Illustration by Samia Ahmed
Los Angeles And Its' Problem
With Food Insecurity
Food Insecurity: What is it and why is it a problem?
According to FeedingAmerica.org, food insecurity is an social issues that deals with the inconsistency access of food being brought into a household due to it being tied to a person's income. Depending of the status of the family, this can turn into a temporary issue or a long-time issue that ultimately leads to the difficulty of living an active, healthy life. While food insecurity is often tied to a family's economical issues, it is not necessarily always the pinpoint of the issues; Rather, it's an issues that can stem from a multitude of issues such as the inability of find affordable housing, lack of locations that have health food produce, or medical conditions, to name a few.
Food insecurity can touch any community in the United States and all around the world as well. An example would be in a recent study conducted by Berkeley University discovered that "Tribal communities in northern California and southern Oregon determined that 92% of Native American households suffer from food insecurity...[and] nearly 70% of households never or rarely get access to the native foods they want, but the households who have better access to native foods had higher levels of food security." Although this example only touches native communities, those part of the minorities communities (i.e. Hispanics, American Indians, African Americans, etc.) are statistically more likely to face food insecurity than groups that more known to well-off in their life.
Los Angeles Statistics
Within the past 12 months, Los Angeles has been hit with another spike of increased food insecurity with USC's Dornsife study stating that out of a surveyed of 800k+ households, just shy of 25% of those recorded households have faced some form of food insecurity that was either short-term or long-term. When considering that just in 2021, Los Angeles was at a 17%--just shy of the national average of 11%--, this considerate rise between years rose concern national departments. Los Angeles' population is primarily consisted of a type of Hispanic origin, the current rise is certainly impacting the Latino community, including young adults and families with children.
When asked about the reason of their food insecurity, the study found that "More than 4 out of 10 study participants in L.A. County said they bought less food this year because of the rise of food and grocery prices, while 38% said that to save money, they bought foods that were lesser in quality."
Since this study has been conducted, prices of quality food in grocery stores have increased by at least 10% while the average minimum wages has barely increased to be considered livable in the Los Angeles Area. Another way to see this impact is the recent increase of egg prices in California that have since rose up to around $8 minimum, which has families face difficulties in obtaining a staple of an important food source even in low income stores--This is some of the many problems that still made food insecurity an incredibly difficult battle to win.
Why Does This Issue Matter To Me?
While I did not grow up in a home affected by food insecurity, my mother did her best to make sure that we were eating healthy enough to be considered active. She used food stamps that were providing enough to feed us throughout the week and was often using coupons that could save us money if we did decide to eat out (which was at least once a week). However, ever since I moved out, I've noticed just much an area of living could really affect the amount of money used for groceries or for eating out. Since I'm in the only one in my current household that earns less than the maximum amount of food stamps, I've noticed just how expensive our groceries can get when the only available stores are far more expensive than the ones I've grown up around. Sometimes, we go beyond the limit given to use by the government and it has to come from our pockets (most of the time, it tends to be my own). There are also have been days where we don't have enough to make a proper meal in the house and will eat out despite it being far more expensive even with coupons. I've used the school's food pantry but there have been days where if we do cook, I won't eat or eat very little just so I could have something for the next day in case we don't eat or cook.
There have been days where my boss will offer to buy me food at random moments and I end up feeling relieved because of the amount of money I end up saving for not having to buy my own meal. Food on campus is expensive but it sometimes ends up being my only resort to eating properly since I'm not home for a majority of the time. However, it ends up with me using more than what I realistically could use for food, at least $80+ a week.
Community Perspective
How do you think Food Insecurity has affected you in recent times?
Javier: I have definitely felt the affect of food insecurity since moving into Pasadena with my partner and sister. There really isn't a grocery near us that can give us groceries at a reasonable price, especially the markets considered to be "low-income" friendly can be a hassle to navigate through a tight budget. There have been times where things have a lot more costly than usual which requires us to go out of the city just to find cheaper alternatives or go to Costco to buy enough food but end up using more money.
Jessica: I have to budget out my paychecks to make sure that I have enough for my expenses for the month, especially since I don't get paid until halfway through the next month. There have been days where coworkers will offer to buy me food to get me through the week so that I wouldn't get hungry on the long shifts on campus. There's been foods on campus that have gotten me sick even though they were considered healthy and cheap -- they still put a dent into my wallet. Days where my boss or my friends offer to buy food for everyone are the ones where I'm most grateful for being able to save money since there's no "cheap" places near work or places are a bit of a hassel to walk to during breaks or lunch.
References Used:
https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/food-insecurity
https://moveforhunger.org/native-americans-food-insecure?gclid=Cj0KCQjwxMmhBhDJARIsANFGOSvrkgykd9kyib23Nih7mHTSpS3ZfEJCCal11Yq5Ffj98w3Yxk_RS3gaAmq9EALw_wcB
https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/3774/food-insecurity-spiking-in-la/
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-01-07/7-a-dozen-why-california-eggs-are-so-expensive-and-increasingly-hard-to-find
