Problem #21: Hunger in the US

Problem #21: Hunger in the US

The entire concept of hunger in the United States- one of the world's most fertile areas- is, on its face, absurd. But, yet, hunger persists. It's accompanied, ironically, by obesity. Simply put, many people find themselves in food deserts: areas where they can't find affordable, healthy food. So, rather than going to the corner convenience store and overpaying for wilted produce, people go to a fast food restaurant and but cheap, but unhealthy, food.

This is, pardon the pun, a weighty problem, and not one that I have the capacity to answer in a brief post. I will, however, make one suggestion: change food stamp regulations so that food stamps only pay for healthy food. This could be as simple (relatively speaking) as forbidding the purchase of soft drinks with food stamps. Or, it could be as involved as subsidizing farmers' markets in poor neighbourhoods. In any case, if you want people to eat healthy diets, the best way to do it is to make eating healthy the least-expensive way to eat. If people find it more expensive to buy crap then healthy food, then simple economics will steer them towards the healthy food.