Prior to getting into the specific groups of people most at risk of being affected by food availability, there first needs to be an understanding of how many people in the United States (and globally) are at risk. As of a recent USDA report in 2010, they stated that "14.5% of american households were food insecure in 2010". What's worse, 20% of american households with children were setback by food security in 2010. That same year, the U.S population was almost 304 million people. If you were to take 20% of that number, about 62 million people would be considered food insecure. That is pretty crazy when you think about it. Considering that the United States population has only grown in the past 7 years, that percentage of people deemed food insecure has only grown as well. Also, if you can remember back to the previous blog post, the most food insecure regions were Southeast Asia and Africa. Unfortunately in 2010, Asia was the most food insecure nation in the world at the time. So, now that we are all set on how widespread and "common" the issue of food availability is, which groups are most affected by it? Well, let's just say that they are varying in age. Some of them are: women who are pregnant or low earning, the elderly, very young children, people who are ill or are recovering from an illness, and those who have been through severe conflicts ( e.g civil wars, natural disasters). As discussed earlier, there are multiple causes for this lack of food security. The most critical among them being poverty and unequal distribution of food to low-income people. The question still remains, what is to come of these groups affected by these causes? In the following paragraphs these groups of people will be discussed.
Women living alone with children are statistically the most at risk for being affected by a lack of food availability. This is more than single men (who are the runner up) when it comes to being at risk. According to the latest USDA report in 2016, women were facing a rate that was double the national average. The national average in 2016 was about 13%, while women who were single moms were facing a rate of food insecurity at the 30% mark. Minorities aren't facing too many great statistics either. African Americans are facing the greatest rates out of any minority at around 21%. Following them are Hispanics, facing a rate of 19%. White Americans have the lowest rate out of the three groups. However, despite all these staggering rates, one stands out more than anything. According to ers.usda.gov, "32.8% of low-income households live below the poverty line". What I frankly can't understand is why there isn't more support for these poor groups of people. Given that the poverty line in 2016 was around $24,000, that is only about $2,000 a month. How can families with five or six kids make it by on 2,000 dollars a month with everyday expenses like food, electricity bills, water bills, and even rent in some cases? I don't have an answer for you, and I don't think the internet does either (let me know if you find one though).
This next bit may be straying off the main topic, but food born illness also subsides with the groups mentioned above as well. Food born illness is just what is sounds like (sort of). It means that contaminated and disaffected food has caused illness among different groups of people. Did you know as many as 1 in 6 Americans suffer from food-born illness every year? That is about the same rate as the amount of people who suffer from hunger every year in the U.S. According to FDA.gov, the groups of people most at risk for food-born illnesses are pregnant women, young children, and the elderly. It is no surprise that these are the same groups that are most affected or at risk for food availability. This is simply because they don't have the access to healthy and clean food, and therefore have to settle for what they receive. Again, this is just another example of one of the biggest causes of a lack of food availability. The problem is not the amount of food in the world, but rather the distribution of it to poor nations and people.
Women living alone with children are statistically the most at risk for being affected by a lack of food availability. This is more than single men (who are the runner up) when it comes to being at risk. According to the latest USDA report in 2016, women were facing a rate that was double the national average. The national average in 2016 was about 13%, while women who were single moms were facing a rate of food insecurity at the 30% mark. Minorities aren't facing too many great statistics either. African Americans are facing the greatest rates out of any minority at around 21%. Following them are Hispanics, facing a rate of 19%. White Americans have the lowest rate out of the three groups. However, despite all these staggering rates, one stands out more than anything. According to ers.usda.gov, "32.8% of low-income households live below the poverty line". What I frankly can't understand is why there isn't more support for these poor groups of people. Given that the poverty line in 2016 was around $24,000, that is only about $2,000 a month. How can families with five or six kids make it by on 2,000 dollars a month with everyday expenses like food, electricity bills, water bills, and even rent in some cases? I don't have an answer for you, and I don't think the internet does either (let me know if you find one though).
This next bit may be straying off the main topic, but food born illness also subsides with the groups mentioned above as well. Food born illness is just what is sounds like (sort of). It means that contaminated and disaffected food has caused illness among different groups of people. Did you know as many as 1 in 6 Americans suffer from food-born illness every year? That is about the same rate as the amount of people who suffer from hunger every year in the U.S. According to FDA.gov, the groups of people most at risk for food-born illnesses are pregnant women, young children, and the elderly. It is no surprise that these are the same groups that are most affected or at risk for food availability. This is simply because they don't have the access to healthy and clean food, and therefore have to settle for what they receive. Again, this is just another example of one of the biggest causes of a lack of food availability. The problem is not the amount of food in the world, but rather the distribution of it to poor nations and people.
http://www.sustainabletable.org/280/food-security-food-access
https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-statistics-graphics.aspx
https://www.fda.gov/food/foodborneillnesscontaminants/peopleatrisk/ucm352830.htm
https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-statistics-graphics.aspx
https://www.fda.gov/food/foodborneillnesscontaminants/peopleatrisk/ucm352830.htm