When we read and talk about
nutrition
, we not only focus on what is best for our own body and health but also on
how healthy food and
the lack of it
affects others
.
The events of the past few months: the global pandemic, quarantines and shelter-in-home advisories, the closing of schools, economic instability and the resulting rise in unemployment, have all brought about an increase in food insecurity in the United States.
Food insecurity
(according to FeedingAmerica.org) is defined as a “lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members and limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods.”
When households need to make trade-offs between paying rent or medical bills and buying nutritious food - this is food insecurity.
According to The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution (
click here
), at the end of April, more than one in five households in the United States, and two in five households of mothers with children age 12 and under, were food insecure. In many households, the
children
experienced food insecurity.
This is happening in our own backyard. According to 2018 statistics by Feeding America (
click here
), 10.9% of Pennsylvania’s population was food insecure. In Delaware County, this percentage was 9.4%; Chester County 6.3%; and Philadelphia County a staggering 16.3%.
These numbers are probably much higher now, taking into account the effects of COVID19.
With federal assistance having a hard time keeping up with demand, the NY Times reports (
click here
) that families are turning to
food banks
for much-needed sources of food. Food banks receive some help from the government, but
over 51% of food banks in the US rely solely on volunteers to operate them.
So, most importantly,
how can we help with food insecurity in our communities?
Spoon University (
click here
), a resource/food community on college campuses, lists five ways we can help battle food insecurity and malnutrition: