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In Sociology we learned about an issue called food insecure.  Food insecure is a major reason for starvation in an obese person who lives in a poor neighborhood.

 

Food Insecure


             Stepping out into the bright afternoon light I contemplated over what to have for lunch with my best friend.  We walked over to Burnside hoping to find something nice and affordable to eat.  I’m trying to get in shape because the summer is around the corner and I want to look and feel my best.  We stand in the corner of Jerome and Burnside and frustration sets in.

            McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Subways, Some Spanish restaurants and a small grocery store with some dried dusty fruit surrounds me.  So I stand there and wonder, what am I suppose to choose when everything that is being offered to me is garbage.   It is really quite frustrating that every time I am in the Bronx I always have to try to make a good choice out of horrible options.  Even a chicken salad from McDonalds is full of calories and fat.  You are better off having a cheese burger.

            My cousin and I try to come up with a way to properly slim down a few pounds.  I tell her it is simple, we’ll exercise, cut out junk food, and prepare our own meals with lots of vegetables.  She looked at me, and shook her head.  She looked me straight in the eye and said, “At what point in my schedule will I be able to workout.  There’s barely even time to eat a full meal, so I’m living out of a vending machine.  Besides, those nice wholesome foods you mentioned are expensive foods.  I rather spend a little bit of money on a lot of junk food that fills me up, then a lot of money on expensive fruits and vegetable that doesn’t even seem appetizing.”  I honestly don’t know how to respond to her half of the time.  I work two part time jobs and go to school full time.  If I am not eating from a vending machine then I’m in search of a fast food place where I can grab some thing quick and easy.  I don’t have time to prepare food.  Most of the time I have to work with what I have and sometimes that means standing in line for McDonalds. 

            I’ve heard it said often that the food choices we make daily can help improve your health.  But what if there are no good choices? The sad part is that I don’t struggle as much with food when I am in midtown Manhattan.  For some reason there are better foods to pick from.  I wonder why that is? (Money)

            I honestly have to grind my teeth and count to three when I hear people criticize and refuse to understand the difficulty and complexity of trying to do right by your body.  What if there is no right and your hunger forces you to live your life on the wrong? 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.