Gardens And Markets of Hope

There are many solutions to ending childhood hunger, but sometimes we just fail to see them. Fortunately, people are starting to use their brains and hearts to try to put an end to the overall ordeal of this food insecurity.  In the video below (click link), you will see a community market where people come to receive food such as carrots, corn, and onion. This food is salvaged from farmers and restaurants that no longer want/need the food for their purposes. You will also see how one lady utilizes the crops that she obtains from the market (as well as the crops that she grows herself) to feed her children.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/hunger-america-quarter-us-households-food-insecure-14370390

After watching this video, I realized that even though there might be alot of Americans going through the struggle of feeding their family, there is always the solution of growing their own crops.  Most people do not realize how a garden, particularly one of personal use, can stretch a long way.  It could provide an abundance of food, as well as provide health and nutrition for children of all ages.

One factor that I did not realize until watching this video was how obesity and poverty fall hand in hand.  It amazes me how their related to each other because who would have thought that people suffering from poverty would become obese! But after hearing the reasoning of how food that isn't as healthy for you is extremely cheap while the healthier, more nutritious food is more on the expensive side, it is all starting to make sense; which opens up more doors to many more solutions such as instead of the government giving out billions of dollars worth of food stamps, why not just take some of that money and open up markets and community gardens where people will have the option to choose healthier food.  It might sound like a little bit of a stretch, but once you speculate on the fact of the matter it makes alot more sense.  For instance, if the government decided to open up food markets and community gardens, that would allow for a economic boost because the markets and gardens would need to be maintained (leading to alot more jobs), the obesity factor would be cut out (causing less money to be spent for healthcare), and more children will have a stronger, nutritious foundation (allowing for the future leaders of our country to house imagination and ingenuity).  I honestly believe that this plan could work but, it is up to us as a country to make our voices be heard because without our voices, our children will continue to starve.