Hunger Hits Home

This weekend I watched the documentary Hunger Hits Home produced by our national partner Share Our Strength and the Food Network.  This documentary shares the first hand challenges of parents, children, anti-hunger advocates, educators, and politicians on the frontlines of the battle to end hunger and malnutrition in this country. 

There were many things that struck me in this documentary, but one recurring theme became a symbol to me of what hunger and malnutrition looks like in this country.  Each food insecure family in the film had one main staple available to them on a regular basis: ramen noodles.  Many of us have eaten ramen noodles and enjoyed them.  I ate many packages of them while up late studying in college.  My mom is also a big fan of ramen noodles.  She uses the noodles to make bigger meals by adding frozen vegetables, chicken, and her own seasoning. 

In Hunger Hits Home families talked about eating ramen noodles for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  One mother fed the noodles to her child and discussed how she longed to feed her children more nutritious food.  A young boy in another family talked about how proud he was that he could help out his dad by cooking the noodles.  These families were able to stave off their hunger with this inexpensive soup, but what is the long term cost of regularly eating food with so few nutrients the body needs?  Most ramen noodle brands are high in sodium and low in nutrients such as calcium, vitamin C, iron, and vitamin A.  What will a ramen noodle diet do to the future of our country?

This summer 47 farmers markets will offer access to 3SquaresVT recipients to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables with their benefits.  Wonderful groups such as the Intervale Center will offer subsidized CSAs to families living on tight budgets.  Summer programs will work to fill the nutrition gap for children.  It will take all of our efforts to ensure that no one in our communities goes hungry or can’t afford enough nutritious food to feed themselves or their families.  We will continue to look to our communities for support so that ramen noodles are only part of our families’ diets and not the main staple at every meal.