Post 2

Hunger in Houston

Hello everyone, thanks for tuning in to my second post. Hopefully you guys are enjoying and gaining insightful information as you continue reading my personal blog. Today, I am going to be talking about Food Insecurity in the greater Houston area, and what each one of you can do to combat this longing issue.

Let’s start by defining food insecurity, this complicated phrase is often misinterpreted. Most people believe that food insecurity means not having enough food to survive. But it also has a second part, not having access to a sustainable amount of nutritious/healthy food. This is often overlooked and has impacts just as extreme if not more than hunger. According to Feeding America, the lack of nutritious/healthy food severely increases the risk of chronic conditions like diabetes or heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. So in short, we need to make sure that everyone doesn’t just have access to food, but access to healthy/nutritious food as well.

Texas Children’s hospital estimates that there are about 724,750 food insecure individuals in the Houston area. The food insecurity rate is around 16.6%, meaning that about 16% of the population experiences food insecurity. This number is even higher in children, 23.6%. The main problem with this is that these children cannot help themselves, they must rely on others to help with their issue of hunger. And that help usually does not appear, leading to widespread hunger and malnutrition within children.

Although, this problem does not have to be permanent. The help that food insecure individuals rely on can exists, and these people can have a reliable source of food. This issue can be solved, and it starts at the smallest level, with each and every one of you. To help, you can donate to local food banks, volunteer at local programs, and even start your own initiative to combat this worsening issue. If we don’t help, who will, it starts with you. Make a difference in your community, no matter how small, any impact helps. Thank you for tuning in and I will see you next time.

Source 1: https://www.texaschildrens.org/sites/default/files/uploads/Food%20Insecurity%20Report%20Final.pdf

Source 2: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4951875/