A Place at the Table

I had a chance to see the documentary "A Place at the Table", tonight after my 10 year old went to sleep.

The movie opens showing a flyby over several cities and breathtaking countryside .  The soft lyrics and gentle music tapped into my heart, then the story of our poverty, America's poverty, begins.  In Colorado a 5th grade girl explains her hunger pains.  As the story evolves the viewer is introduced to a struggling single mom in Philadelphia who is trying to get off of public assistance and get her life into a secure situation.

The common thread of this story was that many of these families from around the county had income coming in which wasn't enough to sustain their families, yet they made too much to qualify for public assistance.  This put them in a bracket called food insecurity.

The incidents of obesity and the rising number with childhood obesity is directly related to food insecurity and the inability for families to afford fresh fruits and vegetables.  Processed food items are cheaper than healthy whole foods by about 40%, therefore the cheaper foods can be purchased in larger quantities. So while farm subsides were meant to help family farms, the majority of the $20 billion in food subsidies are allotted to subsidize large corporate farms growing the key food items (corn, soy, rice and wheat) for cheap processed food, less than 1% goes towards farming fruit, vegetables and whole grains.

In addition to food costs that have limited the poverty stricken families' food choices there is also the issue of the fresh foods not being geographically located in close proximity, which is known as a "food desert".  In inner cities such as Newark and Philadelphia or poor communities there is a lack of large grocery stores and when the families do not own cars this makes it extremely difficult for people to get proper food to feed their families.  According to the film 75% of food desserts are in urban areas.

So What Are Food Stamps In The USA?
Food Stamps or (SNAP) is available for impoverished people, it amounts to about $3 per day.  A family of 3 must have an income of no more than $24,000 per year.  If a person is working they often lose their food stamp eligibility.

Bill Shore from Share Our Strength states, "1 out of ever 2 children in the US" will be on food aid at one time during their lives in the US.  That is a staggering number.

Malnutrition has a huge impact beyond the moment or day that hunger is occurring.  A young girl, Rose, describes her inability to concentrate in school because she is thinking about food.  So here are these children who cannot focus and learn.  Additionally it is extremely important that children have adequate nutrition during their development so that their bodies grow strong but also that their neurological systems have the nutrients needed for myelination.

The Child Nutrition Act was developed to improve the nutrition of school children during the Johnson Era.  While the quality of food in public schools has only recently changed, the amount of money that has been budgeted for each child is only about  $1 per meal per actual food cost.  In 2010, Congress agreed to raise the amount of each child's meal but it was only raised $0.06.  In order to pass the bill Congress cut the availability of food stamps.  Congress refused to cut tax breaks on large companies, and elected officials were unwilling to stand up to big agriculture.  Prior to the 2010 increases per child meals had not been raised since the 1970s.

So how did the US wind up in such a bad situation?  During the 1970's hunger was nearly wiped out in America, but during the 1980's when economic recession took hold and farms were crippled, remember Farm Aid, the US government cut spending on public assistance.  Charitable food centers began taking on the burden even as the need continued to grow steadily.  When the recession began 10 years ago, families found themselves with less money to make ends meet, and  the amount of hungry people grew yet again.

The poor statistically  have more comorbidities that are strangling health care and that is killing our ability to have a healthy future for America.  Processed foods high in fat, sugar and sodium lead to obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes which lead to chronic expensive health care and premature death as well as the inability to work and contribute to the tax bases, which will impact every single American along the line.  Additionally chronic poor nutrition is affecting the ability for children to learn, who are our future leaders, captains of industry and investors.

Mississippi has the largest population of food insecurity in the county.  Their elected officials voted against most of the food polices that would benefit the poor and reduce hunger and food insecurity.
http://www.foodpolicyaction.org/state.php?stab=MS

For more information please visit the A Place at the Table website http://www.takepart.com/place-at-the-table