Week 2

This was an interesting one. When it comes to matters of food security, discussions on it can go beyond class hours. I guess some of us, if not all of us, have experienced food insecurity at one time during our life stages. I did during the 1983 hunger in my country. Memories of that cannot be forgotten as I saw my mum sell almost all of her clothes to make ends meet for my siblings and myself.

I believe this is the same situation Erin Brockhovich found herself in. In her case, she was a single parent and had absolutely nothing to sell to feed her family. However, from an African perspective, someone who is so poor will not have a car. A poor person in African would use her car for taxi to make ends meet. However, after almost a year and half in America, I have come to realise that having a car in America is a necessity not a luxury. Like any other mother fighting for survival, Erin Brockhovich exhibited a motherly instinct by skipping meals just for her children to be fed. I believe this is what most mothers go through hence the increase rate of food deprivation amongst single mothers.

Food insecurity has been a dilemma for a lot of nations, most notably the developing world, but the developed world are also drawn into this dilemma. In 2009, Nord et al. revealed that 14.6% of American households were food insecure. They lacked access to food for an active, healthy life (Anderson, 1990). This level of food insecurity was the highest level in the US since its initial measurement in 1995. In the Appalachian Ohio region, food insecurity was reported to be 27.2% (Holben and Pheley, 2006), and undoubtedly has increased given the current economic situation.
The 60 Minutes documentary shown in class on Thursday virtually spells it out.

I had the opportunity to handout food at the Logan Food Bank in fall and when our team get there at 8:00 am, the line was almost a mile long (car queue) and we were informed that the line started at around 3:00 am. When we left the vicinity at about 11:00 am, the line had increased and with the amount of food left, we released not all of them would go back home with food. I could not help it but think about what will become of the families that could not manage to get food for the day as we were informed that the food distribution is done once a month.

I believe the community gardening initiative is the best action in the right direction in minimizing food insecurity in Athens and its surrounding counties which have high incidence of poverty. According to Athens County Department of Job and Family Services (ACDJFS) in 2006, half of Athens County households earn at least $25,000 less than the nationwide median household income of $40,956. This figure illustrates the poverty level in Southeastern Ohio. It also raises the question of the impoverished ability to not only access food (ACDJFS Report, 2006).

It was good having a fruitful group discussion on Thursday and I am glad to have two group members who have some gardening experience and I look forward to learning with my group members.