Hunger is real. In a country like the USA, an economically developed country, how is it that 49 million Americans struggle to put food on the table?
49 million. Let that sink in.
16 million kids, that’s 1 in 5, come from homes that do not have the means to have access to food.
Ask a school teacher – 62% of school teachers have seen kids come to school hungry because they didn’t have any at home.
Hunger is very real.
March is National Nutrition Month- a good reminder to try to eat and live healthier. However, healthier and nutritious does not always equal cost effective for tighter budgets. Fresh produce, meat and poultry are generally tougher on the wallet. Not to mention organic and local produce. There’s a vast chasm between what wealthier and poorer children have available to eat. A recent study found that many low-income participants purchased what their children like -mostly cheaper, calorie-dense, nutrient-poor foods, to reduce the amount and cost of food wastage.
For a large number of low income families, just making sure their children get fed IS the priority.
As for more well off families, food cost and wastage isn’t as much of concern as is ensuring their children have nutritious, healthy food available to them.
The Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is a federal program, one of several nutrition programs such as the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), that not only provides supplemental nutritious foods but also nutritional counseling for pregnant, breastfeeding women, infants and children and referrals to other health programs. 44 years since it’s inception, WIC has been successful in improving maternal, infant health and dietary related health outcomes in children, as well as lowering overall health care costs.
There are over 33,000 WIC participants in Orange County, Florida alone.
Lower income families are at a higher nutritional risk for anemia, poor growth, lower cognitive performance in children and higher infant mortality rates. WIC avails options of nutritious food such as infant food, whole grains, low fat/non fat dairy, produce, vegetable protein and eggs to eligible families. It is a strong proponent of breastfeeding and encourages mothers to breastfeed as long as possible- provides breastfeeding support, pumps where applicable and counseling. It also supplies infant formula for non breastfeeding infants and special formulas when medically required.
As a nutrition educator, I’m amazed at the number of families this program has truly been able to assist. It has been an incredibly rewarding experience in seeing the difference when a receptive client accomplishes a health goal.
Listening to a young pregnant teenager explain to me how hard she’s trying to be a good mother, always reminds me of why I love this job.
So the next time you’re on a grocery run at Publix and happen to see a label on the shelf marked ‘WIC’, remember that your tax dollars are serving to end childhood hunger in this country and ensure a healthier future generation.
“Poverty isn’t defeated with wealth, it’s overcome by hope.”
WiC does work and I’m glad that our tax dollars support such a beneficial program. Having been raised by a single mom, I know it can be hard to get healthy food on children’s plates when you’re just struggling to survive.