Together, we can end hunger.
Monday, September 26, 2016
Friday, September 23, 2016
Food Desesrts
In my last article I told a story of an eight or nine year old boy who didn't know what a tomato was. This is an example of how so many people are not getting the healthy food they need. A food desert is an urban area where it's difficult to find fresh, affordable, healthy and nutritious food. One reason for this is because many of these areas lack places to get this type of food such as grocery stores, or farmers markets. Instead, these areas have lots of convenient stores or fast food restaurants, where food is cheaper and easier to get.
There are many smaller problems created by food deserts that are often overlooked by the government or USDA. For instance, many people in these areas don't speak good English, so they have trouble understanding what food they should and shouldn't be eating. Another problem is that people in these areas also might have trouble finding food that suits their needs such as lactose-intolerance, gluten free, or other food allergies. Healthier foods are also generally more expensive, and even if someone lives near a grocery store they might not be able to afford the healthier options.
Living in a food desert can create many problems for someone's physical and/or mental health. Children of low-income families living in these areas have much higher rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other diet-related conditions. These problems can lead to much more serious health problems, that often become fatal.
In the First Lady's "Lets Move!" program, plans to allow people in these food deserts to gain access to healthy food, by developing grocery stores, small retailers, corner stores, and farmers markets with fresh and healthy food.
There are many smaller problems created by food deserts that are often overlooked by the government or USDA. For instance, many people in these areas don't speak good English, so they have trouble understanding what food they should and shouldn't be eating. Another problem is that people in these areas also might have trouble finding food that suits their needs such as lactose-intolerance, gluten free, or other food allergies. Healthier foods are also generally more expensive, and even if someone lives near a grocery store they might not be able to afford the healthier options.
Living in a food desert can create many problems for someone's physical and/or mental health. Children of low-income families living in these areas have much higher rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other diet-related conditions. These problems can lead to much more serious health problems, that often become fatal.
In the First Lady's "Lets Move!" program, plans to allow people in these food deserts to gain access to healthy food, by developing grocery stores, small retailers, corner stores, and farmers markets with fresh and healthy food.
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| "The USDA defines what's considered a food desert and which areas will be helped by this initiative: To qualify as a “low-access community,” at least 500 people and/or at least 33 percent of the census tract's population must reside more than one mile from a supermarket or large grocery store (for rural census tracts, the distance is more than 10 miles)." |
Thursday, September 22, 2016
Real Stories
Over the past few years I've done a lot of volunteer work, including two mission trips to Washington D.C.. During these trips I worked at various community kitchens, but had little experience with children until this summer. We signed up to work at Martha's Market, put on by Martha's Table. These traveling markets go to low income areas throughout the D.C. area offering free healthy food to anyone who comes to them. Many of these markets were at schools or community centers, so there was lots of kids. I was at the vegetable table which included corn, peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant. As the kids walked through we asked them which vegetables they wanted. Most only took corn, peppers, and tomatoes, and weren't interested in the eggplant. We would ask them their favorite vegetables and dance with them to the music that was being played. Everyone was very grateful, and this was one of the most fun service projects I've ever done. But I remember one little boy in particular, he was about 8 or 9. When he got to our table his pointed to the tomatoes and asked "what is that?". I was really surprised to see that some children don't even know what tomatoes are. This shows how even though some children aren't necessarily hungry, they aren't eating the right food. This is just a big of a problem as food insecurity, and should be taken just as seriously. So many children of low income families aren't getting the right nutrition they need to succeed in the future. Programs like Martha's Table are actually trying to do something about this, and I would strongly encourage you to volunteer at a project similar to this near you.
Monday, September 19, 2016
How Hunger Affects Children
Food-insecurity can have the most consequences on children because it could effect their mental and/or physical health, their academics, their success- or lack of success- in the future. According to the most recent statistic from the USDA 15.9 million people under 18 who live in the U.S. suffer from food insecurity.
The most common thing people concern with food insecurity of children is heath problems. Infants who grow up with this are more at risk for delayed development. Children who are food insecure are more likely to requiring hospitalization in the early stages of life, and are more likely to develop chronic diseases in the future. They are also more at risk for oral health problems. Of course these issues should be a huge concern, but they can lead to other concerns that are often overlooked.
Social and mental problems are common side effects of food insecurity in children, but are often overlooked. These children are much more likely to have behavioral issues and act out in class, which effects their learning experience. Once a child is labeled as a "troublemaker" the teacher is much less likely to continue to help them learn, which could cause the student to drop out in the later years of school. This could then hinder the young adult from getting a job because they never revived their G.E.D.. It's basically a never ending circle of bad side effects, all because a child was getting the food they needed when they were younger.
Source: http://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/impact-of-hunger/child-hunger/child-development.html
The most common thing people concern with food insecurity of children is heath problems. Infants who grow up with this are more at risk for delayed development. Children who are food insecure are more likely to requiring hospitalization in the early stages of life, and are more likely to develop chronic diseases in the future. They are also more at risk for oral health problems. Of course these issues should be a huge concern, but they can lead to other concerns that are often overlooked.
Social and mental problems are common side effects of food insecurity in children, but are often overlooked. These children are much more likely to have behavioral issues and act out in class, which effects their learning experience. Once a child is labeled as a "troublemaker" the teacher is much less likely to continue to help them learn, which could cause the student to drop out in the later years of school. This could then hinder the young adult from getting a job because they never revived their G.E.D.. It's basically a never ending circle of bad side effects, all because a child was getting the food they needed when they were younger.
Source: http://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/impact-of-hunger/child-hunger/child-development.html
Thursday, September 15, 2016
The Largest Community Kitchen in America
D.C. Central Kitchen, located in Washington, D.C., is the largest provider of recycled meals in the country. In total, the community Kitchen has provided over 27 million meals- and counting- to homeless and low-income families. But providing meals to those in need isn't all they do. They also provide culinary training programs to teach adults how to cook and work in a kitchen. All the meals the culinary students create are given out, so its basically its a circle of good things happening. They also provide and encourage healthy affordable lunches to schools in the D.C. area.
Numbers
As I stated before, in total DCCK has provided over 27 million meals, and that number is still rising. All these meals, about 5,000 a day, are given to 82 different non-profit organizations that give them out. They have had 772 graduates from their culinary program, with an 89% job placement rate, and job retention rate of 87%. 63 of their graduates in 2011 were ex-offenders, and once these men and women complete the program they are 94% less likely to end up back in prison.
Volunteer
To truly make a difference in your community, one of the best things to do is volunteer. It helps out those in need, while giving you a feeling of pride and accomplishment. In my two service trips to Washington D.C., I have volunteered at DCCK about 5 or 6 times. Two of the times I cut up potatoes into cubes for three hours. This may seem tedious and like its not doing anything, but at the end you see the huge buckets of chopped potatoes and realize what you have done will feed numerous people. Potatoes are also my favorite food, so I was happy to share their deliciousness with others.
Numbers
As I stated before, in total DCCK has provided over 27 million meals, and that number is still rising. All these meals, about 5,000 a day, are given to 82 different non-profit organizations that give them out. They have had 772 graduates from their culinary program, with an 89% job placement rate, and job retention rate of 87%. 63 of their graduates in 2011 were ex-offenders, and once these men and women complete the program they are 94% less likely to end up back in prison.
Volunteer
To truly make a difference in your community, one of the best things to do is volunteer. It helps out those in need, while giving you a feeling of pride and accomplishment. In my two service trips to Washington D.C., I have volunteered at DCCK about 5 or 6 times. Two of the times I cut up potatoes into cubes for three hours. This may seem tedious and like its not doing anything, but at the end you see the huge buckets of chopped potatoes and realize what you have done will feed numerous people. Potatoes are also my favorite food, so I was happy to share their deliciousness with others.
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| My friends and I at DCCK this summer, sporting the stylish hair nets that you're required to wear |
Friday, September 9, 2016
Why Hunger?
You may be asking, out of all the problems in our world today, why did I choose hunger to blog about? Personally, I chose this subject because I believe it is the most basic human right. No person should ever wonder when they will eat next. Someone who is completely focused on feeding themselves and/or their family can't accomplish anything until they find food. Someone who could cure a disease, write an amazing book, or do something else that could benefit the lives of others wont be able to do that if they don't have food. So many children grow up without an education because they need to drop out and get a job to feed themselves. The main reason I chose this topic is because I truly believe its a problem that we can solve. In this blog I hope to encourage you to join the fight against world hunger, because if we all join together to make the change, the change will happen.
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