The world is at a critical juncture: it is very different from six years ago, when commitments were made to end hunger, food insecurity, and all forms of malnutrition by 2030. At this point, there has been no overall global progress toward this goal. It is also worth highlighting that the coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating impact on the global economy, causing an unprecedented decline. In 2020, nearly 2.37 billion people did not have access to enough food. In just one year, that number increased by 320 million². No city in the world has escaped this, including New York City. According to NYC Health’s 2021 report, more than 70% of New Yorkers cite rising prices, about 45% report declining incomes, and about 20% say that they cannot buy food because they do not have enough money to eat⁵. The nature of the problem is the high cost of healthy diets coupled with persistently high levels of poverty and income inequality. In turn, rising rates of economic inaccessibility to healthy diets are associated with higher levels of moderate to severe food insecurity.
The main groups that are affected are families with children and people with low incomes. The economic problems of the pandemic have only exacerbated their situation and increased their food insecurity. As for populations such as middle- and high-income families, they were not as affected by food insecurity. Compared to people in families without children, members of families with children were more likely to report less income for food in both April (47% vs. 61%) and October 2021 (42% vs. 52%)³
An effective program designed to address food insecurity both nationally and at the city level is Food Forward NYC. This program is a ten-year action plan to address food insecurity in the city. The creators of this program point out that the city’s food system is fragmented. This means that too many people do not have access to affordable, healthy food⁴. This directly affects the city’s population’s health and quality of life. Among the problems of the city’s food system are also that food workers face difficult working conditions, and the supply chains that feed New Yorkers are opaque and inefficient. According to the Alcon’s study¹. such a plan is quite an effective solution to existing problems. It is effective primarily because it offers a constructive and step-by-step solution to the city’s problems. In addition, the plan specifies interim goals that are promptly and effectively implemented. The role of community nutritionists in addressing this problem is primarily to educate their patients about the basics of healthy and inexpensive nutrition. The program will not work fully if people are not willing to make healthier food choices for themselves.
An advocacy approach, in this case, could be to hand out booklets with instructions on how to maintain a healthy diet. These pamphlets could also include the price of these foods and their alternatives. People with moderate or low incomes can get information about healthy foods at prices they can afford. It is also essential that they get this information from their community nutritionist because by getting directions from someone they trust, people will be more likely to follow those directions. In this way, the people of New York City can get information about healthy and inexpensive eating, and nutritionists can help implement Food Forward NYC.
References
Alkon A. Looking back to look forward. Local Environment. 2018;23(11):1090-1093. 10.1080/13549839.2018.1534092
CUNY SPH. Urban food policy forum – food forward NYC: food policy in New York city for the next decade [Video]. YouTube.
Food Forward NYC: A 10-year food policy plan. NYC Food Policy.
Food Forward NYC: City releases 10-year food policy plan. The Official Website of the City of New York.
Food insecurity and access in New York city during the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020-2021. NYC Health.
Footnotes
- Alkon A. Looking back to look forward. Local Environment. 2018;23(11):1090-1093. 10.1080/13549839.2018.1534092
- CUNY SPH. Urban food policy forum – food forward NYC: food policy in New York city for the next decade [Video]. YouTube. Web.
- Food Forward NYC: A 10-year food policy plan. NYC Food Policy. Web.
- Food Forward NYC: City releases 10-year food policy plan. The Official Website of the City of New York. Web.
- Food insecurity and access in New York city during the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020-2021. NYC Health. Web.