Food Insecurities and Food deserts are terms I had heard about but didn't fully understand until I had to do some research for my Cultural Aspects in Health class. With the Holiday season approaching there will be many without proper nutrition to get them through the winter and all the illness that comes along.
Food insecurity is when you are concerned with the ability to put food on the table and unknowing where the money to buy it will come next. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), it is defined as a lack of consistent access to enough food to have an active, healthy life. This is an issue with health disparities because as humans we require adequate nutrition to help our body function properly. Without the ability to consistently fuel ourselves with nutrients we are weakening our immune system, increasing risk for illness, lowering our cognitive ability, and overall harming our bodies. Food insecurity is a real issue and bigger than people realize and its larger than the homeless community. Most lower income families who have a roof over their head just can't seem to make ends meet to consistently put food on the table for them and their children. Take college kids into thought as well, while paying for college if it weren't for the help of parents or having a job most of them can't and don't consistently have adequate food to eat everyday. I bet if you looked inside a college students refrigerator there would be a lack of nutrient dense food and it's probably semi empty.
Food deserts are defined as parts of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthful whole foods, usually found in impoverished areas. This is largely due to a lack of grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and healthy food providers. Now it seems where I live theres a grocery store around every corner but until I relocated to Texas for a year I didn't realize how vastly communities differ in grocery store availability. In Texas the are minimal food deserts and where I lived I could walk to two different stores if I wanted to because there were both under a mile. Where I live now inside Atlanta the closet Kroger is two miles from me. "In Atlanta, the ninth-biggest metropolis of the world’s richest country, thousands of people can’t get fresh food, and some are getting sick—even dying—as a result." I had no idea the difference and this raises concerns; many people simply can't get to the grocery store without making it a real "trip". According to Rebekah Burns who interviewed an Atlanta couple they told her how it can take up three hours to travel to the store due to the fact MARTA doesn't offer a straight route causing them to bus change. Adding the fact they have to walk to the stations and wait on the bus.
I hope this brings some awareness to how detrimental it can be to someones health. Its very sad this is happening among the "richest country" it really puts things into perspective. I know this opened my mind to realizing how big this issue is and how it is more than just an relative problem with homeless people. It makes me more cautious of the food I buy at the grocery store, if i'm able to purchase better options, I don't want to waste the opportunity I have on less nutritional foods for my health.
I've linked two websites if you feel lead to help:
Community Food Bank: https://acfb.org/more-ways-give?utm_source=google&...
Feeding America: http://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/hu...
Sources:
http://americannutritionassociation.org/newsletter/usda-defines-food-deserts
