The Hunger-Obesity Paradox

Great article in the New York Times about the Hunger-Obesity paradox. When I first started working at our food pantry, I was surprised at how many obese clients came to get food. My first reaction was, “These people are obviously getting enough food, what are they doing at a food pantry taking food away from others that might actually need it?” I quickly found out that my first reaction was completely wrong (not to mention judgmental).

The people who are the most obese are often the most food insecure. There are a couple of different reasons for this, including the higher price of healthy food and the scarcity of healthy food options in low-income neighborhoods.

“When you’re just trying to get your calorie intake, you’re going to get what fills your belly,” said Mr. Berg, the author of “All You Can Eat: How Hungry Is America?” “And that may make you heavier even as you’re really struggling to secure enough food.”

Here at the Community Center of St Bernard, 13% of our clients’ families include someone with diabetes. To try and combat this issue, we invite representatives from St Bernard Health Center’s Healthy Living Team to teach our clients how to prepare healthy meals using the foods they typically receive from our food pantry.

(via feeding america)