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Cassie Fisher

Marissa Michael

English 15

30 October 2018

Food Insecurity

Do you know how many Americans suffer from food insecurity? Many Americans suffer

from food insecurity in some point of their lifetime, as surveys have tested that out of all the

Americans one out of eight people suffer from food insecurity (Hunger and Health). In addition

to that, there are solutions that we can do to help aid with the food insecurity issues. Some

solutions could be making it more known by broadcasting it on the news, making a big deal out

of it on social media, and making it mandatory to have education and health care for people who

get government assistance. As one solution that I am going to do is making a flyer which will

have information on the issue of food insecurity, and then I am going to post it on my blog which

will also be seen by another audience which will lead to more information on food insecurity. On

the other hand, it is every age group that is affected, not just one specific group. Numerous

people assume that elderly is the only people with food insecurity, but the statistics can argue

otherwise. What leads up to food insecurity is lack of nutrients, low income, disabilities, and lack

of education. There are several health issues that can be caused the insecurity of food.

Ultimately, what is at stake here is the concern of food insecurity in every age group including

the elderly, from my own experiences while I volunteered for Meals on Wheels I got to

experience the food insecurity issues in the elderly first hand. Before I volunteered I never knew

how severe food insecurity problems were. Several Americans are at high rates of food
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insecurity, and not everyone knows or understands the intensity of it and that is why we as a

community need to come up with solutions such as, broadcasting the problem everywhere to try

and decrease the problem of food insecurity.

Statistics on Food Insecurity

When it comes to Americans, some suffer from food insecurity on several different

levels, the number of Americans that suffer from food insecurity is devastating. Many people just

assume and judge people that when it comes to food insecurity it is automatically the person

sufferings fault, which however the statistics show otherwise. For example, there are several

reasons that lead to people with food insecurity: losing a job, gaining more household members,

budgets, losing assistance from the government, and the lack of nutrients that are needed. The

only people who truly understand the suffering of food insecurity are the people who are

suffering or who have suffered.

There are several known causes that can lead to food insecurity and poverty in general.

The most known cause for food insecurity is from world emergencies, droughts, floods, wars,

hurricanes, tornados, and earthquakes. The worst part about that is that majority of the people

suffering from food insecurity is just normal poverty, in 2004 8% of deaths from food insecurity

was led from world emergencies, where 92% were caused due to normal poverty (Sciencemag).

That proves that there is more food insecurity caused by normal poverty than world emergencies.

Food insecurity comes from several different reasons.

When it comes to race within food insecurity it plays a major role. As for Hispanics,

blacks, and Non-Hispanics. In Hispanic household during 2017, 18% of the people suffered from
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food insecurity (USDA). On the other hand, blacks and Non-Hispanics live within 21.8% of their

households suffered from food insecurity, which was stated in the year 2017 (USDA).

Meals on Wheels

As my organization was Meals on Wheels, I got to experience the severe issue of food

insecurity. For the reason that I volunteer for Meals on Wheels, is for my English 15 class at

Penn State University. Even though my organization deals with just elderlies, that does not mean

that it doesn’t affect everyone of different ages, because it does considering that 84.3% of people

suffer from food insecurity all together and not just one age group (Meals on Wheels of

America). As I went and delivered their food, they were waiting on the food as if that was the

only food or nutrients of food they were getting that day. Majority of the people except a select

few were very appreciative toward the giving of the food. As for only a few people gave

donations not everyone could afford to give donations. The guidelines to receive Meals on

Wheels usually have an age limit of must being 60 years old or older, lack of transportation,

and/or the disability to get places simply (Meals on Wheels of America). Some of the elderlies

were waiting at the door for the food, others you had to take it inside of their house and set it

down, and others had nurses or family members waiting at the door for it. A few of the elderlies

were in hospital beds or even sleeping on the couch, due to them getting up early to receive their

food and them falling back asleep before they get the food. It was a good but sad experience at

the same time.

Solutions to Food Insecurity

When it comes to solutions to solve food insecurity, there are several different ones we

can use. We can use social media to broadcast the availability of Meals on Wheels. Also, we can
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use assistance programs such as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). Also

campaigns such as apple harvest campaign. (Hunger).

What can we do?

With everyone suffering from food insecurity, we need to come up with ways to solve it

and get people to live healthier. The people not only suffer from just the loss of food but lacking

nutrients, lack of education, low income, disabled, and no transportation. One solution that I

came up with is to post flyers around to emphasize the waste of food. As for there is already

Meals on Wheels, food banks, and pantries, not everyone has the ability to get to them. As for

the lack of education part I feel that the people that get assistance should get tested at least once a

month to ensure that their counts are all up and they are receiving all their nutrients to stay

healthy. Some people disagree with needing to come up with ways to fix food insecurity, but I

completely agree that we as a community need to do something to change it. Some people are

content about what is going on around them and that is not good to watch people suffer, we are

all equal.

Conclusion

In conclusion, food insecurity is something that everyone needs to work together to put

an end to. There are solutions that can be done that can decrease some of the insecurity. The fact

that more than 13 million children are raised in a home that suffers from food insecurity is

absolutely devastating to me, as for it is not the children’s fault (No kid hungry). Some people

disagree with trying to help and to come up with solutions due to the fact they think the people

should get a job, but it’s not always that easy. Also, sometimes the person may be disabled and

unable to get a job. Food insecurity is something that is so chronic and that needs taken care of.
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The solutions are capable of saving people’s lives. We need to show people who suffer

all the resources that are available to help them. Not only do we need to rely on them coming and

looking for help but we need to ensure that they can feel comfortable and looking for the help

that is out there. Everyone deserves the same equal opportunity.

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Works Cited

Lydia Preuss “What is Food Insecurity?”, Understand Food Insecurity, September 27, 2018

https://hungerandhealth.feedingamerica.org/understand-food-insecurity October 25, 2018

“Who Qualifies?”, Meals on Wheels America, n.d.

https://www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/signup/aboutmealsonwheels October 25, 2018

“Measuring Food Insecurity”, Science, February 12, 2010

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/327/5967/825 October 24, 2018

“Key Statistics and Graphics”, Food Insecurity in the U.S., September 5, 2018

https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-

statistics-graphics.aspx October 27, 2018

“Hunger in America”, Ample Harvest, no publication date

https://ampleharvest.org/hunger/?gclid=CjwKCAjw39reBRBJEiwAO1m0OUTVunJdj1v

iZcKvFAQyG5Xpgmx5F1Xtia15ngQDWAwenGaf9OWt_xoC89IQAvD_BwE October

29, 2018

“Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)”, Food and Nutrition Service, April 25,

2018 https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap

October 29, 2018

“Kids In America Are Hungry”, No Kid Hungry, 2018 https://www.nokidhungry.org/who-we-

are/hunger-facts October 28, 2018