“Hungry in West Virginia Part 1: Struggling to Access Enough Food, Enough Healthy Food” |
| Hungry in West Virginia Part 1: Struggling to Access Enough Food, Enough Healthy Food Posted: 15 Feb 2011 09:01 PM PST MORGANTOWN -- A lot of West Virginians go hungry. They either don't get enough food or they don't get enough of the right kind of food. A 2009 report on Household Food Insecurity in the United States reports that West Virginia has seen some of the greatest increases in food insecurity in the past three years. "Food security means having enough food and having the right types of food for every member of the household at all times to live a healthy, active life," said Cindy Fitch, health director at WVU Extension Service. Out of more than 1,400 West Virginia Households surveyed in that report, 13.4 percent report having food insecurity, 5.8 percent report severe food insecurity. "Some members don't eat or their eating problems are disrupted at some point in the year," said Fitch. Factors include, skipping meals, cutting portion sizes, and not eating balanced meals. The problem is equally severe all across the nation, the prevalence of food insecurity increased by a significant percentage in 30 states between 2007 and 2009. In many cases due to low-incomes, families are forced to skimp on those grocery bills and turn to more unhealthy, less expensive options "They eat when they can, they buy foods that have low nutrient value, but high energy value because that's what you do when you're hungry," said Fitch. Cindy Fitch is the health director of the WVU extension service. The service offers nutrition classes for low-income residents throughout the state. A high percentage of those with low incomes face food insecurity issues. Fitch says, the problem could cause long-term health damage. "it impairs you're ability to think, it impairs your ability to reason and your judgment, it impairs children's ability to learn." Statistics also show links between food insecurity and mental illness. A high percentage of senior citizens fall into the category of being food insecure. "As grocery prices go up and incomes don't go up, then seniors do struggle more to get the food that they need and to get the right kinds of food," Fitch said. But there is light at the end of the tunnel, many people can go in and out of being food insecure as economic situations change. Belinda Nichols, a nutrition outreach coordinator for the extension service teaches classes on healthy eating habits, and how to maximize the money spent on each trip to the grocery store.. "Say if you buy brown beef, you can have sloppy joe's one day. You can have spaghetti the next day and meat loaf," she said. As Nichols says, a little knowledge can go a long way. "A little education can make you happy, healthy and not hungry." Next week we'll focus on how the food insecurity affects families at home and in school. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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