Guest columnist
The epidemic of childhood obesity has recently found a prominent place in our national conversation, bolstered no doubt by the First Lady’s Let’s Move campaign, and the Food Revolution promoted by crusading British chef Jamie Oliver.
Yet, as our nation contemplates the perils of abundance, it is easy to forget that many of our kids aren’t eating enough.
Recent analysis found that North Carolina ranks ninth worst among the states in food hardship. Nearly one in three children in our state is “food insecure,” meaning that sometime in the past 12 months, their families did not have enough money to purchase the food they needed. As more North Carolina workers face new or prolonged unemployment, it will be increasingly difficult for them to put nutritious food on the table.
The impact on children of not having access to adequate and nutritious food is broad. Evidence confirms that children who are food insecure are more likely to miss school, more likely to have difficulty paying attention in school and less likely to graduate.
Counter-intuitively, food hardship also co-exists with obesity, a growing epidemic among North Carolina’s children.
As money gets tight, households turn to foods that provide high caloric content for a low price. Many people don’t realize that fresh fruits, vegetables and meats are considerably more expensive than pre-packaged, processed foods, which are usually full of sugar and fat.
Often fresh foods are not simply unaffordable, they are unavailable, as many low-income neighborhoods do not have access to grocery stores that keep such foods in stock.
This lack of access has generated “food deserts” in rural and urban communities across North Carolina — most often in areas of high poverty and communities of color.
The result is a plague of obesity and diet-related diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer, disproportionately impacting such communities.
North Carolina’s congressional delegation should make sure that a strong Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill is fully funded and includes provisions to expand the After School meal program, invest in Summer Nutrition programs and support universal school breakfast programs in low-income schools.
They should also support the establishment of a National Fresh Food Financing Initiative, as proposed in President Obama’s budget. This initiative would provide one-time grant and loan financing to support the development of fresh food retail outlets in under-served communities.
At the state level, it is essential that lawmakers also improve the availability of nutritious food for children. Ensuring that administrative dollars for the Food Stamp or SNAP program are maintained so that local departments of social services can manage their increased caseload is essential.
Given that children consume more than half of their calories at school, our state lawmakers should ensure that all foods sold on school grounds are healthy choices and consider expanding the successful Farm to School programs that provide locally grown food to school cafeterias.
Nutritious food is the fuel that powers children’s successful development. Making sure that all children get enough quality fresh foods deserves as much attention as the quantity of junk food consumed.
Alexandra Sirota is the director of policy and research at Action for Children North Carolina.
