Greetings and Salutations!
For this week, we will be
focusing on something a little different from previous weeks. We will be
discussing food insecurities and their impact in the U.S. Obviously food
insecurity is a HUGE issue and there are many ways in which we can discuss it.
However, for the purpose of this presentation, we will predominantly be
focusing on these three components that attempt to address food insecurity:
food assistance programs, free and reduced lunch in schools, and food bank’s
accessibility. In doing this, we will also be showing some parts from the
documentary A Place at the Table (2013) in class as we found many parts
of this movie pertinent to what we want to talk about and hope it will add to
and drive our discussion. Possible discussion questions to consider when answer
this post are bolded. Y’all can pick and choose what you want to focus on or
what you’re most interested in. We included a lot so don't feel pressured to
answer all of them, but, of course, you are welcome to if you would like!
Food insecurity, according to the USDA, is defined as “a lack of
consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life.” Since
the year 2016, 1 in 8 Americans are food insecure, which equates to 42 million
Americans with 13 million of them being children. That’s a lot of hungry people
that do not have adequate access to food. According to the Department of
Agriculture, “It is important to know that hunger and food insecurity are
closely related, but distinct, concepts. Hunger refers to a personal, physical
sensation of discomfort, while food insecurity refers to a lack of available
financial resources for food at the level of the household.” Thus, due to many
not having access to what they need to meet their basic needs, they face an
increased risk of being food insecure. A point that this website brings into
the public’s attention is how poverty and food insecurity in the United States
are closely related. They have provided a pyramid that demonstrates the four levels of food
security and describes the range of household’s experiences in accessing enough
food. When looking at the pyramid they show the different food security ranges.
Noticed how each description is associated to eating patterns. This is
available in the link below.
In Kalamazoo County, the food insecurity rate is 14.2%, which
means 36,680 people are food insecure in the county. Below is a link to a page
where y’all can look at how food insecurity affects the places where you are
from and compare it to Kalamazoo’s situation.
This also brings us to our first question: How do we define
hunger?
FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAMING
The major food assistance program in the U.S. is the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), otherwise known as food stamps. SNAP bases
eligibility chiefly on household income and size. On this (https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/eligibility#Am%20I%20eligible%20for%20SNAP?)
webpage on SNAP benefits under the “What are SNAP income limits,” there is a
chart displaying income limits according to household size. As you can see from
the chart and as we will see in the documentary, these limits make it very hard
for many people to qualify for food assistance through SNAP, which reveals a
gap in which many people make too much money to qualify for the program while
also making too little to maintain food security in their homes. If we look
specifically at Michigan’s eligibility requirements, which are provided on this
web page (https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/0,5885,7-339-71547_5527_6691---,00.html), we can
see that other limitations exist. For example, asset limits are also a concern
when determining eligibility in Michigan and assets can only equal up to
$5,000. So, something like a household owning more than one car can be seen as
reasoning to not qualify. Also, in order to receive SNAP, one must also be a
U.S. citizen, which excludes many undocumented people from food assistance.
What do you all think about these limitations? Is there a way we
could make programs such as SNAP more accessible for those who need it?
Another issue that exists with SNAP benefits is that they often do
not provide enough for families to purchase foods that allow them to maintain a
healthy and nutritional diet. If families are food insecure and need to stretch
their SNAP benefits, they often have no choice but to buy cheaper foods, which
are not always the healthiest. In our research, we found that some studies
concluded that obesity is correlated with those who participate in the program.
Some critics of the SNAP program see this as reasoning to end the program
altogether, but what we and many others argue is that this is an issue that
needs to be addressed when forming policy because, while SNAP may be inadequate
in some ways, we still should not ignore the fact that it helps many families
who are food insecure and is one of our strongest defenses against hunger in
the U.S.
What do you all think about this? How can it be made so that SNAP
participants have more access to healthier foods and produce?
The last thing we want to talk about concerning SNAP is the new
changes to the program that are currently being discussed.
Earlier this year, the Trump Administration’s 2019 budget, in an
attempt to reduce the cost of the SNAP program, proposed replacing half of
participant’s SNAP benefits with food boxes, or “America’s Harvest Box.” This
box would include government picked, non-perishable foods, that are “made up of
‘100 percent U.S. grown and produced food’ and would include items like
shelf-stable milk, peanut butter, canned fruit and meats, and cereal.” These
boxes would be delivered monthly in place of SNAP benefits. Below are a few
articles talking about this proposed change:
Another change that is being proposed in the Trump
Administration's Farm Bill is for there to be stricter demands for work
requirements in order to qualify for SNAP. The farm bill in general is expected
to decrease the SNAP budget by 20 billion over the next 10 years, which will
result in many being pushed out of the program or receiving reduced benefits.
SNAP policy currently already has work requirements in place, as any adults
aged 18-49 who are abled bodied have to work at least 20 hours a week to qualify
for SNAP. This proposal extends the requirement to people aged up to 59, asks
for proof of work on a monthly basis, and will increase the weekly requirement
to 25 hours a week by 2026. If participants fail to meet these requirements or
do not provide proof of work monthly, they will be cut from the program for a
year and possibly longer if there are repeated violations. Below is an article
that talks more about this proposed change.
So, after reading all this, what are your thoughts on these
changes? How will these proposals, if accepted, strengthen or weaken the
programs goal in addressing food insecurity and hunger?
FREE AND REDUCED MEALS
IN SCHOOL
The Food and Nutrition
Service (FNS) administers several programs such as the National School Lunch
Program, which is responsible for free and reduced meals. This program provides
nutritionally balanced, low-cost, or free lunches to children each school day.
If you receive SNAP benefits, all of your children who attend school
automatically qualify for free school meals. Eligibility guidelines are based
on the Federal income poverty guidelines and are stated by household size.
For the purpose of this presentation, we will be focusing on the role of
school lunch on children. According to an article from the Union of Concerned
Scientists, they quote: “Healthy school lunches can be a key factor in breaking
this cycle by improving kids’ diets. Children consume about half of their daily
calories at school; for low-income children, school lunch may be their only
real meal of the day. And the foods kids eat at school influence their lifelong
eating habits.” That being said, Free and reduced-price (FRP) meal participants
continued to eat more fruits and vegetables than their non-FRP peers. On the
other hand, previous studies and the documentary we will be showing in class
highlight how schools often do not have the money or resources to provide
children with both enough food and food that is nutritional, which can lead to
health conditions, such as obesity and G6PD deficiency.
So what do you think about the notion of
free and reduced lunch meals in schools? How can these programs be changed for
the better? How can we ensure children are getting proper nutritional value
from school lunches?
FOOD BANK’S ACCESSIBILITY
Outside of SNAP benefits,
food banks act as food storage and distribution depots that collect and
distribute food to hunger-relief charities. All food banks rely on donors and
volunteers to carry out their day-to-day operations. In addition, food banks do
not give out food directly to people struggling with hunger. Instead, they
deliver them to food pantries who then provide food directly to those in need.
The food that is received by pantries come from food banks only once they
become an agency member in that bank’s network. Usually, food pantries are
typically managed by churches. In the state of Michigan, there are seven food
banks under the Feeding America organization. Near the Kalamazoo County, there
is only one food bank, located in Battle Creek. When googling food pantries
near the city of Kalamazoo, a lot of them are facilitated by churches or
religious institutions, such as the Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes. To check on
the local food banks from your home this is link below.
In A Place at the Table,
they discuss the nutritional value of the food that food banks distribute.
Since these foods often need to be imperishable, contents usually include
canned or packaged foods, and do not contain fruits, vegetables, or other
produce.
What are your opinions on
the amount of food banks and food pantries around Kalamazoo? How did you react
on the number of food banks around your home area? Where there more than
one food bank in the state you live in?
Lastly, we also wanted to
bring up the stigmatization that occurs from receiving benefits from any of the
three areas we discussed in this post. How might this stigmatization effect
participants in these programs/benefits? How might it deter people from wanting
to apply for them?
We are looking forward to
your comments for Thursday’s discussion!
--Logan Smith and Yajaera
Ramirez
I think defining hunger in the context we are using is well captured by the definition presented above. I think legal/bureaucratic definitions like this require distinct definitions for similar concepts, so the extant division between "hunger" and "food insecurity" sounds like it makes clear delineation between the two.
ReplyDeleteI think it's pretty clear that there are problems with the SNAP program, such as poor nutrition among recipients. The arguments I hear most frequently from family members who raise objections about SNAP mostly pertain to abuse of the system; I think the most important way to raise cultural awareness and support for SNAP reforms is to foster increased dialogue between recipients and opponents, although I personally am not sure how to do this in a way that doesn't encourage cultural tourism or present recipients as showcases. Similarly, stigma surrounding SNAP would have to be addressed before these conversations could be encouraged.
I think that, while the proposed changes to the SNAP program are a net loss, the idea of providing nutritional information/education materials with food (rather than dictating which food is given) may be a good change to the program.
I think the proposed changes may have started as a good idea (then again, maybe not), but they definitely grew into more of a fantasy than an actual, applicable policy. I think incentives to use SNAP funding for fresh or nutritious food (maybe a certain percentage of funding that is only usable for this purpose? I'm not nearly educated enough on the topic to speculate on how to put this into practice) or including materials about nutrition and healthy practices may also help.
I think families that are struggling with food insecurity should absolutely have access to free and reduced lunch programs. I also think it is pretty commonly known that school lunches often lack in nutrition; I thought it was interesting that children on free and reduced lunch programs actually often eat better lunches than children not on the programs. I think there are many models, both internationally and in certain school districts, of how to increase the nutritional content of school lunches. I think these efforts will have to be handles simultaneously with efforts to increase accessibility to students in need, as both are likely to increase costs.
I live in Michigan, so the number of food banks in my state was mentioned in your post. However, the fact that one is in Kalamazoo, and 2 are servicing my zip code (the metro Detroit area), makes me wonder about the distribution of the other 4 in the state, as well as national distribution of food banks.
I think the issue of stigmatization is under-represented. A solid base of evidence exists to show that social pressure is a powerful motivator to behaviors. I also think social stigma is a barrier to any kind of reform of the SNAP system by influencing the perception of non-participants.
I agree with the distinction between hunger and food insecurity. Growing up I was hungry quite often, but never faced food insecurity. I think every human experiences feelings of hunger, but I think food insecurity takes people's control away about what to do with the hunger they are feeling.
ReplyDeleteI think SNAP, and families stretching money so buying unhealthier options is directly related to what foods are subsidized (what we talked about in class a couple weeks ago). The government doesn't subsidize fruits and vegetables, and so their prices are higher than a box of corn flakes.
Regards to "America's Harvest Box," I think it is a pretty unrealistic solution or change in SNAP. Reading the articles nobody thinks it is a smart plan, and won't actually save money in the end. Also, having worked for UPS this winter, delivering all those boxes of food to families regularly would be a pain. Also, what about families without an address, or a stable address?
I grew up eating school lunches, and they were pretty gross. I think programs like 10 cents a meal are great at getting schools to increase local food purchasing and feeding kids healthier more nutritional lunches. I also think classes or once a week meetings with classes to help prepare some of the food would help educate people not only to eat healthier, but would connect them to their food more. I think Japan has a program like this where the students help prepare their own food, and help serve it to their fellow classmates.
I was surprised that in Oregon there is only one food back (in Portland). I also know of a bunch of communities who collect food and pass it out, or who cook meals for homeless shelters. None of these groups were on the official map though.
I think the stigmatization is that you are poor and need help, which is probably true, and needing help is stigmatized as a negative thing. I think because our society is so individualistic we often frown on people who need help, and think they are failures somehow because they need help in an area, an area that perhaps we don't need help in. But in truth everyone needs help and moments of understanding and compassion.
Lots to think about here! Thanks for such an engaging post. That food insecurity map is really interesting; I was surprising at some of the areas of the country that have the highest food insecurity.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree that it's important to distinguish between hunger and food insecurity. I get hungry frequently and sometimes I don't eat as much as I should during the day because I get busy and don't want to take the time for food. But that's my CHOICE. Not having the means to access food is a whole different matter.
I think food assistance programs' restrictions seem like they make it especially difficult for parents with young children who may be making difficult choices regarding paying for childcare that may cost more than they are able to make by working or keeping a home or the number of vehicles necessary for both parents to hold jobs.
There ARE some incentive programs to make fresh produce more affordable to SNAP recipients. Here's one called Double Up Food Bucks that gives SNAP recipients double dollars for certain fruit & veggie purchases, including at farmer's markets: http://www.doubleupfoodbucks.org/how-it-works/. Of course I see from the website that the program is "paused" for April & May this year--not sure what that's about.
The proposed changes to SNAP (the boxes, the work requirement)--honestly, it seems to me that these initiatives are coming out of and reinforcing the stereotype of people in poverty being so lazy and stupid that they need to be "managed" for their own good. This is a time-tested strategy of colonization. As for providing healthier food, this NPR article takes a look at how relying on government-supplied boxed commodity food has impacted the health of Native American communities (not in a good way): https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/02/25/588098959/how-might-trump-plan-for-food-boxes-affect-health-native-americans-know-all-too
The work requirement, again, plays into this idea that there is a certain segment of our population who are "moochers"--who are delighted to stay on food assistance indefinitely and let the rest of us pay for their easy-going lifestyle. But the truth is a lot more complicated than that. Sometimes it is cheaper NOT to have a job, because jobs are expensive. You have to have transportation, you have to have work-appropriate clothing, and if you have kids, you have to find/pay for someone to take care of them. Having kids can also make holding down a job challenging if they are sick and you have to miss work to take care of them. So, again, it seems like these requirements make accessing aid especially difficult for families.
School lunches--I wish there was a way to make them better! The 10 cents a Meal program that Amanda mentioned is one program that is working toward that. But it's going to take money to buy nutritious and tasty ingredients and to hire and train staff to prepare them. I can't imagine a better investment of our tax dollars, though, than to feed the growing bodies and minds of our next generation.
As I read through this post I kept thinking of something my grandmother used to say when she was remembering living through the Great Depression in the 1930s. She said that things were really hard because in order to keep the farm going they had to keep feeding the cows, milking them, and keeping them healthy even though no one had any money to buy milk and so they ended up giving their milk away. And so they didn't have income. But she always said that they had it much better than people who lived in the city because even though there was no money, they always had food. They had a garden, chickens that lived off scraps and free-ranging, and--lots of milk.
ReplyDeleteSo I keep thinking about--how can we ensure that more people have sovereignty over their own food and control over the source of their food outside of the wage economy? Because being dependent on earning a wage in order to purchase food is always going to leave some people food insecure and dependent on food programs that shift with political and economic whims. And there is stigma with dependency, for sure, along with vulnerability.
As the above posts mention, I agree that the distinction between hunger and food insecurity seems important for supporting programs that aid with food insecurity and potentially for raising awareness about economic disparities and access to food. The definition of food insecurity that you mentioned in this post does a good job of making it clear that it is linked to lack of resources and access, not lack of effort (i.e. 'laziness') like is portrayed in stereotypes and stigmas.
ReplyDeleteI further agree that the proposed changes to SNAP seem to be more of a power play than an effort to improve the program, and that subsidizing healthier foods (and subsequently encouraging smaller farmers to grow staple crops, which they could then sell in their local areas if they didn't have to compete with huge corporations selling the same for cheaper) could help by making it less of a sacrifice to buy healthy foods. I am often shocked by the high prices for vegetables and fruits in grocery stores that I can walk to from where I live, compared to the packaged foods that last forever but are not very nutritious, as well as the lack of variety of fruits and vegetables. I think this also plays into the stigma: I've heard the idea that these grocery stores do not stock many vegetables because the 'people in the area' don't buy them. Maybe it's a chicken and egg situation, but I feel as though people would buy vegetables more often if vegetables were reasonably priced!
As for school lunches, I am really intrigued by the prospect of hydroponics, or some other form of growing food at school. I think there's a lot to be said for the opportunity to participate in growing your own food to supplement lunches, but access to land is often the issue preventing people from growing food. Schools tend to have land, even if it is primarily used for the school building itself. I wonder if there is a way to include growing food in the curriculum for every type of school (i.e. elementary, middle, high school) without it seeming like another forced chore, but manual rather than theoretical.
We use the word "hungry" in a colloquial sense, but when I hear the word "hunger," (usually in contexts of world hunger, feeding the hungry, etc.), I usually equate it to food insecure. I used to think about both hunger and food insecurity in terms of lack of consistent access to food in general, but once I started learning about food injustice, I realized this also means lack of access to nutritional foods. SNAP programs help people consistently put more food in their bellies, but it is not always the healthiest food. Trump's "America’s Harvest Box" proposal to raise the work requirements to qualify for SNAP and replace half of recipients' SNAP benefits with boxes of non-perishable foods would exacerbate the issues of food access and nutrition, and thus would weaken the program's goal in addressing food insecurity.
ReplyDeleteFree and reduced lunches in schools are absolutely necessary for children who come from food insecure households and may only eat that one meal per day. This addresses the accessibility part of food insecurity. However, the quantity and quality of food (nutritional value) may still fall short. Students should absolutely receive enough food to feel full, but what kind of food they receive is part of a larger problematic system. The meals and choices at school cafeterias often do not hold high nutritional value. There needs to be systemic changes (like increasing budgets) so that meals can be prepared with fresher ingredients.
I was surprised that there is only one food bank for Kalamazoo, especially considering the high rates of food insecurity and poverty. I was also surprised that there are only seven food banks in Michigan, and most are concentrated in the southern half of the state. I can see the need for more food banks (but realize they are funded by religious organizations and volunteer labor). I also see the way that food banks can fall short in delivering nutritional meals to people, since they rely on donations of largely non-perishable foods.
I think stigmatization comes from participating in any of the three programs, and participating in any social welfare programs. There is definitely a sense of shame and guilt put on participants, like they failed in their lives and are now costing the rest of the nation by their inability to care for themselves and their families. This ignorance and prejudice stems from an American philosophy of individualism and lack of regard for structural factors that cause food insecurity.
I have virtually 0 experience with food banks in Kalamazoo and my home area. In Kalamazoo, I've probably passed by them, though I haven't gone in them. In Indonesia, although there may be small localized organizations for food distribution, poverty and food insecurity are simply too widespread for an under supplied local or even national government to do anything with the semblance of effectiveness.
ReplyDeleteI think that the embarrassment of being unable to provide for yourself, or even worse for your kids, is fairly widespread across cultures. However, Americans are particularly impacted by a extremely individual culture that prizes self-sufficiency, especially economic power above all else.
I've heard stories about kids being singled out and bullied in American schools, for their dependence on a subsidized school lunch. This kind of mentality demonstrates an ugly side of human nature, and although kids grow up, a sense of judgement and being judged can linger painfully throughout life.
Social stigma is a powerful deterrent for people.