Ensuring everyone has equal access to food is undoubtedly important to us. Without it, it’s difficult to truly thrive and live life to the fullest – but we know that access across demographics is far from perfect, and many Americans go days, months, and even years without a nutritious meal on the table.
Food insecurity addresses this issue head-on. The USDA defines food insecurity as: limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways. Essentially, food insecurity means not having uncomplicated and consistent access to healthy foods. Unsurprisingly, it disproportionately impacts communities of color.
Food Insecurity and People of Color
Why is it not surprising? Our government has operated in a discriminative way towards these communities for years – dated exclusionary policies, economically oppressive systems, limited welfare programs, and racist and sexist frameworks remain active, furthering the gap in food security. Ultimately, the trickle down effect of a sum of choices made by the U.S. over time has impacted people’s ability to earn enough money to live reasonably healthy and comfortable lives.
“Households of color across the U.S. have historically experienced food insecurity at a disproportionately high rate, a trend that continues today,” Geri Henchy, director of nutrition policy at the Food Research & Action Center said. For more than 52 years, FRAC has been working to end poverty-related hunger in America through advocacy, partnerships, and by advancing bold and equitable policy solutions. “These racial disparities exist because of longstanding systemic racism and injustice. Decades of housing segregation, employment discrimination, and over-policing are a few of the wide-ranging barriers that have resulted in higher levels of food insecurity among communities of color.”
Recent data (based on the supplemental poverty measure, aka SPM) shows that Black and Hispanic people have been more than twice as likely to experience poverty than their white counterparts – every year for the past decade. The disparity between women of color and white women mirrors this statistic similarly, with WOC being more than twice as likely to experience poverty than white women. When there’s rent, gas, bills to pay, and children to support, buying healthy food is often ill-considered, or not considered at all by those living in poverty. The 2020 pandemic worsened financial situations for people of color, and now food insecurity is a pressing issue more than ever, especially in disparaged communities like WOC.
Food Insecurity Impacts Health
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Food insecurity exasperates health issues for those experiencing it. Food insecurity is associated with less-than-favorable health outcomes, including lower-quality diets, psychological distress, depression, chronic illness, and even premature death, according to Professor Denise Payan PhD, health policy researcher at the University of California, Irvine.
“The stress of figuring out where you (and your child’s) next meal will come from and the tension of whether you can pay the rent, or pay for food to feed your family is a real problem for many U.S. households,” said Payan. “In a well-resourced country, the issue seems to be related more to food maldistribution, waste, and income inequality.”
We’re talking about people having little to no food on the table at a consistent rate – this means many experience hunger, malnourishment, or both – not getting the nutrients their bodies need. If we want to honor our country’s value of equality, we need to ensure no one goes hungry, according to Henchy.
“[It is] foundational to health, education, national security, and economic priorities,” she said. “It is essential that we work towards a more equitable society where there is no limit to what anyone can achieve.”
Food choices being limited doesn’t always mean that Americans are left hungry. Sometimes the only realistic option for meals in food insecure places is ordering fast food that’s crawling in preservatives, corn syrup, salt, and other harmful ingredients when eaten in excess. In most cases, fast food is also the most convenient and cheap for those experiencing food insecurity, and sometimes, the only option in their area.
According to a 2016 report from the Union of Concerned Scientists, rising diabetes rates have hit communities of color the hardest. Black, Latino, and Native American communities are about twice as likely to be diabetic than whites. Since race and income are highly correlated with food insecurity, they’re also linked closely to diabetes rates.
Many families are left preoccupied thinking about their next meal or trip to the grocery store, and this constant stress weighs heavily on mental health in food insecure communities.
“It's stressful if you don't know how you're going to be able to feed your family, or don't have enough money to feed your family, or maybe don't have transportation to get to a grocery store that has a variety of foods,” said Jessica Jones, Founder of Jessica Jones Nutrition, Registered Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator, Master of Science in Nutrition, podcast host, and cookbook author. She has previous firsthand experience with food insecurity as a dietician for the Department of Health, working on public health initiatives in food deserts. “And it can definitely be really tricky to figure out how to feed your family, especially if you don't have enough money.”
Furthermore, it’s not uncommon for those living in food insecurity to develop eating disorders. In fact, studies have identified a correlation between the two. Researchers found that young adults with a history of food insecurity were more likely to have a “clinically significant” eating disorder, higher BMI levels, waist-to-height ratios, depressive symptoms, stress, and disordered eating scores in comparison to individuals without a history of food insecurity. Because there’s the ever-looming air of scarcity, disordered behaviors can take place.
“In private practice, I work with eating disordered patients, and I've noticed that for people who are food insecure, that can be a precursor for binge eating just because [they] don't have consistent access to food,” Jones said. “So whether or not you're intentionally restricting or not, there's some restriction going on there that can cause you to binge eat when you do have enough food.”
How Food Insecure People Can Take Action
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If you’re living in a food desert and experience food insecurity, you’re not without help. There are a handful of things you can do to access healthy foods and get assistance with feeding yourself and your family.
Jessica Jones is a huge advocate for stocking your kitchen with beneficial, nutrient-dense foods that are convenient, but also have a long shelf life. Her favorite option is Premier Protein cereal, because it’s sustaining and stable over time.
“I love Premier Protein cereal – that's one of the clients that I work with. It's one of the rare cereals that does have 20 grams of protein per serving,” Jones said. “One of the most important things that [protein] does is it helps to balance out our blood sugar levels.”
Incorporating different convenience foods is great as well. Frozen fruits and vegetables, dry rice and beans, dry pasta, and packaged snacks work wonderfully and can last you months. Jones advises against ruling out processed foods, because they can help fill in the nutrient gaps at a lower cost.
“I think that people kind of demonize processed foods, but there's a place for them,” said Jones. “Just because something is processed means that it's bad – I hate that mindset. Processed foods are a great and convenient way, many times, to incorporate nutrient-dense foods into your diet. I incorporate processed foods every single day. I think we need to get rid of some of that stigma and make health more accessible to all.”
The programs mentioned previously also work hard to make health more accessible to all. Looking into these programs (SNAP, WIC, etc.) can ultimately be life-changing.
“WIC is an important resource for families with young children,” Henchy said. “WIC waivers and enhancements during the pandemic have simultaneously removed access barriers and increased the value of participating in WIC, resulting in overall increases in program participation. Still, more work is needed to modernize the program and ensure it can reach families in need.”
School meals programs are another transformative initiative, according to Payan.
“A national universal school meals program that reduces the administrative burden and cost of eligibility paperwork for the current free and reduced-cost school meal program would rapidly increase access to school meals among kids and their families across the country,” Payan said. “At the individual level, volunteering for these organizations, advocating for effective policies, and building capacity around community nutrition and education can help to raise awareness and shift focus to the issue.”
Community gardens and grocery incentive programs are also available, raring and ready to make food accessible.
How Non-Food Insecure Individuals Can Help
Considering the strenuous effects of food insecurity, it’s important to us (as food secure individuals) that we do what we can to help those living in food insecure communities access healthy food to thrive. Recognizing that people who are food insecure are not at-fault for their food insecurity — but rather because of our country’s long standing systems — is integral to addressing the issue.
Federal nutrition programs like SNAP, WIC, school meals, after school programs, summer camps, and childcare meals are big players in mitigating hunger and the resulting negative health outcomes of food insecurity. These programs also support federal economic security, help lift families out of poverty, and act as a stimulus for local economies – all worth educating yourself and others about, and getting involved in.
“At the individual level, volunteering for these organizations, advocating for effective policies, and building capacity around community nutrition and education can help to raise awareness and shift focus to the issue,” Payan said. “Instead of making it more difficult for marginalized communities to access healthy, safe foods, we should be working to reduce institutional barriers.”
Even starting an internal conversation about food insecurity is helpful, according to Jones.
“I think it's just such an important thing that we don't talk about enough,” said Jones. “Especially on social media, and on Instagram, there's a lot of elitism and ‘health-ism’ when it comes to talking about food. Sometimes we need to zoom out and look at the bigger picture, and realize that not everybody even has access to food.”
Going beyond conversation, education, and volunteering and getting in touch with our country’s lawmakers and policymakers is another major way to advocate against food insecurity, says Henchy.
“Your voice matters,” Henchy said. “You can help inform lawmakers about the importance of protecting and strengthening federal nutrition programs (such as SNAP, school meals, afterschool and summer meals, child care meals, WIC, older adult nutrition and commodity assistance programs) to ensure struggling households get the nutrition they need.
She recommends signing up for the FRAC Action Network to receive updates on how you can take action to help end hunger in America.
“We tend to look at the individual [themself] to get out of food security, or somehow solve food insecurity for themselves, and really, it's more of a systemic issue,” Jones said. “If you are someone who is experiencing food insecurity, looking out for programs or resources in your community can be really helpful.”
“An unacceptable number of people in America do not have enough to eat,” Henchy said. ”No one should have to go hungry in the wealthiest nation when we have solutions that exist.”
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Quotes have been edited for clarity.
