Food Security in San Diego: Research Paper

Environmental studies and Forestry

Food Security Issue Describe how the environmental issue you have chosen impacts, San Diego. Define the problem and what parts of San Diego are affected. Introduction Thesis statement: Thus, the following analysis challenges to identify how and why food security for college students in San Diego impacts them against the backdrop of living costs, race […]

Food Security in San Diego

Food insecurity and hunger constitute common environmental issues in many parts of the globe. Due to unfavourable environmental factors, many regions experience a decline in agricultural production, threatening food security. As a result, food insecurity attracts economic challenges as the government is forced to import agricultural products from other regions to supply its population with food. Individual members of society also experience economic challenges since they spend much more of their income on food as prices for food increase with scarcity (Gillespie & van den Bold, 2017). San Diego is one of the regions that has suffered significant implications of food insecurity. Many San Diegans are still nutrition-insecure or unable to provide adequate nutritious meals a day for themselves and their families. Alabama, Louisiana, and North Carolina are the most affected parts of the region. Thus, the following analysis challenges identifying how and why food security within San Diego college students impacts them against living costs, race peculiarities, academic performance, and employment. Food insecurity in San Diego causes financial strain among college students and forces them to forego their studies to seek employment.

The race criteria and high cost of living are why college students’ food and housing issues that distance them from covering even the basic needs in San Diego. College students are often affected by food insecurity and limited by their economic capacity. Due to food shortage, the demand for the available food products increases rapidly, resulting in a consequent price rise. Therefore, college students spend more on food than they had budgeted, hurting their financial well-being. According to survey findings conducted in 2015, San Diego City College and Mesa College students had challenges affording nutritionally adequate food (San Diego Community College District, 2018). At Miramar College and Continuing Education, low food security is associated with financial troubles and low affordability to consume balanced meals, in which Hispanic and Asian students are the most susceptible groups (The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank, 2021). Therefore, food insecurity exposes college students to financial strain.

Increased pressure resulting from food insecurity affects students from impoverished backgrounds the most via worsened academic progress. Due to a lack of an adequate supply of food, college students experience hunger, which causes emotional deprivation and the inability to concentrate effectively. Students’ determination to complete their professional courses declines as they are exposed to hunger (Payne-Sturges et al., p. 349). As a result, the academic performance of such students continues to deteriorate, leading to an increased rate of college dropouts in San Diego. Many students who dropped out of San Diego Mesa College identified hunger as the main factor that forced them to give up their studies. San Diego County’s college students also sacrifice academic performance when having a paying job and still experience food insecurity (The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank, 2021). Due to food insufficiency, the students are forced to leave their studies to seek employment opportunities to evade hunger. Therefore, food insecurity in San Diego hinders academic excellence among college students.

The lack of an adequate food supply in various parts of San Diego attracts financial strain among college students and forces them to forego their studies to seek employment. Due to food shortages, the price of the available food products in the market increases rapidly, which causes financial challenges to students. It also exposes them to extreme pressure and causes them to drop out of college to secure employment opportunities.

References

San Diego Community College District. (2018, July 3). Study: Many college students battling hunger and homelessness. https://www.sdccd.edu/about/departments-and-offices/communications-and-public-relations/newscenter/articles/2018/students-food-insecurity-homelessness-2018.aspx

The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank. (2021). College hunger-relief Programhttps://sandiegofoodbank.org/programs/college-hunger-relief-program/

Payne-Sturges, D. C., Tjaden, A., Caldeira, K. M., Vincent, K. B., & Arria, A. M. (2018). Student hunger on campus: Food insecurity among college students and implications for academic institutions. American Journal of Health Promotion32(2), 349-354. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0890117117719620

Gillespie, S., & van den Bold, M. (2017). Agriculture, food systems, and nutrition: meeting the challenge. Global Challenges1(3), 1600002. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/gch2.201600002


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