trying to fill with food although the result they obtain is different.

For many individuals in our Vietnamese community whom grew up in Vietnam, they know what it is like to go hungry for several days due to being unable to buy food. In order to find a better lifestyle for their families, they immigrated to the United States. However, for many families in America, the feeling of hunger is becoming a common occurrence due to being food-insecure. The definition of food insecurity according to the American Institute of Nutrition is “the state of being unable to get reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food”. The holidays are supposed to be a time to celebrate, and to share a meal with others. But for a number of families, they’re met with a familiar feeling of hunger. This may cause them to suffer emotionally from being unable to feast at the holidays. Those that are not living on the edge of poverty will not understand how much financial pressure is put on vulnerable families as they relied on schools to provide free meals to their children. The Food & Nutrition Service (FNS) runs a program that covers a portion of low-income children with meals over their summer; there isn’t a national program that covers the holiday break. This puts additional stress on low-income families, as they have to find ways to provide food, along with getting their children cared for. Food insecurity

My family didn’t eat at all for the first two weeks and we were starting to develop health problems, fortunately none of my family had to go to the hospital but this wouldn’t be the case in real life. According to Canales, Coffey, & Moore (2015) “Eating nutritious food is one of the major modifiable determinants of chronic disease”. Low income families are especially at risk for malnutrition because more often than not healthier foods are more expensive and do not last as long as less nutritious food. IN addition to malnutrition, families who live in food insecure households are also more at risk for chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and depression. “In order to eliminate persistent health inequities related to food insecurity, nurses and other health professionals need to direct efforts toward identifying food-insecure patients and increasing access to healthy food for low-income populations” (Canales, Coffey, & Moore, 2015). It is also important for nurses to be empathetic and remain non-judgmental towards low income families because difficulty feeding ones’ family can be embarrassing and hard for families to discuss with other people especially

Hunger is very “seductive” to Americans because it allows them to feel accomplished, as stated earlier. Some people make a career out of feeding the needy. The only problem is however, that hunger is not the only issue.

Craving as a scholarly and social subject came to noticeable quality amid the Great Depression. The same number of people battled for sustenance, the same farming ventures were all of a sudden creating extensive surpluses as methods for an expanded generation to counter the drop sought after from the European markets. This

Broken home is a worldwide problem and it occurs in a situation whereby the parent are not able to cope with each other may be as a result of financial constraint or incompactibility of their behavior hence the child live with either of the parents. The parents in order to make bolt ends meet will not be at home most of the time. The child is deprived of love and affection and parent s enlightenment and motivation on how to go about things.