The Hunger Effect

For those of you who follow my Instagram account (the.nutrition.effect), you are probably annoyed with this topic right now. But we are going to talk about it anyways. 

For those of you who don't follow my Instagram account (which you really should because it has some really yummy food and recipes), this topic may be a little new to you.

But what I really want to accomplish by writing this post is to spread information that not many of us are aware of. The topic of hunger, especially in America, where we are famous for having an excessive amount of food, may make you uncomfortable. You may squirm. You may get sad. This is exactly why we need to talk about it. 

It is not widely known that hunger in America was almost eradicated in the 70's. However, in the 80's, funding was cut from these programs, and hunger started to climb once more. As of 2015, 42.2 million people face hunger in the United States (approximately 13%) , which means that 1 in 7 families struggles with getting enough food on the table. Consequently, the number of individuals that are food insecure is steadily rising. 

Food insecure is "medical-talk" for not knowing where your next meal is going to come from. It means not having the resources and availability to obtain healthy food. It means individuals with low-incomes, families living in rural areas, and areas where it's hard to get healthy food at all times of the year (I live in a valley where it can be extremely challenging to get fresh produce during the winter). A combination of one or all of these things leads to one consequence: hunger.

To help combat this, the federal government, like I mentioned, uses supplemental nutrition programs to help keep families from starving. Because these programs are supplemental, they are intended to only cover part of the cost of food--but most families still continue to struggle. 

As some of you probably saw on Instagram, I had the opportunity this past week to participate in the Food Stamp Challenge. This is a national challenge that gives people the ability to feel just a fraction of what low-income individuals feel while using food stamps. The current stipend for food stamps is $4.20/person/day. Since food stamps are supposed to be supplemental, I was given $5/day for four days. 

If you are interested in my experiences, you can read my write-up here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-_nwDF0KUKjRmJ1aUhtS3o4bjQ/view?usp=sharing. And hopefully the URL works because I actually have no idea if I did that right. If it isn't a direct link, try to copy and paste it (and pray that you don't have access to my Google account).

But basically, my experience taught me this: I would never be able to live off of $5 of food a day. At the end of four days, I was ready to eat a Big Mac and large fries from McDonald's, which is something I've never eaten from a place I haven't been to in years. That's how hungry I was.

It's no wonder that those who use food stamps commonly purchase cheap and processed foods...that's the only way they can get the calories in that they need! This is what we call the "hunger-obesity-paradox:" low-income individuals typically can't afford nutrition dense food, so they purchase processed foods that are cheap and high in calorie. Therefore, they are eating significantly more calories than the average person, but they aren't actually eating the same amount of food. If I eat three meals a day from a fast food restaurant, it will come out to well over double the amount of calories I should be eating in a day, but I will probably never experience fullness and satisfaction. It is important to note that correlation is not causation--but I also feel like this is a statistical relationship that cannot be ignored. Those states that are experiencing the most poverty, the most food insecurity, the most hunger, are also those that are most obese. Families want to feed their children healthy foods, but with only $4.20/day, it becomes more important to get something to eat rather than something healthy to eat. It becomes more important to keep living rather than preventing chronic illnesses. 

Contracting chronic illnesses can cause a cascade of events that include increased medical bills, prescriptions, and even more money out of the already empty pockets of those in poverty. Which leads to more hunger. And more food insecurity. So though it might be better than dying of starvation, you can see that ensuring that every American has enough money for food can solve a lot of problems in our health care system. 

This is where the community dietitian comes in: how can we feed an individual or family off of $4.20/day? The solution is...we don't. We look to food banks, soup kitchens, charities, canned food drives, and donations from the general public. We look to the community. We look for volunteers. We look for those willing to spread this information to the general public. We look to you. Dietitians can lobby for more funding, they can teach, but nothing will happen if we don't have support from those around us. 

Over 1 in 2 children are food insecure in the United States alone. Over 1 in 2 children have questions about where some of their meals are going to come from. The upcoming generation is the first in United States history that has a shorter life expectancy than their parents and grandparents. Modern medicine can only take us so far when the true problem is malnutrition, which encompasses both excess and deficiency in calories and nutrients. 

Let's come together as Americans and feed our poorest citizens. For a country that has so many resources, we are lacking in our desire and ability to give. I only experienced hunger for four days, and my perspective changed forever. Let's do what we can to secure nutritional health for generations to come.

*Most of my pictures come from the 2014 study on Hunger in America*

Now that I can safely jump off my soap-box for the rest of the post, I want to put this week's recipe on here! It's actually something I made while I was on the Food Stamp Challenge, but I find it super delicious and think you all will like it too.

Potato Hash and Eggs (The ingredient amounts I provide will make about 1 serving)

-1/2 Russet potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

-1/2 sweet potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

-1-2 Tablespoons olive oil

-Garlic salt, to taste

-2-3 eggs

1. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the potatoes and saute until fork tender, about 10-15 minutes. The last few minutes of cooking add garlic salt to your desired flavor intensity. Remove the potatoes to a bowl or plate (I prefer bowl but I use bowls for everything.)

*The reason I use medium high heat is that it allows a yummy brown crust to form on the outside of the potatoes, which adds a textural element*

2. Using the same pan, crack 2-3 eggs and cook over medium heat, flipping the eggs when the whites begin to become less translucent and stabilize. 

*I like my eggs over easy and will typically only flip them for 30 seconds before I take them off the heat. If you don't like over easy eggs, cook them until the yolks are your desired firmness*

3. Place the eggs on top of your potato hash. If your eggs are over easy, you can break open the yolks and let them cover the potatoes as a sauce--I love the flavor of egg yolks and suggest doing this if you have never tried it before! 

4. If you're a member of my family, you cover it in ketchup as the final step. :)