I began looking at hunger within urban areas. In particular, the city I am from, Philadelphia. When examining hunger and food insecurity, the factors that play in include a lot of things we have been talking about over the course of the last few weeks. Race, and in turn, socio-economic status, stand out when looking at the disparities within the city of Philadelphia. As an individual who grew up within the city and attended school within the city, I have not been ignorant to the problems with food. The school I attended is located in the most impoverished neighborhood in the city, so I’ve been grappling with these issues throughout my time there. As an individual, it can seem overwhelming to address problems that are systemic, as you can easily see how you cannot make a large scale difference. However, everything helps, especially when you think about food. A lot of the issues related to food within the city are related to money and the inability to afford food. There are plenty of locations to obtain food around the city, but usually for a price. Saying that, there are many food-banks that operate on a very local scale (neighborhood wide). I know I have the ability to donate, but it is something I have never truly been the best at. That is not to say I have not donated food, but rather not ENOUGH food. In addition, volunteering to aid in giving out food at soup kitchens and more can make the processes easier and help someone daily. This is something I wanna look to do more as I enter a working world where I am able to provide an income for myself and others. In addition, in the future, I would look to donate annually to a non-profit that aids in food insecurity, as well as many others related to health, inequalities, and justice. These frameworks we have been looking at and discussing have only aided in continuing my ability to grow and learn about the world around me. I vow to continue to be active within my local communities and do whatever I can to help those around me.
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