Importance of Accessible Healthy Foods
Food insecurity is a problem in this country, but unfortunately the solution isn’t a simple answer. In general, when asked to participate in a food drive or donate to a local food pantry, many people will gladly fork over a few dollars for some canned and boxed food. The problem then, is not the willingness to give, but rather, the awareness of WHAT we are giving. Sure some boxed cookies will fill the empty stomach of a child for a few hours, but what is that box of cookies really doing for that child? What about in ten years when that child, whose family relied on donations of low cost, high sugar foods to put food on the table, has type two diabetes? Nationwide in the United States, 31.3 percent of children ages 10-17 are obese or overweight. However, nearly 45% of children ages 10-17 are obese or overweight who live in a household with an income at or below federal poverty level. Doesn’t that seem off? More children living in poverty are obese than children living above the poverty ...