Mitigating Childhood Food Insecurity Through Gardening
Abstract
Despite the prosperous image of the United States, many households are affected by the continuum of food insecurity and this problem is presented even more in Brazos County, Texas. Food insecurity is more than being in a state of hunger. It is the inability to acquire adequate nourishment. USDA defines food insecurity as “limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways.” In other words, not knowing when and where the next meal is coming from, or how one will pay for it. Children in food-insecure households are even greatly impacted by this crisis and this can hinder their growth or impede them from succeeding academically. They are at risk of facing a more drastic mental and physical consequences of food insecurity as well as suffering from social and mental problems. Most of the time, the inability to obtain nutritious food arises from money conflicts and time issues. Being on an unhealthy and cheap high caloric diet is an easier alternative than spending time and money to consume healthier foods. In this ethnographic research study, a group of students at the Brazos County Boys and Girls club was taught how to grow their own sustainable gardens in the hopes of helping mitigate the impacts of food insecurity they face. The survey interviews from parents reveled their desire to obtain more nutritious food for their household and interest in installing gardens in their own homes.
Subject
Childhood Food InsecurityFood Security
Nutrition
Gardening
Food Insecurity
Children
Teaching
Everybody Eats
Citation
John, Marita Ann (2020). Mitigating Childhood Food Insecurity Through Gardening. Undergraduate Research Scholars Program. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /188397.