Hunger in the United States: Causes, Effects and Solutions

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Hunger in the United States
The United States is one of the largest food producers in the world (Chadwick, 7).
The country has employed modern methods of agriculture to maximize agricultural
production. There are well established farming techniques and the production per capita is the
highest in the world. With this information, one might be tempted to think that the almost
everyone in the United States is food secure. Unfortunately, this is not the case. According to
the Food and Agriculture Organization, food security refers to a situation where all people
have access to adequate, safe and nutritious foods at all times (Riches, Graham and Tiina,
14). Hunger is often associate with food insecurity. The issue of hunger and food security is
important not only in America but also at the global level. This explains why one of the
sustainable development goals of the United Nations’ Development Programme is to
eradicate hunger.
According to a recent study, about 40 million Americans are struggling with hunger
(Zinn, 6). It is sad to note that more than 12 million of this number are children (Zinn, 7).
This means that there are numerous household that are food insecure. Being food insecure
means that they do not have access to adequate, safe and nutritious foods to meet their dietary
needs. This predisposes them to poor health since they are not getting adequate nutrients
needed for proper growth, development and immunity. The study also found out that
households with children have a higher risk of being food insecure. In addition, about 58% of
the food insecure households were enrolled to at least one of the federal assistance programs.

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Solution to Hunger
Every human being on earth has a right to the highest attainable level of health and
wellbeing. It is impossible for an individual to be in a state of wellbeing if they are hungry.
Food provides us with the energy and nutrients that we need for a healthy lifestyle and
wellbeing. There are several interventions that could be employed to deal with the problem of
hunger/food insecurity in the United States of America. One of the ways is donating foods to
those in need of it. There are several humanitarian agencies that deal with the provision of
food to the needy. To identify those in need of food support, a survey could be done. The
most common and effective strategy of doing this is doing an assessment of the food security
state of a household (Coleman, Alisha, Christian and Anita, 14). Such an assessment would
ensure that almost all households that are in need of food support are identified and included
in the intervention. The government has been doing this using the federal assistance
programs. Such help would ensure that the problem of hunger is significantly reduced.
The other solution would be creation of numerous employment opportunities. This is
primarily the role of the government (Carter, Elijah, Caitlin and Jason, 540). The government
should employ aggressive strategies to ensure that there are enough employment
opportunities to meet the need. Such methods could include encouraging private and foreign
investors to do business in America. The government could do so through such ways as
ensuring lenient taxation and favourable business environment. Ensuring numerous
employment opportunities would see most of the youth and adults in the population have a
job opportunity. With a job opportunity, one gets an income. It therefore becomes easier to
afford food and other necessities. Unemployment is one of the factors that is associated with
those who are food insecure (Riches, 14). The government could also find creative and