Switched-On Magazine

A food crisis has stricken the world and continues to affect millions of people daily, with millions of children and teens suffering from malnutrition. Often, the image "malnutrition" evokes is that of emaciated children in less-developed nations around the world who struggle daily to eke out enough money to purchase grains and cereals.  Yet malnutrition is a condition that can impact all people, even where there is an abundance of food. Put simply, malnutrition occurs when you are not getting enough of one or more types of food - that is, you do not have a balanced diet.

According to experts on food economics, the food crisis is not so much that there is not enough food for everybody, but that it is distributed unequally. When a family in extreme poverty does receive food, often it is not of a nutritional value that can sustain the members of the family sufficiently. Since the types and the amount of food you consume affect how your overall health, people who suffer from malnutrition might not be able to fight off infections as readily as those who do, and they may have difficulties in other areas.

Recently, there have been movements among some people to encourage healthier eating habits. Most people, however, equate "healthier eating habits" to "losing weight", and then focus mainly on calorie consumption when watching their diets. To eat healthier, institutions and organizations such as the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommend that one have a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole-grains, lean meats, and is low in saturated and trans fats.

Though hunger is less of a problem in the United States than it is in other nations, many children in the US who live close to or in poverty often have limited access to healthier foods that have a high nutritional value - because there are no grocery stores nearby. For these children, it is difficult to maintain a balanced and healthy diet since cheaper foods that are available in American venues tend to be of a higher fat and oil content.  Simply put - McDonald's is cheaper and faster than having to prepare a whole meal from the grocery store.

Public schools have tried to address food access problems for children by offering subsidized or free meals for students considered to be lower income. Due to recent increased awareness of childhood obesity and the health problems that go along with it, some public school cafeterias have replaced or expanded their menus by including more fruits and vegetables and whole grains in their menus. Some schools have gone as far as removing all vending machines that sell junk foods from their campuses.

However, once students return home, what will guarantee that they will have a balanced and healthy meal, if they even have something to eat? Perhaps providing families and their children guidelines as to what to eat to be healthier is one way to help alleviate the problem of unhealthy eating. However, such a measure does not necessarily address the problem of affordability and accessibility to healthier foods. A lot of otherwise nutritious food is wasted daily. Instead of throwing leftovers at restaurants or cafeterias away, these places can donate such food to organizations that can then distribute the food to people who need them.