healthy food - THE COST OF FOOD INSECURITY - SIBEJO

New research finds that food insecurity costs families with young children over $1.2 billion in health care, special education, and workplace productivity. Hospital care for food-insecure children under age 4 cost over $500 million, while special education costs for such 3- and 4-year olds were nearly $675 million.  The study�s authors recommend, among other things, changing the way SNAP benefits are calculated, eliminating participation barriers in WIC affecting pregnant mothers and toddlers, strengthening the Child and Adult Food Program, and enhancing the Summer Food Program.

Source: Children�s Health Watch, 5/20/16,   Food Insecurity Costs

healthy food - Film: Food Frontiers - SIBEJO

Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future has released a short film that tells a half-dozen stories about projects around the country that are aimed at increasing access to healthy food. 

healthy food - 10 FACTS ABOUT FOOD INSECURITY & SNAP - SIBEJO

1. One in seven households was food insecure in 2014�meaning that at some time during the year they had difficulty providing enough food for all of their members. 
2. 15 million children live in food-insecure households. 
3. Even more troubling, in 2014 almost 7 million households suffered one or more periods during which food intake of household members was reduced and normal eating patterns were disrupted because the household lacked money and other resources for food. 
4. Food insecurity is distinct from poverty. 
5. In 30 states and the District of Columbia the rate of food insecurity is higher than the rate of poverty. 
6. Two-thirds of food-insecure households have annual incomes above the federal poverty level. 
7. And because many households may be food secure one year but not the next, an even larger share of households has had some experience with food insecurity than any single-year snapshot suggests.
8. SNAP is highly effective, lifting millions of people out of poverty and increasing the resources they have available to purchase food. 
9. Furthermore, several studies have found that SNAP reduces the likelihood that a household will experience food insecurity or very low food security. 
10. Recent studies have shown that SNAP improves health outcomes and households� financial well-being, and even improves the later-life outcomes of individuals who had access to the program as children.

Source:  Brookings Institution, 4/21/16, SNAP & Food Insecurity

healthy food - North Country Matters features GardenShare - SIBEJO

Gloria McAdam, the Executive Director of GardenShare, discusses issues of poverty, food deserts, local food systems, and the work of GardenShare to address them with real solutions with host Ann Carvill.