Race and Food Security Class: Opinion Piece Paper

Food Security and its Relation to Race and Poverty
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Food insecurity is a crucial matter affecting countries worldwide, and if not solved soon enough, it could bring about devastating effects. Recent studies reveal that the number of food-insecure people is rising and is expected to reach eight hundred and forty million by 2030. Most food insecure people go hungry, mostly because they are too poor to afford the nutrition they need. Out of these poor populations, the majority of them comprise people of color. According to an analysis of trends in food insecurity from 2001 to 2016, it was found that food insecurity rates for non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanic households were approximately double that of non-Hispanic White households (Odoms-Young, 2018). Governments sometimes try to provide food aid to these hungry people, but that does not solve the problem. One of the long-lasting solutions to food insecurity is eradicating poverty among these populations. This piece will mainly explore how racism and poverty are directly related to food security.
Amid the COVID 19 pandemic, food insecurity rates have risen almost three times among all populations, compared to the pre-COVID times (Bitler, 2020). Unemployment rates spiked across the board, especially for low-income earners. More so, those who appear to have been incredibly hit are those with lower education levels, Blacks and Hispanics (Bitler, 2020). Households with children have also suffered more as the schools’ closure meant that many low-income children no longer had access to free or cheaper meals. Large spikes in food prices have also resulted in lower purchasing power of low-income groups. The slow economy during the pandemic led to delay in relief payments which also contributed to food insecurity among specific groups. Disparities in food insecurity across different racial and ethnic groups have existed for a long while, but the COVID 19 pandemic has made the differences more evident.
Even during the pandemic, the chances of a White household being food insecure is almost half that of a Black or Hispanic family, which shows that these disparities hardly change. Recent reports by Pew Research Center showed that White households’ overall wealth was thirteen times the average wealth of Black households and ten times that of Hispanic households (Odoms-Young, 2018). Racial discrimination is an issue that has existed since time immemorial. Studies have revealed that people of color are given limited access to educational and employment opportunities, resulting in social and economic problems that can cause food insecurity. This indicates that countries like the United States are still run by some racist leaders and individua...