According to the World Health Organization (WHO), food security is a condition that is only achieved when the members of a household can access adequate resources to attain sufficient nutrition from safe foods and water. According to the Food Research and Action Center, a total of 17% of USA households accepted that they experience struggles when it comes food acquisition and is referred to as food hardships. Despite the efforts of the economy to repair the impacts of the Great Recession, it is explicitly clear that some Americans are left behind. The increasing hardships when it comes to food hardships implies that the Congress is not responding fully with adequate initiatives for the purposes of boosting jobs, wages, and support programs. As of 2014, Florida was ranked as number 14 in the list of states that depicted the worst levels of food hardship with a rate of 18.5%.1
Research studies have pointed out that poverty is the underlying cause of food insecurity in America. The association between the two is based on the fact that the poor are usually the ones with the highest probability of going hungry. According to the USA government statistics, 15% of the general population is wallowing in poverty which is inclusive of the 21% children with ages below 18. What exacerbates the situation is that the households living under the 100% poverty line in the US include over 15 million children. 72% of the American clients of the Feeding America are way below the poverty line. The situation painted by this figures is that American citizens are going through lots of suffering because of food insecurity issues. Therefore, this paper seeks to appraise the impact of food insecurity in the state of Florida.
Introduction
According to statistics by the Feeding America, every individual among six others is expected to be struggling with hunger. With a food hardship rate of 18.5, it has been considered to be among the states that depicts high rates of food insecurity. In other words, the households in Florida lack or possess a reduced ability to access adequate safe and nutritious foods for their members. Among the most severe impacts of food insecurity is on children. An adult can survive in poor living conditions that have been wrecked by food insecurity but a child would deteriorate faster than the adults. 15 million children are in the clutches of hunger and the rate of one child among five children are affected by hunger in school and at home. The fact is that the children are the nation’s future and one’s theirs is threatened, the whole nation is threatened as well.
Causes of food insecurity in Florida
For a great nation like the USA, hunger ought to be an averted solution considering that it has a huge social net that would hold it in place. Many people in the US are suffering in search of their next meal and this is evident in the USDA and Feeding America results on the state of many states when food hardships are considered. The primary problem that is considered to be the source of all problems concerning food insecurity is poverty. It has been asserted that food security has four key dimensions which are accessibility, stability, availability and utilization. In order for an individual household to claim that they are food secure, they should be able to access available food that is adequate for utilization purposes. In addition, the food has to be available continuously via a stable and sustainable means.
The middle-class individuals have spent their lives working so that they could raise their families and saving their money. Regardless, after retiring, it has been established that many of these families are struggling to put food on the table for their families. They are referred to as the hidden hungry persons in South Florida because of the fact that they do not share their plight with anyone else, even their closest of neighbors. According to the nonprofit foundation in Alexandria, there are a total of 326 food “deserts” which are the areas where it has been established a fifth of the residents are under the poverty line. In other words, food deserts are established by the distance to a supermarket where it is considered a desert with every half mile to the nearest one. For the deserts in the rural areas, it is set at ten miles.
Many would consider that nutrition is a bother rather than a necessity for everyone. Access to food is important but it is most important that the food that people consume is of health benefit to the population. Within the definition of food security, the aspect of nutritious foods has been captured. This is because, the nutritious foods imposes several benefits to the individuals without adequate reach to food. The access and availability pillars of food security are heavily impacted with poverty. Food accessibility is influenced by the level of income an individual has whereby he or she will be able to access a variety of nutritious foods when he or she has adequate income. The poor families are impacted negatively and heavily with this pillar of food security and makes them unable to access food necessary for an active life.
The rate of poverty as discussed earlier impacts food accessibility of all those households in Florida that do not have the income that would sustain an active lifestyle. In addition, Florida is a state that is well-built in terms of urbanization. The state has so much land that is covered by building blocks and in this case, food production via subsistence is not an easy option. The main means through which households can access food is through the market where some may not be able to acquire food because of poverty. The fact that the economy is not stable and the increasing value of the dollar points to the fact that food access is not going to be an easy hurdle to jump over. In fact, as the dollar keeps improving in value, there will be an even higher levels of difficulty for many poor households in Florida and the United States as a whole.
The impact of food insecurity
Food insecurity is the opposite of food security where individuals are unable to acquire and utilize safe and nutritious foods that is necessary for them to live actively and participate in development of their country. The major impact of food insecurity is malnutrition that is a major problem that results in the prevalence of disease especially among the young people, particularly the children under five years of age. Malnutrition impairs and compromises the immunity of individuals increasing their susceptibility to diseases that threaten their lives. Malnutrition is a state of deficiency of some of the essential nutrients in the body that are necessary for various aspects of the body. Some of the major impacts of malnutrition is increased prevalence of disease, stunting and wasting.
Other impacts of food insecurity is the fact that there is an increased crime rate amongst the people living in the areas with high rates of insecurities. Food insecurity causes people to indulge in socially unacceptable means of acquiring food or revenue to acquire food for their families. In this sense, the rate of crime is bound to shoot up because of the fact that life has become harder for poor families that have no other way of feeding their hungry. It has been noted that some of the most violent and criminally plagued cities in America are found in the state of Florida. Some of the violent crimes include robbery and assault and the rate of crime as per 2014 was at 5.4 per 1000 residents in Florida. This is a response to the dwindling living standards for many of the Americans in the state of Florida. The increasing rates of poverty among the Americans can be considered to be the reason behind the crime rates increasing. In addition, people steal so that they can meet their basic needs such as adequate food. In other words, inadequate food for consumption is a reason that could explain some of the cases of criminal behavior in some sectors of the state where individuals are trying to feed their families.
Local Agencies Feeding the Hungry in Pensacola
It is evident that food insecurity is a pressing concern not only in Florida, but all around the globe. In the quest to curb food insecurity, various organization have devoted their efforts towards feeding the hungry. Feeding America occurs as one of such organizations whose efforts to address hunger in Florida and the whole of America remains fundamental. The most comprehensive means through which, Feeding America held feed the hungry is through the use of food banks. In the quest to curb hunger and food insecurity, Feeding America has established close to 200 food banks. Of the 200 food banks, nine of the serve Florida. Deductively, Feeding America occurs as one of the local agencies that help address issues aligned with hunger in Pensacola. While much has been hypothesized regarding food banks, it is of the essence to realize that they refer to food reservoirs, where food is kept, especially during periods of high supply.
The use of food banks by various organizations fighting hunger all around the world is accredited to the convenient nature of the food banks. The fact that food security occurs seasonally is apparent. For this reason, food banks receive food during periods of high harvest or supply. Therefore, during periods of increased food supply, local agencies fighting hunger do not distribute food. This is attributed to the fact that during periods of high food production, a significant proportion of the populations can fend for themselves. Things change during periods of reduced supply whereby the hungry have to be fed. Food banks become handy during such times as the food reservoirs generated during periods of increased food supply are distributed to the hungry. In a nutshell, Feeding America as one of the local agencies in Pensacola use food banks to feed the hungry. An example of food banks established in Pensacola is Feeding Northeast Florida food bank.
On a similar note, food banks solicit food from donations by shippers, retailers, grocery and food manufacturers, packer and growers, non-governmental and governmental agencies. Apart from using food banks Feeding America creates awareness amongst the population in Pensacola on pertinent issues aligned with food insecurity. Feeding America advocates for the adoption of legislation and policies that cushion the populations in Pensacola from hunger. Conclusively, Feeding America offers immense support for programs aimed at improving the food security situation amongst the people of Pensacola. The second organization that supports efforts of eradicating hunger in Pensacola is Waterfront Rescue Mission.
As one of the local agencies of Pensacola, Waterfront Rescue Mission targets hungry populations, especially those who lack shelter. Worth noting is the fact that there are specific population segments that are more vulnerable to hunger. The homeless are one of such populations, whereby homeless populations do not have access to basic amenities including food. Waterfront Rescue Mission is greatly reliant on a team of volunteer dedicated to offering a viable means through which the organization can attain its objectives. Conclusively, hunger in Pensacola is highly prevalent; hence, the concerted efforts of various organizations in managing hunger should be appreciated. Waterfront Rescue Mission as a local agency in Pensacola provide a means through which the hungry can find hope for tomorrow. In a nutshell, Waterfront Rescue Mission has evolved into a pillar of hope for the hungry populations in Pensacola.
Among those who stood and fought for the poor was Dorothy Day who was a Catholic Worker. She was a major advocate for the poor who are the ones who had the greatest challenge when it comes to feeding the hungry. Her assertion was rather simple where she stated that we have the means necessary to feed all the hungry and poor in our states. The fact is that there is a rewarding experience that comes with rewarding caring for other people. As a result of her actions, the 2012 annual meeting, the Catholic bishops passed their idea that there should be a day to celebrate Dorothy Day, the founder of the Catholic Worker. She was considered a servant of God and was believed to be a saint among the Catholics. Dorothy Day’s idea on helping the needy is not something that is farfetched. Rather, her ideas are probable solutions to problems of food insecurity that many states like Florida are facing.
The United States is among the most powerful nations in the world. As a matter of fact, it is an industrialized states evidenced by the industrial societies within it. Therefore, the economy is better than many nations across the whole globe. The United States president is considered to be the most powerful man in the whole world. As a result, it is really improbable that a great nation like America can lack the necessary resources to feed the hungry. As Dorothy Day stipulated. We have more than necessary to feed our own hungry and poor. Therefore, if the states can dig into their pockets, they can share the little they have to share with those on the streets. This was the belief and notion that Dorothy tried to spread across the world.
In all her texts, Dorothy Day focused on various forms of hospitality or how to help others. Despite the fact that her work with the Catholic Worker program was a novelty, she tried to distinguish her hospitality from the one instigated by the government. Her works were linked to the gospels as well as the monastic traditions. In other words, her Catholic Worker program does not discriminate the poor like the existing systems of government that was meant to protect even those who are poor. Her principle was that “acts of hospitality are acts done to Christ.” In this sense, it would be inappropriate to let a poor man suffer yet you can step up and assist him or her.
The fact is rather simple, many households in Florida are well off in terms of their own security concerning food and other basic needs. Therefore, Dorothy Day’s principle of assisting others is like good done to Jesus Christ. At some point, Dorothy asserted that the poor are Jesus and it is best to assist them in every way possible. If the same principle is adopted across the world, the level of poverty will be a past that no one would want to remember. All the current programs and revenue spent on averting poverty have failed. Regardless, Dorothy offers a simple solution that would require everyone to share with a poor neighbor for the betterment of our collective society. In other words, we have the power to alleviate poverty and all the problems that come with it like food insecurity. Therefore, Florida has the chance to eliminate the threats that face it in terms of food insecurity by allowing people to assist the whole state and even the children that are in the clutches of poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition.
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