Paper Example on Effectiveness of Community Based Food Programs

Introduction

Not all people in Washington DC have equal access to food as some of the neighborhoods have low-income earners. In specific, one in every seven residents of Washington DC experience food insecurity as they lack a reliable access to not only a sufficient quality of affordable food but also a nutritious one (Reilly 2017). Most of the food insecure people reside at Wards 7 or 8. The reason for insecurity is that despite the two wards having over 148, 000 dwellers, they only have three full-service grocery stores. The stores even lack food which is fresh, healthy and affordable. Some of the community-based food programs in the wards include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Special Supplemental Nutrition Program. Many scholars have evaluated the effectiveness of the community-based food programs in the maintenance of food security for the ward 7 and 8 residents with some arguing it to be effective and others dismissing the impacts of the community-based food programs. This review of literature examines the effectiveness of the food programs in the elimination of food insecurity in Washington DC's Ward 7 and 8.

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The community-based food programs fail to focus on the safety of the foods and make errors in the identification of the beneficiaries. Leroy et al. (2015) conducted a study to assess the aspect of access to food as one of the goals of community-based food programs at both the household and individual level. The finding of the authors was that the indicators of access to food in the communities only measure the aspect of quantity and quality of food access but fail to capture the aspects of the safety as well as the cultural acceptability of such foods. Similarly, Gundersen and Kreider (2008) argue that there are errors in terms of the identification of the households and individuals who require food stamps. As such, the providers of the food stamp program, which is the largest food program in the US, base their identification of the beneficiaries on assumptions and data which is not supported by previous participation in the program. As such, the food stamps may end up being given to the wrong people and leaving out households and individuals with food insecurity. However, Ciliska et al. (2000) directly measure the effectiveness of the community-based interventions which have been aimed at increasing the consumption of fruits and vegetables. The findings of the authors were that those people running programs should observe the aspects of the need for increased fruit and vegetable consumption.

The access to the food in the United States has disparities in terms of the income of the populations as well as their races. According to Beaulac, Kristjansson, and Cummins (2009), the areas which are characterized by poor access to healthy and affordable foods are faced with health disparities as well as social and spatial differences. Additionally, in a review of the literature on food desserts in the years between 1966 and 2007 in five countries, they established that the US experiences various disparities in access to food which is based on both race and levels of incomes. Similarly, in a study done by Block and Subramanian (2015) most of the Americans who on different food programs fail to meet the health recommendations in terms of the quality of diet. Additionally, just like Beaulac, Kristjansson, and Cummins (2009), Block and Subramanian (2015) established a disparity in access to the community-based food programs based on the race and ethnicity of the recipients as well as their socioeconomic statuses.

Based on the review of the literature, various points have been identified. One of those is that community-based organization (CBO) value the quantity of food they offer to the households and individuals as well as its quality and fail to provide information as to the safety of such foods. Additionally, the food insecurity improvement in the communities although aimed at ensuring equal access to foods has been compromised and has seen various disparities in food aces. The disparities are pegged on the ethnicity, race, and socioeconomic statuses of the recipients. Moreover, most of the foods provided to the communities have been seen to fail to meet the recommended aspects in terms of their diets and safety. As a result, the CBO and other community-based food programs are ineffective in ensuring equal access to nutritious and affordable food to low-income earners.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the community-based food programs in ward 7 and 8 of Washington DC have failed to effectively deal with the problem of lack of access to affordable and quality food. The review of the literature has shown that most of the residents in the two areas do not get information about the safety of the food that they get. Additionally, the literature has shown that there are disparities in the provision of food based on the race of the recipients and their levels of income. Moreover, the food provided fails to reach the required health and dietary recommendations. As such, the CBOs are ineffective in their aim of ensuring increased access to affordable, healthy, and quality food for the households and individuals in the communities.

References

Beaulac, Julie, Elizabeth Kristjansson, and Steven Cummins. 2009. "A Systemic Review of Food Deserts, 1966-2007." Preventing Chronic Disease Public Health Research, Practice and Policy 6(3). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2722409/ (February 2, 2018).

Block, Jason P., and S. V. Subramanian. 2015. "Moving Beyond "Food Deserts": Reorienting United States Policies to Reduce Disparities in Diet Quality." PLOS Medicine 12(12).

Ciliska, Donna et al. 2000. "Effectiveness of Community-Based Interventions to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Consumption." Journal of Nutrition Education 32(6): 341-52.

Gundersen, Craig, and Brent Kreider. 2008. "Food Stamps and Food Insecurity: What Can Be Learned in the Presence of Nonclassical Measurement Error?" Journal of Human Resources 43(2): 352-82.

Leroy, Jef L. et al. 2015. "Measuring the Food Access Dimension of Food Security." Food and Nutrition Bulletin 36(2): 167-95.

Reilly, Mary Alice Reilly. 2017. "DC'S Ward 7 And 8 Residents Stage 'Grocery Walk' To Draw Attention to Lack of Food Access". Ggwash.Org, https://ggwash.org/view/65095/washington-dc-ward-7-and-8-residents-stage-grocery-walk-to-draw-attention-to-lack-of-food-access. Accessed 18 Apr 2018.