Shared Harvest Agency meeting

This past Friday I attended the Shared Harvest Agency meeting. The meeting started off with a poignant slide show with quotes about Hunger. One I particularly connected with was "Hunger also changes the world - when eating can't be a habit, then neither can seeing." Maxine Hong Kingston. This is from my belief that many diseases can be prevented/ treated by maintaining a healthy diet and participating in healthful behavior. It is shocking that in America, the land of abundance, that hunger is such a prevalent issue. While the food stamps is called supplemental nutrition assistance, it is mostly the case that it is the only sole source of nutrition.
The meeting also had many interesting presenters. I learned that 36 cents of every tax dollar goes to education and 39 cents of every dollar go to medicaid, while a marginally amount is allocated for food assistance. For a person living on a low-income, that makes very little sense. They aren't able to get the proper nutrition in the first place, which ensues in poor health. Then the government ends up spending more for their medical expenses. This is especially applicable to the cause of chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure.
I went to an interesting workshop about nutrition from OSU extension. I was surprised that there were only four people attended. This attendance influences my view that nutrition is not a exactly a priority. I learned that the cost of vegetables and fruit have gone up 120% in the past 15 years, while the cost of sugary junk food has gone up only 20% as a result of corn syrup. I also gained insight as to why food insecurities are linked to obesity, and people on food stamps are increasingly less healthier than low-income individuals not receiving food stamps. A common trend for people on food stamps is to eat in surplus at the beginning of the month when they have money, and then go into starvation at the end of the month. These binge-starvation cycles are linked to the increase in obesity and diabetes on food assistance recipients. The body acclimates to hold more energy during the starvation period, and results in weight gain during the surplus period. I am fascinated by the body's ability to adapt to circumstances created by environmental sources.
Further, I appreciated that the extension was working to help families create healthful meals using the foods that were available to them through the food pantry. It was a creative idea to have samples out of the families and then provide recipe cards.