Hunger does not discriminate.
Food insecurity is found in 12.6 million American
households (No Kid Hungry, 2013) , and these
households are made up of people from all races, ethnicities, and religions.
However, according to information from No Kid
Hungry, food insecurity is disproportionately higher in minority households.
The national average of food-insecure households is 10.9%, but black households
experience food insecurity at double this rate, 21.8%, and the rate for
Hispanic households is almost that high, at 19.5%. By comparison, white
households experience food insecurity at a much lower rate of 7.8%. And the
news is even worse for households with children. The rates of food insecurity
increase among all racial groups in households where children are living (No Kid
Hungry, 2013) .
There are a number of significant consequences of
food insecurity, as have been mentioned in this blog previously: children from
food-insecure homes have poorer health overall than children from food-secure
homes. They are sick more frequently, are more prone to ear infections, are
more often iron-deficient, and must be hospitalized more often than kids who
don’t have to worry about getting enough to eat (No Kid
Hungry, 2013) .
As you can probably imagine, this has a negative
effect on their ability to learn. Food-insecure children miss more school days,
and are more likely to underperform at school when they do attend. And don’t
forget the psychological effects of chronic hunger. Food-insecure children
suffer with higher levels of stress, and tend to be more withdrawn or
disruptive. Rates of behavioral disorders and mental health issues are higher
for these kids, too (No Kid Hungry, 2013) .
One of the by-products of food insecurity, oddly, is
obesity. While it may seem to be a strange consequence, the risk for obesity is
somewhat higher for people living in food-insecure households. One of the major reasons for this phenomenon
is the availability, or lack thereof, of healthful foods in urban settings.
Finding healthy food options is most limited in these areas, which are
historically more heavily populated by racial and ethnic minorities (Freedman
& Bell, 2009) .
Why is this? According to a 2009 study conducted by
Darcy Freedman and Bethany Bell, food environments, or the collective sources
for food and groceries in a particular area (this includes grocery stores,
convenience stores, restaurants, local farmers’ markets, and fast food outlets)
differ based on the communities in which they are located. Healthier food
options – fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, lean meats, etc. – are more
easily found in larger chain supermarkets. Larger chain supermarkets, in turn,
are found more frequently in communities that are populated mostly by whites,
and/or those families who are classified as middle- to high-income.
For those families who live in poorer neighborhoods,
the food environment most readily available to them doesn’t offer the same
options. Fast food outlets and convenience stores are much more prevalent, and
offer little in the way of fresh, unprocessed, or low-fat options. Add to this a limited food budget, and those
options are further reduced. Feeding a family on a tight budget may often be
achieved with an unhealthy (but cheap) array of junk food from a convenience
store, or a bag of burgers off the dollar menu at the local drive-thru window.
In order to address the issue of food insecurity
among all populations, there will need to be a shift in thinking on the parts
of both local governments and economic boards, and corporate America as well.
Rather than offering economic incentives to grocery chains and big box
corporations to open a new location in the new “hot” or trendy areas of our
cities, there should be a greater effort made to install these outlets in
lower-income and urban communities. Until there are better options available to
the residents in these communities, food insecurity will remain one of the most
troublesome issues we face as a nation.
References:
Freedman, D. A., & Bell, B. A. (2009). Access to
Healthful Foods among an Urban Food Insecure Population: Perceptions versus
Reality. Journal of Urban Health, 86 (6), 825-838.
No Kid Hungry. (2013). Food Insecurity, Children, and Race.
Retrieved from Nokidhungry.org: http://join.nokidhungry.org/site/DocServer/Food_Insecurity_as_it_relates_to_Race_and_Ethnicity.pdf
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