World Food Day is October 16. Created by the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness about food insecurity and ways to combat it, World Food Day is a good opportunity to learn about what factors contribute to food insecurity and what goes into creating healthy food environments.
Food Insecurity Fast Facts
- The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) defines food insecurity as the lack of access to an affordable, nutritious diet.
- In 2023, the FRAC found that 18.6% of households in the U.S. experienced food insecurity (13.5%) or low food security (5.1%).
- The WHO estimates that 673 million people are living with hunger worldwide.
- According to a recent USDA report, Arkansas ranks first in the U.S. for food insecurity.
Food insecurity, poverty, and the health of available food environments are often connected. Healthy food environments typically provide a variety of nutritious food options while keeping costs low. Unhealthy ones offer fewer nutritious food options at higher prices and less healthy options at lower prices. Inability to maintain a nutritious, balanced diet or losing access to healthier foods (or food entirely) can lead to difficulty in maintaining physical well-being, which can also cause a decline in mental health.
Most people get their food from retail venues, like grocery stores or farmers’ markets, and food service venues, like restaurants or cafeterias, so it’s important to be aware of the healthiness of your food environment. Here are some indicators to help you determine the kind of food environment you live in.
Assessing Your Food Environment
- Look at how your community applies nutrition standards in childcare facilities, schools, hospitals, and worksites.
- Find out if your community provides incentives for supermarkets or farmers’ markets to establish their businesses in underserved areas.
- Check to see if local restaurants and fast-food places display nutrition information and caloric content on their menus.
If your food environment is generally healthy but could use a boost, here are some ways you and your community can work to support it. These can also help if your food environment is less healthy and you want to improve it.
Ways to Support Healthy Food Environments
- Shop at local grocery stores and farmers’ markets as often as you can.
- Consider starting a personal garden to grow produce and herbs or looking for a community garden to join.
- Choose healthier food options when they’re available at school or work.
- Encourage the people in your community to eat more nutritious foods.
- Look for opportunities to swap and share healthy food with loved ones and friends.
Creating healthy food environments can be a long, involved process. If you’re looking for more immediate ways to help those living in food-insecure or low food security households, consider donating to or volunteering with a local food bank. The Arkansas Foodbank has resources at The Arkansas Foodbank website.
If you want to learn more about healthy food environments, visit the CDC website for more information. You can find more resources and information about World Food Day at The Food and Research Action Center website.
