Food Insecurity

Although many people don’t realize it, food insecurity has become a growing problem among children in the United States. Food insecurity is defined as the lack of access to enough food to live an active and healthy lifestyle (Leon-Guerrero 48). Although food insecurity is often associated with being hungry of poor, that is not necessarily a condition needed to qualify as beg food insecure. Children and the elderly make up the vast majority of those who suffer from food insecurity in the U.S, largely due to the lack of resources accessible to them. There is a wide variety of programs put forth by the government, in an effort to alleviate food insecurity. Such programs include the National School Lunch Program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance

Even though the great recession ended 6 years ago, food insecurity is still at an all-time high. In 2013, 14% of adults and 21% of children in America lived in food insecure households. Food insecurity itself is a problem, but it can also have negative effects on other social functions such as health and educational outcomes. (Gundersen, C., & Ziliak 1059) You must also consider the effect our safety net programs have on food insecurity. One such program is WIC, which is considered a crucial part of the social safety net offered in America. This program serves millions of people to include half of all infants and more than a quarter children age 5 and below. (Kreider, P., Pepper, J., & Roy, M.

As we all know, while a child is in the womb it is imperative that the mother provide the fetus with the proper amount of nutrition so as not to impede the child’s development and health. If a household is food-insecure and the mother is not able to acquire the proper nutrition this can have adverse effects after childbirth. The lack of proper nutrition can lead to birth defects and lifelong nutrition related illnesses such as anemia. Some examples of birth defects include “Low Birth weight”, “Preterm birth”, and “IUGR”. Low birth weight can be defined as a birth weight less than 2.500 g, it can result from premature delivery, intrauterine growth failure, or a combination of the two. Low birth weight is a leading secondary cause in 40-80% of neonatal deaths, 98% of which occur in developing countries.(Kathleen Abu-saad and Drora Fraser 2) Preterm birth is defined as “ Gestation age of less than 37 completed weeks” this is the leading cause of infant mortality among infants with non-lethal congenital anomalies (Kathleen Abu-saad and Drora Fraser 2) Both of these birth defects can be contributed to malnutrition during a fetus’s developing stages. The cost of postpartum hospitalization and treatment can be extremely high which may inadvertently contribute to food insecurity within that household.. Prenatal