Food Insecurity in the USA: Causes and Effects

Akilah Abdullah

Food insecurity, a condition where households lack access to nutritious and adequate supplies of food, is a significant problem in the United States. Food insecurity can be caused by a lack of readily available resources: food or money. In the United States alone, there are millions of people who live in food-insecure households, creating one of the nation’s leading nutrition challenges and reinforcing the health disparities between low-income and high-income families. This review of the literature explores the causes and health impacts of food insecurity. Source material for this study was gathered through searches of peer-reviewed publications in Lander’s academic databases, along with some personal impressions that I gained through discussion with food-insecure individuals in the surrounding Greenwood area while assisting with an ongoing faculty research project.

• Akilah Abdullah graduated from Mauldin High School in Greenville. She is a graduating senior in the nursing program here at Lander. She has been active on campus as part of the Presidential Ambassadors, Black Student Union, Honors College, and the Dean's Advisory Council for the nursing program. She has a great interest in public health and ways to combat health issues within the community.