Food Insecurity in the US: The New Face of Hunger Essay

More than 35 million Americans suffered from hunger in 2019 and the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 increased the number of people who face food insecurity up to 42 million (Feeding America, 2021). To put it more explicitly, every sixth person in the US has no food to eat at least once a year (McMillan, n.d.) These figures are shocking because the US is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Furthermore, the problem is exacerbated by the fact that food insecurity is experienced not only by the homeless and unemployed but by working American citizens. The current essay discusses the causes of this social crisis and presents several steps that could be taken to tackle this urgent problem.

The modern phenomenon of hunger, or food insecurity, in the US, differs from one that existed in the times of the Great Depression. Ironically, an employed and even obese adult might lack food regularly. Even though this situation sounds illogical, it could be easily explained. The critical reason for food insecurity among citizens who work full-time is that the earnings are not high enough to cover all the bills and food purchases. The reason for obesity among people who struggle with the lack of food is that they could afford only cheap products, most of which are “filling but not nutritious and may actually contribute to obesity” (McMillan, n.d., para. 9). The problem is exacerbated if a person has a family and should feed not only himself or herself but also a spouse and children, as presented in the case of Christina Dreier.

Another side of the malnourishment problem is that fresh and healthy food prices are too high, and people with small wages could afford only cheap fast food full of fat and carbs and lacks fiber, vitamins, and minerals. What is more, poor people might work hard all day long and have no time to cook food at home; they have to eat fast food while walking simply because nearby there are no grocery stores where healthy food can be purchase even if they have money for it (McMillan, n.d.). Such places where people cannot buy food are called food deserts and contribute to food insecurity in the US.

The government does not ignore the situation and implements assistance programs to take care of people who have to choose between paying the bills and purchasing eating products. For example, McMillan (n.d.) presents the case of the Jefferson family that consists of 15 members and lives in a four-bedroom house with desktop computers and TVs in every room. The problem is that only three members of this family receive salaries. Still, this money is not enough to feed all the relatives. For this reason, every month, Jeffersons receive $125 in food stamps (McMillan, n.d.). This case differs from the one mentioned above because the primary problem is not the lack of food per se but the uncertainty of the ability to have the next meal. More precisely, this means that the family of Dreiers has little food to eat because it is too expensive for them. The second family, in its turn, is never sure that the existing supply of food will be enough to feed everyone during the month. That is because ten children are always hungry and sometimes exceed the daily limits of how much could be eaten.

Overall, the major problem is that even though the government indeed tries to solve the issue of hunger through the provision of food stamps, the quality and quantity of such food are depressing. The American government could undertake several steps to fix the problem. Firstly, the government should invest not only in the producers of corn and soy, which are the main components of fast food, but also in manufacturers that grow fruits and vegetables. This strategy will enable the producers of fruits and vegetables to lower their costs in the supermarket and, hence, make them affordable for people with low incomes.

The second strategy that could be recommended to the American administration deals with the problem of low monthly incomes. Currently, the federal minimum wage equals $7.25 per hour. The experience shows that it is too low to help people stay fed with nourishing and healthy products on a daily basis. Consequently, politicians should think about how to raise the minimum wage at least twice. This could be done, for example, through subsidizing companies where the salaries of employees do not exceed the minimal size proclaimed by the federal government.

To conclude, the issue of food insecurity in the US is extremely complex because it is faced not only by the people who live in poverty but also by the representatives of the middle class. This problem is caused by low wages, high prices for fresh food, and the absence of grocery stores in some areas. Even though the government provides food stamps for those who need them, more should be done to eradicate hunger. The US administration should invest more in agriculture and increase the minimum wage.

Feeding America (2021). Hunger in America . Web.

McMillan, T. (n.d.). The new face of hunger. National Geographic Magazine . Web.

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1. IvyPanda . "Food Insecurity in the US: The New Face of Hunger." July 30, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/food-insecurity-in-the-us-the-new-face-of-hunger/.

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IvyPanda . "Food Insecurity in the US: The New Face of Hunger." July 30, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/food-insecurity-in-the-us-the-new-face-of-hunger/.

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Home — Essay Samples — Science — Food Safety — Food Insecurity: Consequences and Ways to Address

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Food Insecurity: Consequences and Ways to Address

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Published: Sep 7, 2023

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Defining food insecurity, consequences of food insecurity, strategies for addressing food insecurity, promoting food security and sustainability.

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food insecurity essay

Food Insecurity

Economic Stability

About This Literature Summary

This summary of the literature on Food Insecurity as a social determinant of health is a narrowly defined examination that is not intended to be exhaustive and may not address all dimensions of the issue. Please note: The terminology used in each summary is consistent with the respective references. For additional information on cross-cutting topics, please see the Access to Foods that Support Healthy Dietary Patterns literature summary.

Related Objectives (4)

Here's a snapshot of the objectives related to topics covered in this literature summary. Browse all objectives .

  • Reduce household food insecurity and hunger  — NWS‑01
  • Eliminate very low food security in children — NWS‑02
  • Increase fruit consumption by people aged 2 years and over — NWS‑06
  • Increase vegetable consumption by people aged 2 years and older — NWS‑07

Related Evidence-Based Resources (1)

Here's a snapshot of the evidence-based resources related to topics covered in this literature summary. Browse all evidence-based resources .

  • The Role of Law and Policy in Achieving the Healthy People 2020 Nutrition and Weight Status Goals of Increased Fruit and Vegetable Intake in the United States

Literature Summary

Food insecurity is defined as a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food. 1  In 2020, 13.8 million households were food insecure at some time during the year. 2 Food insecurity does not necessarily cause hunger, i but hunger is a possible outcome of food insecurity. 3

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) divides food insecurity into the following 2 categories: 1

  • Low food security : “Reports of reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet. Little or no indication of reduced food intake.”
  • Very low food security : “Reports of multiple indications of disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake.”

Food insecurity may be long term or temporary. 4 , 5 , 6  It may be influenced by a number of factors, including income, employment, race/ethnicity, and disability. The risk for food insecurity increases when money to buy food is limited or not available. 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11  In 2020, 28.6 percent of low-income households were food insecure, compared to the national average of 10.5 percent. 2  Unemployment can also negatively affect a household’s food security status. 10  High unemployment rates among low-income populations make it more difficult to meet basic household food needs. 10  In addition, children with unemployed parents have higher rates of food insecurity than children with employed parents. 12  Disabled adults may be at a higher risk for food insecurity due to limited employment opportunities and health care-related expenses that reduce the income available to buy food. 13 , 14  Racial and ethnic disparities exist related to food insecurity. In 2020, Black non-Hispanic households were over 2 times more likely to be food insecure than the national average (21.7 percent versus 10.5 percent, respectively). Among Hispanic households, the prevalence of food insecurity was 17.2 percent compared to the national average of 10.5 percent. 2 Potential factors influencing these disparities may include neighborhood conditions, physical access to food, and lack of transportation.

Neighborhood conditions may affect physical access to food. 15  For example, people living in some urban areas, rural areas, and low-income neighborhoods may have limited access to full-service supermarkets or grocery stores. 16  Predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods may have fewer full-service supermarkets than predominantly White and non-Hispanic neighborhoods. 17  Convenience stores may have higher food prices, lower-quality foods, and less variety of foods than supermarkets or grocery stores. 16 , 18  Access to healthy foods is also affected by lack of transportation and long distances between residences and supermarkets or grocery stores. 16

Residents are at risk for food insecurity in neighborhoods where transportation options are limited, the travel distance to stores is greater, and there are fewer supermarkets. 16  Lack of access to public transportation or a personal vehicle limits access to food. 16  Groups who may lack transportation to healthy food sources include those with chronic diseases or disabilities, residents of rural areas, and some racial/ethnicity groups. 15 , 16 , 19  A study in Detroit found that people living in low-income, predominantly Black neighborhoods travel an average of 1.1 miles farther to the closest supermarket than people living in low-income predominantly White neighborhoods. 20

Adults who are food insecure may be at an increased risk for a variety of negative health outcomes and health disparities. For example, a study found that food-insecure adults may be at an increased risk for obesity. 21  Another study found higher rates of chronic disease in low-income, food-insecure adults between the ages of 18 years and 65 years. 22  Food-insecure children may also be at an increased risk for a variety of negative health outcomes, including obesity. 23 , 24 , 25 They also face a higher risk of developmental problems compared with food-secure children. 12 , 25 , 26  In addition, reduced frequency, quality, variety, and quantity of consumed foods may have a negative effect on children’s mental health. 27

Food assistance programs, such as the National School Lunch Program (NSLP); the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program; and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), address barriers to accessing healthy food. 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 Studies show these programs may reduce food insecurity. 29 , 30 , 31  More research is needed to understand food insecurity and its influence on health outcomes and disparities. Future studies should consider characteristics of communities and households that influence food insecurity. 32  This additional evidence will facilitate public health efforts to address food insecurity as a social determinant of health.

i  The term hunger refers to a potential consequence of food insecurity. Hunger is discomfort, illness, weakness, or pain caused by prolonged, involuntary lack of food.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. (n.d.). Definitions of food security . Retrieved March 10, 2022, from https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-u-s/definitions-of-food-security/

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. (n.d.). Key statistics & graphics. Retrieved March 10, 2022, from https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-statistics-graphics.aspx

Carlson, S. J., Andrews, M. S., & Bickel, G. W. (1999). Measuring food insecurity and hunger in the United States: Development of a national benchmark measure and prevalence estimates. Journal of Nutrition, 129 (2S Suppl), 510S–516S. doi:  10.1093/jn/129.2.510S

Jones, A. D., Ngure, F. M., Pelto, G., & Young, S. L. (2013). What are we assessing when we measure food security? A compendium and review of current metrics. Advances in Nutrition, 4(5), 481–505.

Food and Agriculture Organization. (2008). An introduction to the basic concepts of food security . Food Security Information for Action Practical Guides. EC–FAO Food Security Programme.

Nord, M., Andrews, M., & Winicki, J. (2002). Frequency and duration of food insecurity and hunger in U.S. households. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 34 (4), 194–201.

Sharkey, J. R., Johnson, C. M., & Dean, W. R. (2011). Relationship of household food insecurity to health-related quality of life in a large sample of rural and urban women. Women & Health, 51 (5), 442–460.

Seefeldt, K. S., & Castelli, T. (2009). Low-income women’s experiences with food programs, food spending, and food-related hardships (no. 57) . USDA Economic Research Service. https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=84306

Nord, M., Andrews, M., & Carlson, S. (2007). Measuring food security in the United States: household food security in the United States, 2001. Economic Research Report (29).

Nord, M. (2007). Characteristics of low-income households with very low food security: An analysis of the USDA GPRA food security indicator. USDA-ERS Economic Information Bulletin (25).

Klesges, L. M., Pahor, M., Shorr, R. I., Wan, J. Y., Williamson, J. D., & Guralnik, J. M. (2001). Financial difficulty in acquiring food among elderly disabled women: Results from the Women’s Health and Aging Study. American Journal of Public Health, 91 (1), 68.

Nord, M. (2009). Food insecurity in households with children: Prevalence, severity, and household characteristics. USDA-ERS Economic Information Bulletin (56).

Coleman-Jensen, A., & Nord, M. (2013). Food insecurity among households with working-age adults with disabilities. USDA-ERS Economic Research Report (144).

Huang, J., Guo, B., & Kim, Y. (2010). Food insecurity and disability: Do economic resources matter? Social Science Research, 39 (1), 111–124.

Zenk, S. N., Schulz, A. J., Israel, B. A., James, S. A., Bao, S., & Wilson, M. L. (2005). Neighborhood racial composition, neighborhood poverty, and the spatial accessibility of supermarkets in metropolitan Detroit. American Journal of Public Health, 95 (4), 660–667.

Ploeg, M. V., Breneman, V., Farrigan, T., Hamrick, K., Hopkins, D., Kaufman, P., Lin, B.-H., Nord, M., Smith, T. A., Williams, R., Kinnison, K., Olander, C., Singh, A., & Tuckermanty, E. (n.d.). Access to affordable and nutritious food-measuring and understanding food deserts and their consequences: Report to congress. Retrieved March 10, 2022, from http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=42729

Powell, L. M., Slater, S., Mirtcheva, D., Bao, Y., & Chaloupka, F. J. (2007). Food store availability and neighborhood characteristics in the United States. Preventive Medicine, 44 (3), 189–195.

Crockett, E. G., Clancy, K. L., & Bowering, J. (1992). Comparing the cost of a thrifty food plan market basket in three areas of New York State. Journal of Nutrition Education, 24 (1), 71S–78S.

Seligman, H. K., Laraia, B. A., & Kushel, M. B. (2010). Food insecurity is associated with chronic disease among low-income NHANES participants. Journal of Nutrition, 140 (2), 304–310.

Zenk, S. N., Schulz, A. J., Israel, B. A., James, S. A., Bao, S., & Wilson, M. L. (2005). Neighborhood racial composition, neighborhood poverty, and the spatial accessibility of supermarkets in metropolitan Detroit. American Journal of Public Health , 95(4), 660–667.

Hernandez, D. C., Reesor, L. M., & Murillo, R. (2017). Food insecurity and adult overweight/obesity: Gender and race/ethnic disparities. Appetite, 117, 373–378.

Gregory, C. A., & Coleman-Jensen, A. (n.d.). Food insecurity, chronic disease, and health among working-age adults . Retrieved March 10, 2022, from http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=84466

Gundersen, C., & Kreider, B. (2009). Bounding the effects of food insecurity on children’s health outcomes. Journal of Health Economics , 28 (5), 971–983.

Metallinos-Katsaras, E., Must, A., & Gorman, K. (2012). A longitudinal study of food insecurity on obesity in preschool children. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 112 (12), 1949–1958.

Cook, J. T., & Frank, D. A. (2008). Food security, poverty, and human development in the United States. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1136 (1), 193–209.

Cook, J. T. (2013, April). Impacts of child food insecurity and hunger on health and development in children: Implications of measurement approach. In Paper commissioned for the Workshop on Research Gaps and Opportunities on the Causes and Consequences of Child Hunger.

Burke, M. P., Martini, L. H., Çayır, E., Hartline-Grafton, H. L., & Meade, R. L. (2016). Severity of household food insecurity is positively associated with mental disorders among children and adolescents in the United States. Journal of Nutrition , 146(10), 2019–2026.

Bhattarai, G. R., Duffy, P. A., & Raymond, J. (2005). Use of food pantries and food stamps in low‐income households in the United States. Journal of Consumer Affairs , 39(2), 276–298.

Huang, J., & Barnidge, E. (2016). Low-income children's participation in the National School Lunch Program and household food insufficiency. Social Science & Medicine, 150 , 8–14.

Kreider, B., Pepper, J. V., & Roy, M. (2016). Identifying the effects of WIC on food insecurity among infants and children. Southern Economic Journal, 82 (4), 1106–1122.

Ratcliffe, C., McKernan, S. M., & Zhang, S. (2011). How much does the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program reduce food insecurity? American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 93 (4), 1082–1098.

Larson, N. I., & Story, M. T. (2011). Food insecurity and weight status among U.S. children and families: A review of the literature. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 40 (2), 166–173.

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America at Hunger’s Edge

Photographs by Brenda Ann Kenneally Sept. 2, 2020

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A shadow of hunger looms over the United States. In the pandemic economy, nearly one in eight households doesn’t have enough to eat. The lockdown, with its epic lines at food banks, has revealed what was hidden in plain sight: that the struggle to make food last long enough, and to get food that’s healthful — what experts call ‘food insecurity’ — is a persistent one for millions of Americans.

food insecurity essay

Beginning in May, Brenda Ann Kenneally set out across the country, from New York to California , to capture the routines of Americans who struggle to feed their families, piecing together various forms of food assistance, community support and ingenuity to make it from one month to the next.

Food insecurity is as much about the threat of deprivation as it is about deprivation itself: A food-insecure life means a life lived in fear of hunger, and the psychological toll that takes. Like many hardships, this burden falls disproportionately on Black and Hispanic families, who are almost twice as likely to experience food insecurity as white families.

Like so many who live at hunger’s edge, the members of the extended Stocklas family — whom Kenneally has photographed for years — gain and lose food stamps depending on fluctuating employment status in an unstable economy. They often have trouble stretching their funds to the end of the month, so they pool resources to provide family-style dinners for all.

“Often we make a whole chicken and then just put a bunch of different sides with it,” Zakrzewski says.

Just days before Kenneally arrived, the governor closed schools statewide, creating a new source of stress for food-insecure families, which often rely on free school lunches to keep their school-age children fed. This made the family’s big collective meals all the more crucial. “Even if it’s just pitching in $10 when we don’t have food stamps,” Kandice Zakrzewski says, “we all pitch in.”

Zakrzewski’s son Brayden Ratleph, 6.

Late last year, Doris Hall, 63, moved back to Gary, her hometown, to look after her great-grandchildren — “so they don’t have to be in daycare,” she says. On weekends, she takes in as many as nine of the children — occasionally all 14 — so that their parents can work.

Hall’s $194 in monthly food stamps usually runs out after a few weeks.

For lunch, it’s “microwaveable stuff,” like corndogs, hot dogs and chicken nuggets that Hall picks up at the nearby food bank. Dinners vary: spaghetti, chicken, soups, tacos. When she has a rare moment to eat alone, she makes her favorite meal for herself: greens and tacos.

Some of Hall’s great-grandchildren waiting for lunch.

In the face of deprivation, food-insecure families often seize any opportunity to get and store food when it’s available.

In the middle of a food desert in Jackson, Miss., a family’s freezer holds as much as it can.

Kenneally arrived in Illinois in early June, soon after nationwide unemployment claims filed during the pandemic had topped 40 million.

In Cicero, just west of Chicago, Jennifer Villa, 29, was living in an apartment with a kitchen that needed plumbing repairs. She and her family were already struggling — a disability makes it hard for her to work — and the pandemic had meant less fresh food and even longer pantry lines.

Sonia, 4, and Armani Rodriguez, 8, help workers bring in the food. “Because they know the kids, the Salvation Army by my house, they usually give me more extra food,” Villa says.

Whenever food deliveries came, Villa’s kids would celebrate. “Oh, Mommy, we’re going to have food tonight,” they would tell her. “We’re not going to go to sleep with no food in our tummy.”

Armani Rodriguez

By June, the social upheavals following the killing of George Floyd created even more instability for some families. Kenneally visited Manausha Russ, 28, a few days after protests led to the closure of a nearby Family Dollar, where Russ used to get basics like milk, cereal and diapers. “The stores by my house were all looted,” she says.

“The girls help me all the time with the cooking,” Russ says.

Russ lives with her four daughters on the west side of St. Louis. She receives about $635 per month in food stamps, but with the girls at home all day, and her partner, Lamarr, there too, it isn’t always sufficient. “Some days I feel like I have a lot,” she says, “and some days I feel like I don’t have enough.”

The family moved into their current apartment about six months ago.

In so many places, Kenneally found food-insecure families were helping one another out despite their own hardship. Here, in a condominium complex on the city’s east side, a neighbor picked up free school lunches and distributed them to children in the building, including the Boughton sisters: Brooklyn, 4, on the far right, Chynna, 9, and Katie, 8, seen here with a neighbor’s toddler who has since moved away.

food insecurity essay

Most of the families Kenneally photographed had struggled to feed themselves adequately for years. But she also met families who had been thrown into food insecurity by the pandemic.

Facing Hunger For The First Time

In the Horsburgh household, trips to pick up donated food — a service the family had not needed for years, before Covid-19 — became a diversion for the children stuck at home.

The federal government’s food-stamp program has been dramatically expanded to confront the economic devastation of the pandemic. But even that hasn’t been enough, as the ranks of the needy grow.

Ciara Young (right) and family, Memphis. Young lost her job in the pandemic.

In long conversations around the country this August — at kitchen tables, in living rooms and sitting in cars in slow-moving food lines with rambunctious children in the back — Americans reflected on their new reality. The shame and embarrassment. The loss of choice in something as basic as what to eat. The worry over how to make sure their children get a healthy diet. The fear that their lives will never get back on track.

Alexis Cazimero now drives around San Diego County with her younger children, seen here, distributing food to families like hers.

“Folks who had really good jobs and were able to pay their bills and never knew how to find us,” says Ephie Johnson, the president and chief executive of Neighborhood Christian Charities. “A lot of people had finally landed that job, were helping their family, and able to do a little better. And then this takes you out.”

By late June, Kenneally had reached Mississippi , where the economic toll of Covid-19 was falling hard on some of America’s most chronically impoverished areas, where residents have lived under hunger’s shadow for years. The pandemic dropped the state’s labor participation rate to just 53 percent, the lowest in the nation.

Patricia Luckett, 57, has no car, so she sometimes takes a 30-minute walk to get food from a local social services organization in Jackson, Miss.

Even before the pandemic, more than half of Mississippi’s seniors — 56 percent — experienced regular shortfalls in food. One in 4 Mississippians is now experiencing food insecurity, according to the nonprofit Feeding America.

The kitchen of Helen O’Bryant and her daughter, Nita, in Greenwood, Miss.

The city of Jackson (population 164,000) is often classified as a “food desert” for its high rate of food insecurity and the scarcity of well-stocked stores. Deidre Lyons lives there with her three kids, sister, niece and father. Lyons, 28, receives $524 a month in food stamps, but without access to a car, she can’t easily get to a grocery store to use them.

Daniya, 3.

“My kids, they love to eat,” says Lyons, whose cousin will occasionally drive her to the grocery store when she isn’t caring for her own children. “My kids eat whatever we cook because they aren’t picky eaters. I’m hoping they stay like that.”

Janiya in late June outside Robinson Food Mart.

The causes of chronic food insecurity are many: unemployment; low wages; unaffordable or unstable housing; rising medical costs; unreliable transportation.

How Hunger Persists In America

At a homeless shelter in Menands, N.Y., in early spring.

Treating hunger as a temporary emergency, instead of a symptom of systemic problems, has always informed the American response to it — and as a result government programs have been designed to alleviate each peak, rather than address the factors that produce them.

A resident at a low-income apartment building in Utica, N.Y., takes a meal to a friend.

Food banks are supposed to fill in the gaps, but more than 37 million Americans are food insecure, according to the U.S.D.A. “We call it an emergency food system, but it’s a 50-year emergency,” says Noreen Springstead, executive director of WhyHunger, which supports grass-roots food organizations.

In early July, the pandemic was cresting in Texas just as Kenneally arrived.

Kelly Rivera, a single mother with three kids who makes $688 every two weeks as a teacher’s aide, goes to the food bank on Wednesdays to supplement what she is able to buy with food stamps. “There are times they give you what you need, and there are times they don’t give you what you need,” she says. “You can’t be picky.”

Ana and Destiny play amid the shelves emptied of paper towels and toilet paper at the H-E-B grocery store.

The family had to wait for hours at the Catholic Charities in 100-degree heat. But Rivera has a message for her struggling neighbors who are too proud to visit food banks: “Don’t be ashamed. That is what the community is there for, to help.”

Rivera waiting in a long food line.

Some 800 miles west in New Mexico, near the town of Hatch, workers pick onions for $15 a box, which translates to less than a minimum wage for many workers. There are no food pantries nearby, and so the workers are forced to eat extremely simply on their earnings, making nearly everything they eat from scratch.

At work in the vast onion fields.

Juan Pablo Reyes is using the money he made picking onions to help pay for college. “People that work at the bottom of the food chain, cultivating all these different crops, are basically the builders of our country,” he says.

Yasmin and Yeslin Reyes, 11, are the only members of their family who don’t work in the onion fields, but that will change next summer.

Leaving New Mexico, Kenneally headed west across Arizona. She finished her journey in Southern California at the end of July. The story there was no different than it had been across the country, except that wildfires were also beginning to ravage the state — yet another crisis in a year full of them.

An event planner and hairstylist who has been out of work since early in the pandemic, Alexis Frost Cazimero, 40, now spends her days driving around the county with three of her children — Mason, 6 (not pictured); Carson, 5; and Coco, 1 — collecting food for her family and for neighbors and friends who are unable to leave their homes or reluctant to seek help.

food insecurity essay

Cazimero says she is grateful she has been able to help others. “Being that person in the community that shares and brings resources to the people that can’t get them brings purpose to my family.”

Adam Cazimero, 40, Coco (standing), Mason and Carson.

Kenneally’s photographs reveal the fragility of American life, exposed and exacerbated by the pandemic. They show us how close to the edge so many families live, how vulnerable and insecure their arrangements are, and also how resilient they can be when faced with a crisis.

But nothing stands out from these images more vividly than the children: eating whatever they can, whenever and wherever they can, somehow managing to maintain, in the midst of this historically desperate time, some innocence and some hope.

Hatch, N.M.

They are the greatest victims of the food-insecurity crisis. Research has shown long-term links between food insecurity and a wide variety of health issues in children — elevated risks of asthma and other chronic illnesses, lags in educational attainment. And according to a Brookings Institution researcher, the number of U.S. children in need of immediate food assistance is approximately 14 million.

Oneida, N.Y.

For most of these children, the pandemic did not cause the instability that plagues their lives; when it is over, they will face a crisis no less acute, one that has persisted in this country for generations.

Florissant, Mo.

In the richest nation on earth, they live at the edge of hunger.

Kenneally visited many food distribution sites along her journey, including ones run by: the Salvation Army , Catholic Charities , Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania , Parma City School District , St . Louis Area Foodbank , Operation Food Search , Neighborhood Christian Centers , Y.M.C.A . of Memphis and t he Mid-South , Stewpot Community Services , Houston Food Bank , Houston Independent School District , Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona and Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network .

Brenda Ann Kenneally is a multimedia journalist who, over 30 years, has produced participatory media projects with families from her home community, including “Upstate Girls: Unraveling Collar City.” She is currently assembling a multimedia autobiography, charting her experience from being a disenfranchised youth to becoming a Guggenheim fellow and frequent contributor to the magazine. Read more about Kenneally’s journey.

Adrian Nicole LeBlanc , an independent journalist and MacArthur fellow, was embedded in an assisted-living facility as Kenneally began her trip for this issue. They have worked together since 2003.

Tim Arango is a Los Angeles-based national correspondent for The Times. He spent seven years as Baghdad bureau chief and also covered Turkey. Before heading overseas, he had been a media reporter for The Times since 2007.

Additional Reporting by Maddy Crowell , Lovia Gyarkye , Concepción de León , Jaime Lowe , Jake Nevins , Kevin Pang and Malia Wollan .

Photo Editors: Amy Kellner and Rory Walsh .

Design by Aliza Aufrichtig and Eden Weingart .

Explore The New York Times Magazine

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‘Where Is the Palestinian Gandhi?’ : Issa Amro, who has been arrested and beaten for simple acts  of defiance, is trying to pursue nonviolent resistance in the West Bank at a time when violence has become inescapable.

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Food Insecurity Essay

Food insecurity is a problem in the United States, though people may not realize that it effects people differently. When it comes to food insecurity, disparities are seen in a variety different populations. These populations are the ones who utilize food pantries and food assistance programs. Some of these populations include: children, older adults, rural populations, immigrants, and single-parents. Food insecurity is a major problem for children because they are still developing both physically and mentally. Bellisle (2004) discusses how a lack of a nutritious diet can have severe effects on a child’s cognitive ability as well as their behavior. He goes on further to explain that even in children with an adequate diet, there were still differences in their capacities compared to children were given the correct amount of nutrition . Food assistance programs are important for communities with families that cannot supply their children with enough food, as well as children who may be getting enough food, but not the correct nutrition. Skalicky, Meyers, Adams, Yang, Cook, and Frank (2006) add that children who experience food insecurity throughout their lives are more likely to have iron deficiency-anima than children who are food secure. They continue by explaining that it is even more difficult for children to obtain these resources themselves; they rely on their parents for support. If their parents are unable to provide the proper nutrition for them, food assistance

Food Insecurity In Australia Essay

The global population is expected to reach 9 billion people by the year 2050 and scientific projections indicate that world is on a trajectory towards an environmental and global food crisis. World Leaders, environmental enthusiasts and aid agencies have cause for alarm as they support urgent policies for change, for without them mankind will face unprecedented food insecurity. In 2015 estimates were that there were “some 795 million people” [World Food Programme, 2015], experiencing food insecurity and 3.1 million children under 5 died through malnutrition, while Australians continue to waste an estimated 361 Kg’s of food per person per yr [PMSEIC, 2010, p.44] All the while the earth groans under the weight of Greenhouse Gas Emissions [GHG], deforestation, soil degradation and

School lunches are often unsung heroes of many modern American households. Frequently overlooked and disregarded because of their stigma, school lunches are a key ingredient that may help make the world a better place. Unknowingly, great numbers of individuals in our communities deal with food insecurities every day of their lives. It baffles me that in an advanced society many people do not have the resources to provide food for themselves or their families. Until it affected me personally, I was unaware nor passionate about the struggles of food insecurity. My passion for solving food insecurity in my local community has led me to gain both experience and leadership through understanding and advocating for those around me.

Child Hunger in the USA Essay

  • 11 Works Cited

The United States is known as the wealthiest country in the world. But, there are many people that can't afford to buy food for their families, many are also homeless. “While hunger affects people of all ages, it's particularly devastating for children even short-term episodes of hunger can cause lasting damage."(“Child Nutrition Programs") Child hunger in the United States is caused by poverty, unemployment, food insecurity, and food shortage; however there are many solutions to this problem like FRAC strategies, food banks, summer feeding programs, and backpack feeding programs.

Food insecurity is the “state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food,” according to the Oxford Dictionary. It is a widespread problem on college campuses across the nation. While food insecurity only impacts 14% of households, 48% of college students claim to be food insecure. This problem disproportionately impacts first generation college students, students of color, and students who need financial aid, as noted by the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness.

Food insecurity remains to be a current problem that is defined as the limited access to food due to low income. In 2012, approximately one million Canadian households were classified as food insecure. Certain groups such as, Aboriginals and single mothers, are at higher risk for food insecurity compared to other groups.

Glt1 Task 2 Essay

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports 16.7 million children under the age of eighteen live in a household where consistent access to adequate amounts of nutritious food for a healthy life is not obtainable. This is called food insecurity. Although this is harmful to any individual, it has major implications for children. Nutrition establishes

Food Stamps In America

So, why do fifteen million children in America face hunger every day? How does this happen? Many people are on food stamps, and they can be extremely helpful, but it is difficult to feed family with them. Food stamps provide only a dollar per person for each meal, according to the organization, Food is Power. More often than not, unhealthy, processed foods are a lot less expensive than nutritious, organic food, and because of this issue, many people on food stamps reach for less expensive junk food. Unquestionably, healthy foods can be very hard to find and expensive in places like food deserts. Food is Power found that thirty-three percent of Americans live in food deserts. Of course, public transportation helps families reach grocery stores, but it still can be a lengthy trip, and in rural and suburban areas, there can be little or no public transportation at all. These issues make it a struggle for parents to provide healthy food for their

Food Deserts In America Case Study

According to the USDA's Economic Research Service, the food-insecure are those families in America that at times didn't know whether they had or could find enough food to meet their needs. This was due to the lack of money or other resources, such as government assistance or community food banks (USDA ERS - Food Security in the U.S.). In it's most recent study, the Economic Research Service found that as of 2013, 80.5 percent of families in the U.S. were food secure, leavinf over 49 million people food-insecure (USDA ERS - Food Security in the U.S.). Of that 49 million, nearly 9 million children lived in food-insecure households (USDA ERS - Food Security in the U.S.).

Food insecurity is a major issue in Canada, affecting millions people across the country especially minorities. In 2012, four million Canadians experienced some form of food insecurity (Tarasuk, Mitchell, & Dachner, 2014). This paper aims to focus on how food insecurity affects women and children, and the costs associated with it. The results of food insecurity can be serious mental, and physical health problems for women and children. It shall demonstrate the need for government intervention, job security, prices of food, and public policies to protect low income families. This topic was chosen as it is an issue which often gets overlooked by many middle and upper class Canadians. Often times when people think of starvation, they picture children in Sub-Saharan Africa. The reality is that women and children in Canadian communities are affected by food insecurity daily. Action needs to be taken immediately in order for food insecurity to be fully eradicated, and justice to be achieved.

Nutrition is important for healthy life. Many people are still hungry around the world even though there is mass production of food. This is because of unhealthy food production. In today’s world we see many obese people because of high intake of high fat and cholesterol containing food. It is important to have a healthy diet/ nutritional intake for individuals to have good foundation for physical and mental health. Now a day’s healthy food is getting more expensive rather than unhealthy food. Poor people are forced to eat unhealthy food, while the rich can afford to eat whatever the please. Food insecurity is caused by individuals not having healthy food for their families due to their low income or political and

World Hunger Essay

This web page's goal is to introduce the visitor to the problem of world hunger and provide ways to access more information through books and other web sites. The page was created as a final project for an Environmental History class held at the University of Vermont spring semester 2000.

Food Insecurity and the Low Income Family Essay

  • 3 Works Cited

Food insecurity is an issue faced by millions of Americans every day, and the biggest group affected by this are working families with children. Food insecurity is so big that the United States government have now recognized it and provided a definition for it. The United States government has defined food insecurity as a household level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food (USDA.gov). Food banks and anti-hunger advocates agree that some of the causes of food insecurity are stagnant wages, increase in housing costs, unemployment, and inflation of the cost of food. These factors and unemployment have cause food banks to see a change in the groups of people needing assistance. Doug O’Brien,

  • 4 Works Cited

World hunger has been a constant problem throughout the ages. It is a problem that should be able to be solved easily, yet there are still 1.02 billion undernourished people worldwide. With the world population being 6.7 billion people, and the Earth producing more than enough food for this amount of people, why is it that there are hungry, malnourished people all around the globe?

Factors of Food Insecurity

Food Insecurity is defined as access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life, and at a minimum includes the following: the ready availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods and the assured ability to acquire personally acceptable foods in a socially acceptable way, qualified by their involuntariness and periodicity. Even though food insecurity affects everyone in the household, it may also affect them differently. Food insecurity mostly exists whenever food security is limited. Uncertain or limited availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods results chronic diseases psychological, and suicidal syndrome (Cook & Frank, 2008)

One of most common problems in the world is food insecurity. It is not only happening in the third world countries, but it is also happening in the richest country in world, the USA. Food insecurity occurs when a family does not have enough food for all family members. The USDA confirms that 12.7 percent of U.S households are suffering from food insecurity. Food insecurity can be of two kinds: low food insecurity and very low food insecurity. In low insecurity households, family members just eat enough calories for their body, but their food is not nutritious. Low food insecurity makes up 7.4 percent of 12.7 of food insecurity households in the U.S, (USDA). The other type is very low food insecurity. The family members do not have enough food at specific times in the year because they lack money. This type makes up 4.9 percent out of 12.7 percent in the food insecurity, (USDA). Food insecurity most often happens in the households with children, especially households with children headed by a single man or a single woman. The USDA estimates that households with children headed by single woman have 31.6 percent chance of experiencing low food insecurity, and households with children headed by a single man have 21.7 percent chance for low food insecurity. The South has highest rate of food insecurity with 13.5 percent. The rate of food insecurity in the Northeast (10.8 percent) is lower than Midwest (12.2 percent). The rate of food insecurity according to states in the three

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  • Food Insecurity on Campus: Action and Intervention

In this Book

Food Insecurity on Campus

  • edited by Katharine M. Broton and Clare L. Cady. foreword by Sara Goldrick-Rab
  • Published by: Johns Hopkins University Press

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Table of Contents

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  • Copyright Page
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction
  • Katharine M. Broton and Clare L. Cady
  • 1. Food Insecurity in Higher Education
  • Katharine M. Broton
  • 2. If Not Us, Who? Building National Capacity to Address Student Food Insecurity through CUFBA
  • Clare L. Cady
  • 3. The American Federation of Teachers Local 212 / MATC FAST (Faculty and Students Together) Fund
  • Michael Rosen
  • 4. Channeling Student Idealism and Energy through Campus Organizing
  • Talia Berday-Sacks and James Dubick
  • 5. Student Action and Nonprofit Partnership: The Swipe Out Hunger Story
  • Rachel Sumekh
  • pp. 115-137
  • 6. The Trampoline of Public Benefits: Using Existing Resources to Fight Food Insecurity
  • Sarah Crawford and Nicole Hindes
  • pp. 138-166
  • 7. Transformational Change for Student Success: The California State University Basic Needs Initiative
  • Denise Woods-Bevly and Sabrina Sanders
  • pp. 167-190
  • 8. Research as a Catalyst for Positive Systemic Change
  • Jennifer J. Maguire and Rashida M. Crutchfield
  • pp. 191-221
  • 9. Amarillo College: Loving Your Student from Enrollment to Graduation
  • Russell Lowery-Hart, Cara Crowley, and Jordan Herrera
  • pp. 222-239
  • 10. Addressing Student Hunger through Policy Change: Leveraging Federal Food Benefits to Support College Completion
  • Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield and Samuel Chu
  • pp. 240-264
  • pp. 265-284
  • pp. 285-292

Additional Information

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Hungry Britain: The Rise of Food Charity

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Three Theories of the food insecurity ‘problem’ and the right to food ‘solution’

  • Published: July 2017
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Chapter 3 sets out the key theories with which the book engages: food insecurity and the human right to food. Following on from a conceptualisation and definition of food insecurity, the right to food is introduced. Emphasis is placed on normative element of ‘adequacy and sustainability of food availability and access’ and on the state’s obligation to ‘respect, protect and fulfil the right to food’. Theories of ‘othering’ and ‘agency’ are employed to assess the social acceptability of emergency food systems as a means of acquiring food, and the power of providers to make sufficient food available through these systems and of potential recipients to access it. Theories of ‘care’ and ‘social protection’ are employed to explore the ways in which charitable providers are in practice taking responsibility for the duty to respect, protect and fulfil the right to food and how shifts in welfare policy are affecting need for this provision.

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World Food Policy Center

  • worldfoodpolicy@duke.edu

Essay: A Hunger for Justice: Food Insecurity and God’s Abundance

I raise the morsel of bread, the host. Looking into the expectant eyes, I state: “The body of Christ, broken for you.” Laying the crumby bread into the bowl-shaped hands, I smile. For a brief moment our hands touch. Then, almost reflexively, the recipient scoops the morsel into their mouth to receive the bread of life. We share in the charity of Christ.

Norbert Wilson: I raise the morsel of bread, the host. Looking into the expectant eyes, I state: “The body of Christ, broken for you.” Laying the crumby bread into the bowl-shaped hands, I smile. For a brief moment our hands touch. Then, almost reflexively, the recipient scoops the morsel into their mouth to receive the bread of life. We share in the charity of Christ.

Even before I was an ordained deacon in the Episcopal Church, I had borne the body of Christ, this sacred bite, to hungry folks many times before. As the paten is an empty vessel to carry the spiritual meal, we who serve God in this meal or any food ministry are here as a vessel for God’s abundance.

Serving Holy Communion, the Eucharist, informs my notions of food ministry, and growing up in a Black Baptist church founded my understanding of ministering through food. Repasses after funerals, breakfasts after Easter sunrise services, potlucks after big Sunday services — all were expressions of love to one another and foretastes of the Great Banquet. We delighted in God’s abundance collectively, even if some did not have much individually. Leftovers in foil-tented plates may have helped a member, especially a “senior saint,” stretch the dwindling food stores until the next month’s check or charity. These communal meals were important ways to support one another and others beyond the church in accessing food.

CONNECTING CHURCH FOOD AND CHARITABLE FOOD I could not have imagined that these early and sustained experiences with food in the church would inform my professional expertise. As an agricultural economist, I found few ways to connect these ideas with my secular work until Martha Henk, executive director of the Food Bank of East Alabama, asked me to join the food bank board in Auburn. Serving on the board gave me new insights into the challenges of food insecurity locally and nationally. I worked with members representing vastly different aspects of society — business, ecclesial, governmental, and civil society leaders — to support the food bank and meet the needs of as many folks as possible. We were not naïve enough to think that the food bank’s work alone would eliminate food insecurity. I wonder, though, if the busyness had us so focused on the immediate need that we did not consider the larger issues faced by families in our community. Nevertheless, my participation on the board sparked a new focus of research and engagement.

Today, when I teach my Charitable Foods course at Duke Divinity, we push each other — instructor and learners — to think critically about the good work of giving food to people in need. We interrogate established institutions and individual actions with an eye toward constructive and practical ways to address the charity and justice gap in the emergency food sector (food banks, food pantries, soup kitchens, and the like).

Deeply embedded in many religious traditions is a call to care for the poor, offering charity to those in need. That charity is frequently the work of justice, addressing the misalignment of our ideals of a free society with the everyday experiences of those in need. Further, many of us in the Christian tradition feel compelled to serve the Lord unawares (see Hebrews 13:2) by feeding the hungry, caring for the stranger, and visiting the prisoner. Thus, a duty to serve is integral to the identity of the Christian. But those involved in charity work must think through what we are doing and our motivation for doing it.

When week after week, or month after month, we see the same people cycling through our food pantry, or those individuals tend not to look like our community, in whatever way defined, we should ask ourselves why this is happening. Janet Poppendieck argues in her book Sweet Charity that early creators of the charitable food sector saw it as emergency relief. But what happens when the emergency is not temporary but is a chronic problem? The food we are giving is not solving the root problem that keeps certain folks returning. Is our notion of caring for people who experience food insecurity too limited, meeting an immediate need at best? Are we perpetuating an injustice?

Reducing the solution of food insecurity to financial or charitable transactions fails to acknowledge the complexity of the food system and the human and ecological systems that support it.

FOOD INSECURITY AS A JUSTICE ISSUE The paradoxical solution to food insecurity in the U.S. is not food. Rather, families with concerns or limited access to food need financial resources and economic opportunities to provide for themselves. Consider two of the 10 statements that the U.S. government uses to evaluate food insecurity:

1. “(I/We) worried whether (my/our) food would run out before (I/we) got money to buy more.” 2. “The food that (I/we) bought just didn’t last, and (I/we) didn’t have money to get more.”

These statements focus on concerns about accessing food because of financial resources and assert that food access would not be a problem if people had enough money. Without a doubt, folks without financial means cannot support their family’s food needs. Through economic opportunities or social support, individuals can access resources to obtain food.

Federally, we provide this social support through programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formally the Food Stamp Program) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). But is not our ability to feed ourselves more than just our capacity to purchase foods? Our families, social location, culture, and identity shape our foodways. Resources such as time, health, and capacity are necessary to feed ourselves. Reducing the solution of food insecurity to financial or charitable transactions fails to acknowledge the complexity of the food system and the human and ecological systems that support it. While from a technocratic viewpoint food insecurity can be considered a matter of inefficiency, fundamentally food insecurity and, more broadly, challenges in the food system are justice concerns. As a result, we need a food justice lens.

In Cultivating Food Justice , Alison Hope Alkon and Julian Agyeman describe food justice as a broad construct that scholars and activists use to describe an ideal food system. Some voices argue for food justice where everyone can access the foods they need that are culturally relevant and environmentally sustainable. Others point to exacerbating racial and class inequalities in the food system. Others demand a de-corporatization of the food system with an orientation toward local foods. While some long for agrarianism that supports small producers using traditional techniques, others believe that a technologically advanced and efficient food system will yield a sufficient food supply for the most people possible. The distinctions and categorizations suggested here are imperfect; we can find people who propose different assortments of these ideas (and others) to define what true food justice should be. The larger point is that there are different conceptions of food justice, and we need a well-informed public discussion of these ideas of justice for the food system.

In my research and teaching, I hope to engage students, faculty, community members, businesses, and policymakers in productive conversations to develop a fuller and better understanding of a just food system. Admittedly, some of these ideas of justice are in conflict. In reality, ideas of food justice highlight political and cultural perceptions of justice and rights on which we have not achieved consensus. Navigating these challenges means that a just food system, like food insecurity, is not simply about food. I am not the first to argue that food is political and also cultural. Conceptions of food and the food system reflect and refract our deepest values and ideals. Thus, we need multiple voices to have meaningful conversations on food in our society.

In reality, ideas of food justice highlight political and cultural perceptions of justice and rights on which we have not achieved consensus. Navigating these challenges means that a just food system, like food insecurity, is not simply about food.

THEOLOGY AND FOOD JUSTICE AT DUKE Working at Duke Divinity School has broadened my perspectives on food issues. At Duke Divinity, great colleagues like Norman Wirzba and Ellen Davis have thought critically about food in both society and Scripture. We also have amazing students who extend our conversations, especially those in the Food, Faith, and Environmental Justice certificate. Beyond the Divinity School, the engagement of the World Food Policy Center and the Sanford School of Public Policy, along with other units at Duke and throughout the Triangle region, create opportunities to see food and the food system more fully. We can move beyond discussion to create solutions to the injustices of the food system. Duke Divinity School is a wonderful place to participate in these efforts. What does this mean, however, for people beyond this place?

First, we must welcome the broader community into these conversations and seek the restoration of the food system through traditional and new modalities. Food is too big to discuss in an ivory tower alone. These conversations and solutions must have roots grounded in the reality of everyday life and needs. Thus, I hope that we can find ways to learn from each other and co-create knowledge. Second, I want to see the exchanges of ideas and praxis that I described earlier happen in settings beyond the academy. Third, I am concerned that our work and conversation about food systems frequently occur in silos with little exposure to larger and more diverse audiences. I would like to see conversations in houses of worship, businesses, community centers, and homes where people of differing views and life experiences begin to address food concerns and partner to take on problems in their local food system. Duke Divinity theology professor Luke Bretherton might provide insights into participating in these conversations and organizing in constructive and generative ways in his Listen, Organize, Act model.

THE GARDEN OF ABUNDANCE

Growing up, my parents always had a garden. I hated cutting okra. I remember the green hue of my fingers after shelling peas. Crookneck squash, which I thought was the only squash that existed, and tomatoes (for frying when green or eating directly once red) were abundant and flavorful. I always loved the collard, mustard, and turnip greens, a different trinity that this garden produced over the year and that my momma cooked to perfection. Even now, deep into their retirements, my parents maintain this garden. The mix of foods has changed, but staples are still there.

My parents have always shared the garden’s bounty with family and neighbors. The example of my parents and their garden, the take-out meals after church repasses, and the morsel of the bread of Communion are manifestations of the grace of the Holy Parent sharing creation’s wealth with all of creation. Despite the real scarcity that we create, like food insecurity, we have these experiences that show that abundance exists if only we can see it, if only we remove obstacles so that all can share in this abundance. The work for food justice that I hope occurs here at Duke Divinity and in your community will move us to experience God’s grace. As we taste and see this abundance, we will know that it is too good for ourselves alone, and like my parents and their garden, we will share in the abundance of truly just food.

This essay by Norbert Wilson was originally published on the Duke University Divinity School Medium channel.

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Essay On Food Insecurity

Food Insecurity The continuous increasing demand for the food requires the rapid improvement in food production technology. In a country like Ethiopia, the economy is mainly based on agriculture and the climate conditions are isotropic, still we are not able to make full usage of agricultural resources. The main reason is the lack of rains and scarcity of the land reservoir water in some areas of the country. The problem I address about my country is that Ethiopia is one of the countries among the third world countries facing food insecurity currently. It is believed that around 10.2 million people are getting hunger out of the total population of 100 million people. Meanwhile, UNICEF reports approximately six million children are at risk from hunger, disease, and lack of water in Ethiopia due to drought, and around 10.2 million people are in need of food aid. …show more content…

Although food aid is a standard response to transitory food insecurity (e.g. drought emergencies), in Ethiopia it has become an institutionalised response to chronic food insecurity as well. Annual food aid deliveries to Ethiopia since 1980 have varied from 200,000 to 1,200,000 metric tons. The number of ‘needy’ Ethiopians between 1980 and 1995 ranged from 2.5 million (1987) to 7.85 million (1992), and in the current drought emergency it stands at 7.7 million. Food aid deliveries to Ethiopia averaged 11% of national cereals production - or 12kg per capita - between 1985 and 1995, peaking at 26% in famine years (Clay et al. 1998:393). Ethiopia has been structurally food deficit since at least 1980. The food gap rose from 0.75 million tons in 1979/80 to 5 million tons in 1993/94, falling to 2.6 million tons in 1995/96 despite a record harvest (Befekadu and Berhanu 2000:176). Even in that year, 240,000 tons of food aids were delivered, suggesting that chronic food insecurity afflicts millions of Ethiopians in the absence of transitory production

Essay On Feeding America

Across the globe humans face poverty, unemployment, natural disasters, and other life-altering problems. The thing that those problems have in common is causing the pain and misery of food not being on the table. Many people and organizations are fundraising and collecting donations to help those in need. Programs educate and teach people to create self-sustaining food sources. However there is one very powerful and reputable group that has the most power to help the cause of hungry children in the United States and that group is the federal government.

Essay About Bread Riots

The Richmond Bread Riot, which occurred on April 2, 1863, was one of the South’s most destructive civil disturbances during the American Civil War. Food, overcrowding, and an increase in the prices for basic necessities were especially taking a toll on the working class. A group of women who demanded to see Governor John L. Letcher were denied. The women regrouped toward town where they raided stores in search of food and other goods, resulting in a series of unfortunate events to transpire. Alan, Pell Crawford.

Hunger In America Essay

In short, many people around the United States suffer from food instability and hunger. People can’t always help the situations they are in, but there are things almost everyone can do to help the hunger situation in

The Pros And Cons Of Feeding America

Feeding America is a nationwide network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs that provides food and services to people each year. Together this network is the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief organization.   Recently, more families and individuals begin to struggle with hunger due to the cost of living increasing and income from employers not being sufficient enough to feed and take care of a family. Price and income shifts can radically impact the poor and hungry.

Essay On Food Deserts

The rising health problems in the United States of America are caused by poor nutrition, people who are sedentary, the lack of healthcare prevention, and many more. As reported on the Tikkun website, “Of the many systems in our world today that need to be reimagined, none is more important for our future than our food system” (1). The lack of our food system is one of the many factors that has led the United States to its uprising dilemmas; one of the many factors are the food deserts across the U.S. Food deserts are geographic areas where access to affordable healthy and nutritious food are limited, or impossible to purchase, by residents in the area. Food deserts are prone to low-income areas that can’t afford transportation, and due to the lack of grocery stores and supermarkets that sells fresh produce and healthy food within convenient distance to resident’s homes, there is a difficulty in obtaining healthy food options which leads to countless health issues. According to the Diabetes Forecast website, “About 18.3 million Americans live in low-income areas and are far from a supermarket” (1).

Food Insecurity In America Essay

In the United States there are many children and adults that go hungry, due to financial problems. With the economy and how high cost of living is, it’s hard to provide, food for the family. The results of hunger on children in America are not having the right nutrition, can have serious implication for a child’s physical and mental health. Also food insecurity is harmful to all people, but it is particularly devastating to children.

Food Insecurity In College Essay

In the discussions of food insecurity, one controversial issue has been the prevalent misconception of why people are suffering from obtaining nutritious food on a consistent basis. On one hand, Frank Eltman, a writer for the Business facet of the Huffington post, argues that university students are facing food insecurity due to college expenses exponentially rising within the past decade. On the other hand, Adam Appelhanz, a police officer featured in the documentary “A Place at the Table,” contends that due to budget constraints he has not received a pay raise in the last four years, and is now inevitably utilizing a local food bank in order to ensure that he has something to eat each month. Others even maintain that food insecurity is synonymous

Scarcity In The Central African Republic

The Central African Republic has the second lowest level of human development in the world. Out of the 4.9 million people that live in CAR, 2.5 million are food insecure. No human on earth can survive without food and residents of CAR are struggling to feed their families a healthy meal. When food is available, the prices skyrocket so much that almost nobody can afford to feed their families. Subsistence farming is used in the Central African Republic to make ends meet.

Persuasive Essay On World Hunger

Imagine being so hungry you can’t even move. Having to sleep in a house made of dirt, or being so thirsty because there is no safe drinking water. People around the World face these problems everyday. 328,000,000 children live in extreme poverty, and 1 in 10 people live on less than $1.90 a day. The conditions they live in are horrible and everyone should do what they can to help end poverty and world hunger.

Ethiopia Research Paper

Droughts have been a major issue in Ethiopia, making it incredibly problematic to locate water. Erosion has caused chemicals to be transferred into their water system, poisoning it, which makes it dangerous to drink. The southeast area of Ethiopia is generally affected from drought and water scarcity, hence disturbing their food production. Due to the fact that there is an obsolete amount of rain, the ground will generally be significantly dry, which makes is almost impossible to produce crops. Even though they obtain water, it typically gets contaminated extremely

Social Problem Of Homelessness

Because of these issues, society should develop better strategies to help these people in need to eliminate the growing poverty level through the world. These strategies could include

Essay On Food Rationing

World War II was such a big and devastating event that happened in history, especially when people had to face food rationing as well. Food rationing was a very big issue in the 1940’s which caused people to go into starvation or to enter the black market. The black market was an illegal trade system that some people went through. Food rationing had started in 1940 and ended in 1946. There were so many aspects of food rationing such as: ration books, stamps, and the ways it affected people.

Theoretical Approach To Food Security

Literature Review: Theoretical Approaches, Empirical Studies, Analytical Concepts and Legal Frameworks Theoretical Approaches towards food security With respect to the theoretical approaches to food security, there are three theories developed in 1970s and 1980s as cause to food insecurity. The first one is Climate theory; this theory explains food insecurity as caused by climatic phenomena. Cox, related this theory with the concept of “famine belt” in which he directly links climate condition to food insecurity. This theory argued that in the national or local level, climate linked phenomena such as drought, floods and others are a major factor causing food insecurity (Cox, 1981, cited in Steven Engler,

Hunger, Disclosure And The Policy Process: Article Analysis

Baro and Deubel (2006) looks at how famine has stayed the same or even increased in Africa because of government officials and the World Food Program. For example, in Sudan, food relief piled up, because of the lack of transportation the cities had. (Baro, Deubel,2006, p. 532). Also, when food aid arrives, the aid is dropped off on a paved road, because of easy transportation, in which some villages receive no food aid and are not governed by the food

Essay On Hunger And Malnutrition

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Hunger is still a major concern in health issues. Hunger causes malnutrition, malnutrition and others. Famine kills more people than TB, HIV / AIDS and Malaria. A quarter of children born in developing countries are underweight.

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Great argumentative essay topics about food with essay prompts, bob cardens.

  • July 31, 2022
  • Essay Topics and Ideas , Samples

It can be hard to think of a good Argumentative Essay Topics About Food. You want something that will engage your audience and get them thinking, but you also need to pick a topic that you feel passionate about. In this article, we’ll give you a list of some great Argumentative Essay Topics About Food to get you started!

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Great Argumentative Essay Topics About Food

Differences Between Food Intoxication and Food Infection

Essay Prompt: Food infections occur when individuals consume food contaminated by infectious organisms such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, and toxins. Food contamination can happen during the production of food.

Food as a Way to Showcase African Americans’ Identity

Essay Prompt: For the majority, there is not much to think about food. Food is simply a means to an end. We eat so we could be full. However, others understand that food is not just a means. They understand that what they eat is a representation of who they are.

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Why Do People Waste Food?

Essay Prompt: Evidence reveals that the food wasted annually could be enough to feed an enormous number of people. There are two main reasons why people waste food. First, when people visit restaurants, they are usually starving. Consequently, they are likely to order more food than they need.

The Food we Eat

Essay Prompt: The food we eat contains nutrients necessary for nourishing and proper functioning of the body. It is important to understand well the food we put into our mouths because it determines our health and wellbeing. The food we eat contains nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals, and vitamins…

Food Preference Identifies Identity

Essay Prompt: Although food variations can be found anywhere in the world whether it is local or adopted; that people are liking food regardless of their roots and preferences; those food varieties these days are being adopted and reformulated from culture to culture, food variation identifies the individual’s culture.  

Please watch the documentary “Food Chains”. Literature & Language

Essay Prompt: Food Chains is a documentary that was produced by Eva Longoria on November 24, 2014. This documentary reveals how farmworkers in the United States are abused by the multibillion-dollar supermarkets and food industries

Essay Prompt: Food wastage refers to the loss of unconsumed food. Food wastage occurs in various stages, such as production, processing, distribution, retail, and consumption. Conversely, food loss refers to the removal of food intended for consumption from the food chain. In most cases, food that ends up.

Unique Argumentative Essay Topics About Food

The topic is fast Food and health

Essay Prompt: Fast food refers to types of foods that are prepared within a short time before they are served. They are relatively cheaper than ordinary food cooked in homes. In most restaurants, fast foods are readily available and one does not need time to wait for it to be prepared.  

Food Security and Reasons Why LDCs Are Food-Deficit Countries

Essay Prompt: Food security entails the availability of adequate, nutritious, sufficient, and safe food that enable people to maintain their health and have active lives. In particular, food security comprises of three primary elements, namely availability, access, and utilization. (Argumentative Essay Topics About Food)

The Slow Food Movement will improve the Condition of the Environment

Essay Prompt: The slow food movement has been popularized due to the positive effects that it has on the environment. The movement supports the consumption of locally manufactured food instead of imported foods, which ultimately cuts the use of fossil fuel in the transportation of food.

The Concept of Right to Food, Justice, and Sovereignty and the Food Insecurity

Essay Prompt: From the video, key concepts discussed are the right to food, justice, and sovereignty. Every human being has a right to food, which involves the right to have adequate food which is correspondent to their cultural tradition, as well as enhance physical and mental status for a dignified and fulfilling life.

Here are additional  60+ Top And Best Argumentative Essay Topics For Different Contexts

Food Policy and Public Health’s Impacts on Mexican Food System

Essay Prompt: Food policy and public health are always a major concern to different countries across the globe. Food policy is the way a government manages and regulates the food system and industry, the laws governing the trading of food products and inputs.

Food History. Could slow Food be the best choice for producing Food for humanity?

Essay Prompt: Slow Food mainly seeks to attain the goal of producing food that is good, clean, and fair. Additionally, it also seeks to continue feeding the world without necessarily harming the environment. Unique Argumentative Essay Topics About Food.

Find out more on  Argumentative Essay Topics About Social Media [Updated]

Reflection on the Lecture About Food Justice

Essay Prompt: This lecture explores diverse concepts, with food justice attracting significant attention. Food justice ensures that everybody acquires access to nutritional and affordable food, not forgetting the safety of those involved in food production.

Research Paper Topics on Food

Cause and Effect Eating out at Fast Food

Essay Prompt: Fast food was made famous in the 1950s through Mc Donald’s company. The industry has been growing vast in the past years. This has been a result of the high demand from customers and improvements in the products and services.

Facts Impacting Food Choices

Essay Prompt: The state of human health is predominantly a faction of food choices that an individual makes every day. My daily food choices are mostly affected by cultural influences, time, and cost. My cultural background affects my daily food choices.

How Food Affects Human Health

Essay Prompt: Currently, the numbers of teenagers with poor eating habits have drastically improved as the sizes of fast-food restaurants also increase. Specifically, the issue has been observed in the US where several new fast-food businesses continue to emerge which produce unhealthy food products.

Global Food Politics

Essay Prompt: After viewing the week eight lecture recording, different key concepts can be unpacked from the discussion, such as student overall essay performance, global food politics, and diabetics. Global food politics is one of the critical concepts that caught my attention.

Traceability, Suitability, and Regenerative Agriculture in Food Supply Chain

Essay Prompt: The Food Industry plays a significant part in providing fundamental necessities and essentials with which diverse human behaviors and activities are given. When food is harvested or manufactured, it must go through several processes.

How can Food supply chains prepare for the future in terms of traceability, suitability, and regenerative agriculture?

Food Insecurity and the Strategies for Solving It

Essay Prompt: A key concept that was clarified in the Zoom Lecture is food insecurity. Food insecurity is an issue that faces a significant number of households globally. During the pandemic, many people experienced food insecurity.

Eating Unhealthily and Our Expectations in How Others Eat

Essay Prompt: Is It Ethical to Eat Unhealthily? People’s food intake comprises the food systems, which are composed of elements such as the workforce, infrastructures, environment, institutions, and other activities associated with food.

How should a developing country improve its Food security? Select a single developing country to consider?

Essay Prompt: Food is critical to human sustenance. Through mankind’s journey, food has been front and center of major events including wars, social rituals, worship and child-bearing.

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Should Ban or Limit GMO Food

Essay Prompt: In the recent years, the GMO foods have flooded the consumer market with over 30,000 different food products.

Global Food Politics: The Food System

Essay Prompt: The movement of people across Mexico and the USA has been on the rise in recent years. There have been several cases of undocumented migration. According to the zoom meeting lecture, the policies put on the line to prevent the undocumented migration of people have not been effective.

Pros of a Single Food Agency

Essay Prompt: Master’s level Essay: Pros of a Single Food Agency: What are some of the pros and cons of creating a single food agency?

Food Industry’s System Structure and Misaligned Interests with Public Health

Essay Prompt: The food industry has introduced a fierce competition for consumers’ money through aggressive advertising efforts and their display of products on supermarket shelves. The fierce competition imposes poor diets worldwide, characterized by immense consumption of ultra-processed packaged food products manufactured.

Why People Work to Reduce Food Wastage?

Essay Prompt: The primary reason why people work to reduce food wastage is because of hunger and saving the resources used to produce food; for example, 28 percent of global land coverage is used for producing food, which eventually goes to waste. Not everybody can afford to buy food from the supermarket, and the grocery.

Is GMO Food safe? They are more nutritious. FDA has approved GMO Foods

Essay Prompt: The safety of GMO foods has sparked heated debates and, in many countries, there is legislation on their consumption. The proponents of GMO foods assert that they cannot be dismissed as categorically harmful….

Write a topic About Food that affects health. Is GMO Food safe?…

The Relationship Between Overproduction and Hunger with the Commodification of Food

Essay Prompt: A commodity is a primary resource utilized as a raw material in manufacturing goods and services. Coffee, beans, and wheat are just a few examples of commodities. The transformation of resources and services into commodities is a significant factor influencing all cultures.

You can also check out  150+ Top-Notch Argumentative Essay Topic Ideas

Identifying the Meaning of Organic

Essay Prompt: Organic implies that the food or agricultural products meet quality standards without the use of synthetic chemicals and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Fruits, vegetables, grains, and even meat can be produced organically but is mostly the food crops than meat…

College Students Who Go Full Time to School Should Be Able to Get Free Food

Essay Prompt: While in high school, many students yearn for the opportunity to complete their studies and join college little do they know what one goes through in college. College comes with huge expenses and it may be costlier for those who reside in the campus.

Food Symbolism in Society

Essay Prompt: Research on food thrives, from the history of contradictory types of charge to the relationship between provisioning and values, gender responsibilities, and eating maladies.

Raw Fresh Foods versus Cooked Processed Foods: Which is better for the Body?

Essay Prompt: The irony that while most people agree that raw fresh foods are better for the body and yet most people also eat more processed food than fresh food.

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COMMENTS

  1. Food Insecurity Essay

    Food insecurity is defined as "the lack of access to enough food to ensure adequate nutrition."1 The Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service (ERS) reported that 14.6% of US households were food insecure during at least some portion of 2008 (up 11.1% from 2007), the highest levels recorded since monitoring began in 1995.2 Food insecurity is a concern of under consumption and ...

  2. Food Insecurity: Concept, Causes, Effects and Possible Solutions

    The solutions for these problems in food insecurity are awareness, decrease food waste and donations, etc. Discover the world's research. 25+ million members; 160+ million publication pages;

  3. Food Insecurity and What We Can Do to Help Essay (Speech)

    People experiencing food insecurity are more likely to suffer from chronic conditions such as diabetes, blood pressure problems, anemia, and similar issues ( Compromises and Coping Strategies para. 5). Without enough energy and health, they cannot improve their life quality. Example, Narrative, or Testimony: Quality food is an essential ...

  4. Food Insecurity and Psychological Distress: A Review of the Recent

    Introduction. Food insecurity "exists when people do not have adequate physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food, which meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life."[] Across the world, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that over 2 billion people are food insecure, which includes 8% ...

  5. Policies to reduce food insecurity: An ethical imperative

    Based on empirical evidence and theory, we articulate an ethical framework to guide expansion. •. Just food policies should (1) embrace compassion, (2) create opportunity, (3) consider essential needs, and (4) promote knowledge and empathy. Keywords: Ethics, Food insecurity, Food and nutrition assistance, Social work, Capability approach, SNAP.

  6. Food Insecurities: [Essay Example], 864 words GradesFixer

    Food insecurity refers to the lack of access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet one's dietary needs for an active and healthy life. It is a complex issue that affects individuals, communities, and entire nations, with far-reaching consequences that extend beyond hunger. In this essay, we will explore the causes and consequences of ...

  7. Food Security in the United States

    Food insecurity in America is eminent when children are facing a devastating shortage of adequate food that is nutritious and safe for human consumption. Food insecurity in the United States also becomes eminent when the elderly, the ethnic minority, and the rural people, lack access to food of the right quality and quantity, due to their ...

  8. The Color of Hunger: The Complexities of Food Insecurity: [Essay

    Get custom essay. In conclusion, the color of hunger encompasses a complex web of factors that perpetuate food insecurity on a global scale. Poverty, systemic inequality, and the imbalance in food distribution are central drivers of this issue, which has profound consequences for health, education, and economic well-being.

  9. Food Insecurity in the US: The New Face of Hunger Essay

    More than 35 million Americans suffered from hunger in 2019 and the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 increased the number of people who face food insecurity up to 42 million (Feeding America, 2021). To put it more explicitly, every sixth person in the US has no food to eat at least once a year (McMillan, n.d.) These figures are shocking because the ...

  10. Food Insecurity: Consequences and Ways to Address

    In this essay on food insecurity, we will explore the multifaceted nature of this problem, examining its varying definitions and interpretations. Furthermore, we will delve into the far-reaching consequences of food insecurity, from malnutrition and poor health outcomes to reduced academic and work performance. Finally, we will analyze the ...

  11. Food Insecurity

    Food insecurity is defined as a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food. 1 In 2020, 13.8 million households were food insecure at some time during the year. 2 Food insecurity does not necessarily cause hunger, i but hunger is a possible outcome of food insecurity. 3.

  12. Food Insecurity and Child Development: A State-of-the-Art Review

    Food insecurity has been identified as a powerful stressor for families, with significant negative implications for child health and development; these include impacts on physical, social, cognitive, and behavioral development, independent of poverty [8,9]. As this problem is ongoing and immediate, there is an urgent need to explore the impact ...

  13. What is Food Insecurity?

    What is food insecurity. Food insecurity is an official term from the USDA. It's when people don't have enough to eat and don't know where their next meal will come from. It's a big problem in the United States, where over 44 million people, including 13 million children, experience food insecurity annually. However, many more people, including ...

  14. Food Insecurity Essay

    It is a widespread problem on college campuses across the nation. While food insecurity only impacts 14% of households, 48% of college students claim to be food insecure. This problem disproportionately impacts first generation college students, students of color, and students who need financial aid, as noted by the National Student Campaign ...

  15. America at Hunger's Edge

    742. A shadow of hunger looms over the United States. In the pandemic economy, nearly one in eight households doesn't have enough to eat. The lockdown, with its epic lines at food banks, has ...

  16. Food Insecurity on College and University Campuses: A Context and

    Food insecurity, even for short time periods, is associated with detrimental physiological and psychological impacts on college students. Compared with students who are food secure, students who are food insecure have been associated with having poor dietary quality, poor physical activity habits, and greater odds for obesity.1-4 Food insecurity in college students has also been associated ...

  17. The structural roots of food insecurity: How racism is a fundamental

    Rates of food insecurity skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, doubling overall and tripling among households with children. Even before the pandemic, the rate of food insecurity in the United States was "unusually high" compared to other rich democracies, and rates have not improved substantially over the last 25 years.

  18. Food Insecurity Essay

    Good Essays. 1184 Words. 5 Pages. Open Document. Food insecurity is a problem in the United States, though people may not realize that it effects people differently. When it comes to food insecurity, disparities are seen in a variety different populations. These populations are the ones who utilize food pantries and food assistance programs.

  19. Project MUSE

    Essays by a diverse set of authors, each working to address food insecurity in higher education, describe unique approaches to the topic. They also offer insights into the most promising strategies to combat student hunger, including• utilizing research to raise awareness and enact change; • creating campus pantries, emergency aid programs ...

  20. Theories of the food insecurity 'problem' and the right to food

    This chapter sets out theoretical approaches to both food security and the human right to food. Food insecurity is employed here as a specific way of interpreting the 'problem' that leads people to seek assistance from emergency food providers, and the right to food as a way of envisaging not just the 'solution' to these experiences but a more comprehensive approach to the realisation ...

  21. Essay: A Hunger for Justice: Food Insecurity and God's Abundance

    Essay: A Hunger for Justice: Food Insecurity and God's Abundance. I raise the morsel of bread, the host. Looking into the expectant eyes, I state: "The body of Christ, broken for you.". Laying the crumby bread into the bowl-shaped hands, I smile. For a brief moment our hands touch.

  22. Food Security Essay

    However, there are still more than one billion food-insecure people in the world with an additional two billion people prone to hidden hunger or malnutrition caused by the deficiency of micronutrients and protein (FAO, 2016; Onwonga, 2019). ... Food Security Essay. (2023, February 24). Edubirdie. Retrieved May 9, 2024, from https://edubirdie ...

  23. Essay On Food Insecurity

    Essay On Food Insecurity. 864 Words4 Pages. Food Insecurity. The continuous increasing demand for the food requires the rapid improvement in food production technology. In a country like Ethiopia, the economy is mainly based on agriculture and the climate conditions are isotropic, still we are not able to make full usage of agricultural resources.

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    Food Insecurity and the Strategies for Solving It. Essay Prompt: A key concept that was clarified in the Zoom Lecture is food insecurity. Food insecurity is an issue that faces a significant number of households globally. During the pandemic, many people experienced food insecurity. Eating Unhealthily and Our Expectations in How Others Eat

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