Inadequate Food Choices for Americans in Low-Income Neighborhoods

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

A human being cannot live without food, yet it is the quality of the food a person consumes that counts. Healthy food is not only expensive but also, it is hard to find it in a poor region. While fast-food joints have become synonymous with the low-income settlements, grocery stores with nutritious food varieties are situated in middle- and high-income neighborhoods. Besides, low-income families in the United States face numerous challenges in accessing nutritious food, and as a result; they live unhealthy and inactive life.

Laraia, et al. (118) while noting the challenges most people face in the US, asserts that the latest research on the purchase of vegetables and fruits across the country paints a gloomy picture among the poor. They further expound that in 2017 people with income below $14 thousand, spent 53 dollars on fruits while those with incomes ranging 70 dollars per month spent around $ 67 per a month on vegetables and fruits (118). This paper looks at the causes of inadequate food choices for Americans in low-income neighborhoods and how to overcome the challenges.

Causes of Inadequate Food Choices

Various factors lead to a lack of food choices for people in poor regions in the US. To start with, food inaccessibility and insecurity are not only the main two major challenges in low-income areas in towns but also, in rural regions of the US. A vast majority of the neighborhoods have limited access to nutritious, healthy, and affordable food. They have fewer grocery stores, and the inhabitants lack personal means of transport in addition to limited financial abilities. Similarly, the grocery stores and retailers found in the areas have either relocated to more profitable suburbs or, the few left in the neighborhoods have closed down (Zhang and Ghosh 79).

While, discussing meat, Miller says, Asking aloud if eating meat is ethical& loses the main point since is like wondering if it is ethical to have sex (178). If one has a craving for meat, it will lead to the death of animals, yet, the same person can fulfill his/her dietary needs by becoming a vegetarian. The writer points out the fact that fast food joints provide junk foods that have adverse long term health effects on the population.

According to the Food Research and Action Center, low-income households are unable to afford food. While highlighting this, the Center writes, consuming a balanced diet and maintaining a healthy lifestyle involving the management of pre-existing conditions among the poor has become a challenge (1). These groups face food insecurity due to inadequate financial resources, stress, and a myriad of priorities that push food requirements for the families to the periphery.

Additionally, research carried out in 2016 covering health, poverty, and the purchasing power of food among low-income households in the US found out that 40.6 million people translating to 12.7% of the American who were poor (Food Research & Action Center). It further estimated that two-thirds of the people were likely to experience poverty at one point in their lifespan. This was an insight into the plight of most Americans as they were likely to have limited options with regards to their ability to sample the available food choices.

Food insecurity has been found to be the main challenge among adults in poor households. Consequently, latest statistics show that, 5 percent of the population are prone to food insecurity, whereby a third of the adults in low-income households were found to have gone without food for a whole day (Food Research & Action Center 2). Besides, about 47 million people throughout the country are under the food stamps program. On the other hand, it was found that 11.5% of the adults and 17.5% of the children in the US lived in neighborhoods and households that were food insecure (Food Research & Action Center 2).

Commenting on the current food situation in the US, Nicholas Kristof shows how food insecurity is rampant throughout the country especially among poor households. He starts with a rhetorical question where he wonders about the food stamps, Cruelty or Prudence (Miller 172). The author terms this infuriating, since the US is a wealthy nation and therefore, it is saddening to find such conditions; hunger and child malnutrition prevalent in a developed country (Miller 72). However, he concludes by saying that even though food stamps are a shame; they are the best solution since they offer a reprieve for hunger. He argues that doing away with food stamps is shortsightedness cruelty (Miller 75). According to him, the government should eradicate long-term poverty through education and training.

Similarly, studies have shown that most Americans lack choices for food because of underlying economic conditions in addition to the aforementioned circumstances. Low-income earning parents in poor neighborhoods develop hunger coping mechanisms. For them, food is not a necessity but a choice and they dont have the luxury to sample the available variety, rather, they take the available cheap food (Laraia, et al. 118). A study carried out on low-income employed parents found out that there were coping strategies and sacrifices at the household level geared towards the accessibility of food.

The study revealed that parents offered fast foods like hot dogs and cheese since they were easily available and cheap. This has led to poor eating habits, making them vulnerable to cardiovascular disease. Kris-Etherton et al. highlight that vascular disease is the number one cause of deaths in the USA, and therefore, it requires concerted efforts to, characterize the barriers to balanced diet practices among the vulnerable, (1). To curb the disease, there is a need for sustainable economic development among these groups to enable them to have resources thus having purchasing power.

While stressing about the challenges facing the low wages working parents, Laraia et al. describe how poor pay and lack of permanent jobs lead to pressure on the parents. One mother lamented, Everyday pressure wears you down&and since you are tired, you end up not doing much with your kids at home(Laraia et al. 2). Coupled with irregular working hours, the poor work on nights, weekends, and on shifts that run outside the normal working hours, making their food choices to become limited. In contrast, Sanger-Katz argues that even if one gives the poor many food choices, it will be futile since they cannot afford it.

She asserts that the Bronx in New York, which is a low-income neighborhood, had no grocery stores and there were no places to buy fresh food, it was referred to as a food desert (Sanger-Katz para 2). Moreover, housing instability or insecurity due to high costs has led to inequality in housing. Consequently, it has led to overcrowding and unstable neighborhoods whose members dont have choices for food but rather survive from day-to-day.

In summation, while there are no choices available for low-income neighborhoods, their environment makes it hard for food providers to set up bases near their habitats. Consequently, these are places that have been termed as food deserts since investors relocate their grocery stores to suburbs where there are customers. Therefore, to overcome the challenges, the state should give incentives to business people to set up shops in low-income areas to provide variety at a subsidized price for the poor. Through this, they will have adequate food variety to choose from. Lastly, food insecurity, inaccessibility, low income, housing, and provision of food stamps, are some of the causes of inadequate food choices among the low-income neighborhoods in the US.

Works Cited

Food Research & Action Center. The Impact of Poverty, Food Insecurity, and Poor Nutrition on Health and Well-Being.. 2017. Web.

Kris-Etherton, Penny M., et al. Barriers, Opportunities, and Challenges in Addressing Disparities in Diet-Related Cardiovascular Disease in the United States. Journal of the American Heart Association, vol. 9, no. 7, 2020, pp. 1-16.

Laraia, Barbara A., et al. Biobehavioral Factors That Shape Nutrition in Low-Income Populations. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, vol. 52, no. 2, 2017, pp. S118-S126.

Miller, James S. Acting Out Culture: Readings for Critical Inquiry. Macmillan Higher Education, 2017.

Sanger-Katz, Margot. Giving the Poor Easy Access to Healthy Food Doesnt Mean Theyll Buy It. The New York Times Breaking News, World News & Multimedia, 2015. Web.

Zhang, Mengyao, and Debarchana Ghosh. Spatial Supermarket Redlining and Neighborhood Vulnerability: A Case Study of Hartford, Connecticut. Transactions in GIS, vol. 20, no. 1, 2015, pp. 79-100.

Click Here To Order Now!

Inadequate Food Choices for Americans in Low-Income Neighborhoods

Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?

We have qualified writers to help you.

We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.

You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)