Food insecurity is a real condition that can result from hunger, it can be defined in a variety of ways:
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You don’t know where your next meal is coming from
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You don’t know if you have enough food to provide three meals a day for your family
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You don’t have reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food
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You skip your dinner meal so that your children will have enough to eat
The number of people in the United States struggling with food insecurity is astounding:
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1 in 8 people struggle with hunger. This means that 41 million people in the United States do not have consistent access to enough nutritious food to lead a healthy life (Feeding America).
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13 million children (1 in 6) in the United States face hunger (Feeding America)
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4,152 children ages 5 to 17 in the Utica City School District live in families at poverty income levels (US Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates - 2017)
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30.4% of the City of Utica’s population are determined to be at poverty level (2013-2017 American Community Survey on Poverty Status)
The impact of food insecurity includes:
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High levels of stress, anxiety and depression caused by worry over how to afford enough food
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Poor school performance and social interaction with peers by children who are hungry
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An even more challenging experience for the senior population that is limited by a fixed income and faced with increased health expenses, physical limitations and complex nutritional needs
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An increase in the consumption of high calorie foods with little nutritional value since they are more affordable. This can result in long-term health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.
