January 29th, 2013

To start of the day, we began with an icebreaker. Everyone needed to answer the question, "Whenever I get the chance, I would like to...". My answer was whenever I get the chance I would like to go to New Zealand, and backpack for two weeks around the country. I liked the other students responses very much, and it made me consider things I would like to do in my future.

Today in class we continued our discussion on Food Security. I thought it was very shocking that 14.9% of American households are considered to be food insecure. Also, that much of the food insecurity takes place in the southern part of the United States. We also went over the survey that many Americans receive called The Guide to Measuring Household Food Security. To conclude class, we watched a video about food insecure families living in Southeast Ohio. One man in the video said he couldn't put any money in his savings account after his paycheck because it all went to food, diapers, bills, and gasoline. The concept of having 6 months worth of salary in his savings account seemed impossible to him. If your family is food insecure there are many sacrifices and coping methods to dealing with the lack of food. The video really opened my eyes to the problems we have in our state, and throughout the country.

January 31st, 2013

Food insecurity "is a barrier to positive health and nutrition outcomes". Food insecurity has a negative effect on health care costs. It increases poor health and could lead to the development of chronic disease. Adult women are particularly at high risk for overweight and obesity. It could also affect school performance, because it is hard for a child to concentrate in school if they are distracted by hunger, and can also affect mental health.

It is possible to reduce food insecurity by utilizing community programs. The Athens Farmers Market accepts the EBT card, the Chesterhill Produce Auction has some great produce at low prices, and local food pantries and farmers can be helpful. Also many federal programs like SNAP and WIC can help. A family can reduce its food insecurity by utilizing different federal and community programs. It amazes me that the United States is such a developed country, and yet everyday families face the problem of getting food on the table.