Intent vs. Impact
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128621057
Eating nutritiously is one of the most important steps to having an overall balanced and successful lifestyle. But acquiring healthy food is not as easy as some may believe. In today’s society eating healthy requires money. Organic, fresh, and unprocessed foods are a lot pricier than bulk, highly processed, long shelf life. Families with low incomes have less of an opportunity to buy healthy foods because they simply are unable to, not because they don’t want to. This article describes the situation of the Williamson family. They are a family of five, including three growing children that live on only $600 a month from food stamps. The mother knows what kinds of foods are healthy than others and wants to provide those for her family but is unable to because they do not have enough money. She describes how it is cheaper to buy high calorie foods to fill the stomachs of her children rather than a healthy option that will not be filling or lasting.
There is a huge difference between intent and impact. Not all lower income families want to buy cheap, fattening, unhealthy food for them selves even though they may taste good. Often cheaper food is just filled with starches and sugar. Those in no way provide for a healthy lifestyle. It is not like those people who buy orange soda instead of orange juice are clueless to the nutritional facts. They may intend to buy the healthy option, but in reality when it comes down to it they are forced to take what they can get. And what they can get is the bottom shelf canned product or whatever was rejected by someone else at the food bank. Society definitely doesn’t provide and equal opportunity for all.
My sophomore year of high school the school majorly changed what was being sold in the vending machines and in the dining line. They took out many high sugared, fatty drinks and treats, and replaced them with yogurt and fresh fruit. A larger salad bar with more varieties of veggies was placed in the center of the food area. I know a lot of students were annoyed with this change because they could no longer get a homemade chocolate chip cookie at homeroom. But overall the change was beneficial, especially in an educational setting. A well balanced diet helps the body and mind to stay healthy. Success is granted to those who can achieve. Having a balanced lunch that the school provides for you gives the chance for all students, no matter what their family income is, to consume at least one meal a day packed with vital nutrients for a growing mind.
There are many projects and organizations around the world to end child hunger. That is definitely an important issue to work on. From this article I’ve learned that it is not only important to make sure children are eating, but also that they are eating a meal with nutrients and substance. Too much sugar can be over stimulating and detrimental to a child in the classroom causing them to be over active or unfocused. We should be working on getting healthy foods into the hands of all, not just those who have the fiscal means. The body and mind need to have an internally and externally healthy lifestyle to succeed.