Reflection Paper On Poverty Walk

Studies have shown that healthy diets rich in fruits, vegetables, fish and nuts cost $550 more per year than more unhealthy diets (rich in processed foods, meats, and refined grains) for a person. Such costs can be substantial for lower-income families, as US government grants for the poor are hardly enough to cover meal costs – the average Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program payments amount to under $1.50 per meal. In addition, affordable yet nutritious food is harder to obtain in poorer neighbourhoods, especially for those without an automobile. With geographical and economic barriers, healthy meals are simply just out of reach for these families and it has been shown that children from lower-income households are more likely to be obese than higher-income

For most Americans, the word poverty means insufficient access to to housing, clothing and nutritious food that meet their needs for a healthy life. A consequence of poverty is a low socioeconomic status that leads to being exposed to poor nutrition. Since food and dietary choices are influenced by income, poverty and nutrition go hand in hand. There are many important factors that threaten the nutritional status of poor people. The number one factor is not having enough money to buy food of good quality and quantity. Not having enough money can have a profound impact on the diets of low-income people. Limited financial resources may force low income people to make difficult decisions about what kind and how much food to buy. Limited

Events such as the Poor People’s March in Washington D.C., the airing of “Hunger in America” on CBS, and the National Nutrition Survey of 1967 all brought widespread attention to the issue of poverty, hungry, poor nutrition trends, and lack of healthy food resources for pregnant women, mothers, infants, and children in low income households and communities through heavy media coverage in the 1960s. With these issues heavily publicized by media outlets around the country, citizens now had a bird’s eye view of impoverished women and children with scarce options to effectively alleviate hunger in their households on a consistent basis, let alone have consistent access to healthy foods. Society often

We live in a nation where a large percentage of its inhabitants suffer from economic hardship and are left with no other option but to pick and choose between certain necessities over other fundamental needs due to a lack of financial resources. Many of these people are forced into having to choose between taking their life-saving medications and being able to eat for that day, while others simply have no choice at all. These people simply have no other choice but to go

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:

Later in Maine, she stayed at Motel 6 for $120 rent per week. The room was only equipped with limited kitchen equipment like frying pan, a plate ,a small bowl, a coffee maker and one large drinking glass which left her with only one option of frying. Due to not having large cooking pot, pot holders, or a ladle to stir with (which cost about $30 at Kmart) she managed to cook her lunch with a slow burning, high protein combo of frozen chicken patties with melted cheese on top and canned pinto beans on the side. Her dinner was at workplace, where they offered their employees a choice of fish sandwich, or hamburger for only $2. In Minnesota, she rented a room without kitchen hence she managed to have her meals at low price (i.e. Chinese buffet or Kentucky fried chicken). Mostly due to limited cooking equipment, very low budget and insufficient time, Ms. Ehrenreich found it difficult to make healthy food choices. Also healthy food choices are generally expensive.

“The biggest enemy of health in the developing world is poverty” (Annan). It creates ill-health conditions which forces individuals to live in certain unpleasant environments without proper shelter, clothing, and most importantly food. “In the United States, the overall poverty rate climbed to 15.1 percent, or 46.2 million, up from 14.3 percent in 2009. The official poverty level is an annual income of $22,314 for a family of four (The Census Bureau).” Based on the statistics above, one is left to wonder how an individual can survive on such an income, far less for being able to purchase and consume affordable nutritious meals. It is often argued that life is full of choices and one can choose to adopt a lifestyle of healthy eating, but what happens when poverty strikes and there is no choice but to try to survive?

On some cases, the reasons range from, “They don’t need it; they can do it themselves” to “I don’t see any starving children.” However, charitable services and food programs are already struggling to serve eligible families (1). With the high percentage of hunger rates and little support, food programs generally run out of food and supplies before they can serve all of those who need it. Furthermore, signs of malnutrition are not always evident. While the most obvious sign of hunger is little to no fat in bones, families that are obese could also be living with insufficient meals. Because poor families are limited to their food choice, they choose high fat foods since they are much more affordable and long lasting than fresher and healthier options (7). Denial of food hunger in Solano County prevents people from getting the help they need, and makes the situation even

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.

A common misconception is that hunger is caused by a scarcity of food. People are hungry because they don’t have the money for food, not because there is a lack of it. Food is a commodity. Robbins explains that the availability of food no longer depends on the farmer’s ability to produce it but also on people’s wages, food prices and a place for

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

Throughout time people have been affected by the harshness of poverty and economic strain. It has always seemed to be difficult for the average American to prosper if in fact that person did not come from previous wealth. Our great country prides on the idea of capitalism and the rights to freedom and insists that anyone who puts forth the effort can and will succeed. This has and always will be a debatable issue. The other realism is the role of the federal government and the capacity they work to ensure each and every American the right to become successful. Two Presidents come to mind when I think about the ways in which the government wishes to help the unfortunate. They are Franklin D.

In 2010, about 46.2 million people were considered poor. The nation’s poverty rate rose to 15.1 percent, whereas in 2009, 14.3 percent of people in America were living in poverty (Censky, 2011). That is an increase of 2.6 million people in 2010. In the United States, the federal poverty line – an absolute measure of annual income – is frequently used to determine who is categorized as poor (Ferris & Stein, 2008, 2010). Currently the government defines the poverty line as an income of $11,139 for an individual and $22,314 for a family of four (Censky, 2011). In sociology, poverty can be defined using two terms – relative deprivation and absolute deprivation. Relative deprivation is a comparison between people and social class. With

Poverty is the United States is a major issue and continues to worsen as housing is becoming less affordable for many people across the nation. People that do find housing are often restricted to low-income areas that have few opportunities. In the low income areas there are few jobs and the quality of schools are poor and keep the people in the cycle. To offset this cycle money needs to be put into the education system in these lower income areas to offset this cycle. Education allows for people to have more opportunities and would increase the incentive to live in low-income areas. With a quality education that is equal to the suburbs it would give the children much more opportunities to improve themselves and exit the cycle. This cycle is living in low-income areas gives children a poor education due to the schools lacking money and resources; without the needed education the student is not able to get a good job. Without the well paying job that person is not able to afford housing and has to living in affordable housing that is located in the low-income areas. By breaking this cycle with increased education it is possible for people to get out the cycle that ties them to that area. Education is the foundation to success and it very important that is equal and everyone receives similar opportunities through that education.

A social problem, is “a general factor that effects and damages society”. It can be used to describe an issue or a problem within a certain group of people or an area in the world. Examples of contemporary social problems today include anti-social behaviour, drug abuse, and sexual abuse. Poverty is an example of a social problem that exists all over the world, and to different extents. In the UK, poverty has effected at least a third of the population, as shown by the Office of National Statistics, providing evidence that it is a massive social problem in the country. Tameside has a big poverty problem. 1 in 4 children in Tameside are born into poverty, and workers in Tameside earn significantly less than other workers in the rest of the North-West area. In addition, Tameside has the largest proportion of people claiming unemployment benefits compared to the rest of the North West of England.