Dougherty 1

Caleb Dougherty

Mrs. Cramer

Comp Pd. 3

11 March 2022

Hungry Hungry Humans

When people think of being insecure, they automatically think of the woman in today’s

world who are unhappy with their bodies, but did you know society and families can be insecure

about food as well? It is not that these individuals dislike food or think that it looks unappealing,

but when a family has high food insecurity it refers to, “a condition of limited access to nutritious

foods due to a lack of financial resources” (Reid). Now limited access does not seem as bad as

not having any food at all, but food insecurity can be detrimental. When a family must live every

day without proper nutrients and vitamins in their bodies, we begin to see a large outward effect.

Food insecurity is a worldwide problem that compromises families' health, plummets children's

nutrition, and causes distress in families.

To begin with, when a family does not have the money to obtain the proper dietary foods,

they go to what is cheap, affordable and easy. Unfortunately, in our society the affordable means

the processed, the cheap means the fast greasy high fatty foods and the easy means whatever

they can get and eat fast. Almost never does those three words correlate to healthy and nutritious

foods. A recent study done had shown that during the Covid-19 pandemic almost all families had

started consuming more sugary beverages, like sodas and energy drinks, as well as salty and

high-fat foods from fast-food restaurants. (Parekh) It is also said that “Another study during the

pandemic in Italy showed a shift in eating patterns, with approximately one third of the
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population reporting eating less healthy foods”. (Parekh) This new normal is growing more as it

plagues these citizens with the non-ability to properly feed themselves and their families. Food

insecurity is causing a huge compromise in families health across the world.

Similarly, I would like to bring to light the fact that older Americans are being made,

forced even, to make a stand and choose between life and death. Whether presumed exaggerated

or not across America older citizens are struck with the burden to make a choice that no human

should have to make. “Unfortunately, 63% of older adult households served by the Feeding

America (2021b) network are forced to choose between food and medical care”. (Reid) These

senior citizens, who can’t work and are possibility having progressive health problems, are stuck

with the choice to have a full, healthy belly and be in pain or not to be in pain but not have the

food to keep them properly nourished. What sense does that make America? “Among adults who

died prematurely, those experiencing severe food insecurity died on average 9 years earlier than

their food-secure counterparts.” (Men) This is not an exaggeration when these Americans are on

average dying almost a whole decade before those who are food secure. Great-grandparents,

grandparents, mothers and fathers, these are the people who are being taken prematurely due to

food insecurity and being forced to make a choice.

Equally important, food insecurity has plummeted our children’s health which could a be

a direct factor of cognitive and physical defects. In a study done through the Covid-19 pandemic

food insecurity was associated with health problems; some of which include birth defects, oral

decomposition, anemia, asthma, behavioral problems, lower nutrients intake, cognitive problems,

aggression, depression and anxiety. (Shanks) The vulnerability to be affected by food insecurity

has been increasing so much so that approximately 30 million school children depend on the
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National School Lunch program for free lunches. Due to the recent quarantine rates, there is also

a steady increase in food insecurity that has been noticed in health departments and families.

Finally, “We assessed the food insecurity status of Canadian adults using the Canadian

Community Health Survey 2005-2017 and identified premature deaths among the survey

respondents using the Canadian Vital Statistics Database 2005-2017.” (Men) Food insecurity

doesn’t only affect our elderly and children, but the families themselves are feeling the pain of

this deficiency. A dramatic infringement of distress has plagued the households across the world

due to the problem of food insecurity. Over the years this pandemic of its own hasn’t only been

recognized by individual families, but schools, nations, and community organizations have taken

a stand against food insecurity. I would like to bring attention to an inimical statistic that reads,

“the rate of hunger among individuals aged 60 years has increased by 38% in common

households.” (Reid) This statistic was taken in the United States, and this would correlate to

approximately twenty-eight million three hundred and forty-eight thousand Americans over 60

that are not getting the proper nourishment needed to their bodies.

In conclusion, food insecurity is not a term that should be thrown around lightly in

conversation. This is an ever increasing and dangerous plague that is swarming and growing

throughout the world. Unless we do more to reach out to struggling families there will never be a

cure for our communities. “Food Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines food security as "when

all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and

nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.”

(Shanks) Our families are not living an active or healthy life due to what our sources show us.

Food insecurity is causing a large compromise in families health, it is putting a lack in children’s

nutrition and is causing distress in family households. Though, with schools providing free meals
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to students and communities across the globe stepping up to help those in need, food insecurity

rates can overtime decrease. With everyone pitching in to assist those who need help and being

selfless, these families will no longer find a struggle everyday just to properly feed themselves.

Unfortunately, our society is in a “you do you for yourself” age where no one is susceptible to

obtain help from others. Because of this, food insecurity is a worldwide problem that

compromises families' health, plummets children's nutrition, and causes distress in families.
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Works Cited

Men, Fei, et al. "Association between household food insecurity and mortality in Canada: a

population-based retrospective cohort study." CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association

Journal, 20 Jan. 2020, pp. E53+. Gale Academic OneFile,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/A612030048/AONE?u=pl1949&sid=bookmark-

AONE&xid=7c996995. Accessed 10 Dec. 2021.

Parekh, Niyati, et al. "Food insecurity among households with children during the COVID-19

pandemic: results from a study among social media users across the United States."

Nutrition Journal, vol. 20, no. 1, 30 Aug. 2021, p. NA. Gale Academic OneFile,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/A675224211/AONE?u=pl1949&sid=bookmark-

AONE&xid=b3dfa285. Accessed 6 Jan. 2022.

Reid, Amy. "Older Adults With Chronic Disease and Food Insecurity in the United States."

Journal of Gerontological Nursing, vol. 47, no. 12, Dec. 2021, pp. 7+. Gale Academic

OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A684349476/AONE?u=pl1949&sid=bookmark-

AONE&xid=f1d93635. Accessed 10 Dec. 2021.

Shanks, Carmen Byker, et al. "Scaling up measurement to confront food insecurity in the USA."

Translational Behavioral Medicine, vol. 10, no. 6, Dec. 2020, pp. 1382+. Gale Academic

OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A669611276/AONE?u=pl1949&sid=bookmark-

AONE&xid=b51b0e10. Accessed 10 Dec. 2021.