A proposal that will aid in meeting the low income-resident needs - Research Paper Example

Research Design According to Economic Research conducted by United s of America Department of Agriculture (USDA), one million, sixty three thousand, eight hundred and sixty four households (1,063,864) are food insecure in Florida. This is a clear indication of their lack of adequate access to nutrition and a diet that is well balanced. The findings also proved that 6.1% of the household are at a risk of hunger (“Hunger grows in Florida”, 2010). Therefore, the purpose of the paper is to develop a proposal that will aid the Central Florida Food Bank in meeting the low income-resident needs in Central Florida.

The paper will also address low-income county residents profile and issues they face during food procurement, the causes and impacts of food sufficiency and insufficiency and lastly best policy recommendations based on the two issues. Introduction Child hunger in Florida remains extremely at high levels. According to United States of America Department of Agriculture (USDA) data, in 2009, fifty point two million (50.2M) Americans inhabited households that are food insecure. According to SNAP (Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program), about one third of the population have approximately 20% children staying in households that are food insecure.

Consequences of hunger are adverse to all Americans. However, children and mothers are severely affected. It influences their development and growth. Hunger is a crucial harsh health conditions predictor. It is often associated with school-age children and preschoolers behavior problems. The number of emergency food assistance seeking individuals has been on the rise. The number of individuals seeking food assistance from the American food banks has increased by 46 % that is from, twenty five million to thirty seven million.

Literature Review In Central Florida, assistance in terms of food is issued via a low-income program based in Florida. The program provides its participants with food stamps. The food stamps aid individuals in purchasing of groceries and other food staffs from retail shops. The retail shops have to seek approval from the US Agriculture Department. An individual resident can only be illegible to assistance if he or she possesses assets or incomes below the standards set by the program. In addition to that, an individual should either be working or seeking for a job.

Apart from the requirements mentioned, an individual having a single household need to have a balance of under $2,001 in his or her bank account. For those sharing a household with a disabled person or an individual aged sixty (60yrs) and above need to have a balance of under $ 3,001. The extent of benefit gained by an individual is based on the household size and their financial stability. Recipients of the food assistance program purchase their food via an electronic card (“Florida Low Income Programs”).

Causes and effects of food sufficiency (Insufficiency) as defined by recipients Obesity and hunger have increased significantly among the deprived populations in the United States of America. Obesity reflects excessive intake of energy whilst hunger connotes insufficient supply of food. Therefore, obesity and hunger prevalence in the same populations is quite paradoxical. According to US Department of Agriculture, food insufficiency is the uncertainty or limited availability of food that is nutritious, safe and adequate.

Hunger on the other hand is a severe or uneasy feeling that results due to lack of food. Food insecurity due to severe deprivation of food corresponds to obesity. Various mechanisms to explain the relationship between food insecurity and obesity have been suggested. Individuals who are food insecure consume cheaper foods. Cheaper foods are full of calorie. Thus, the more you consume the more weight gain. Moreover, periods characterized with inadequate food makes individuals consume more when there is sufficient food consequently causing obesity.

Lastly reduced eating habits, makes the body to adjust to the condition via utilizing energy efficiently. This results to a person increasing in weight without the intake of more calories (Alaimo et al., 2001). Policy Recommendations When making policies related to food security, the following should be taken into consideration. The expertise should take a keen study on price instability in the Agriculture sector. These include its consequences and causes such as distorting practices in the market and their connections to financial markets.

Policies designed and implemented should incorporate mitigation and preventive measures for consumers and producers that are highly vulnerable. The vulnerable groups are such as children and women that are poor at distinct levels. Policy experts should consider how the vulnerable populations can access food when market disruptions are caused by volatility. Methodology The research will examine the association between various variables. The variables are such as food insufficiency, income of the family and overweight children aged between two and seven years old (2-7yrs) and between age eight and age sixteen (8-16yrs).

The research will aid in discussing the existing associations between the above variables. Grouping of children will be based on food insecurity that is, if respondents in the family report that the family was not sure of getting adequate food to consume. Comparison will be made between overweight prevalence by income category of the family and the sufficiency food status within sex, race-ethnic –particular groups and age. In testing hypothesis that overweight is associated with food insecurity keeping other factors constant, logistic regression models will be utilized.

Research implementation plan Activity Time frame Organizing of the research Two months Identifying of the targeted group Three months Data collection Six months Data analysis and presentations Three to four months Conclusion The outcome of the research will determine whether economic changes and patterns of consumption over time can result to significant effects on food security program participation and food insecurity among various families. The research will be crucial in determining whether overweight among American children is caused by food insecurity.

Through the research better and efficient policies will be recommended to reduce the levels of food insecurity among the affected households. References Alaimo, K., Olson, C.M. & Frongillo, E.A. (2001). Low family income and food insufficiency in relation to overweight in US children. Arch Peadiatric Adolescent Med, 155, 1161-1167. “Florida Low Income Programs”. Retrieved 24 Feb. 2012, from, http://www.ehow.com/list_7192269_florida-low-income-programs.html. “Hunger grows in Florida”. (2010).

Retrieved 24 February 2012, from, http://westorlandonews.com/2010/11/17/hunger-grows-in-florida/