Sources

"Food Deserts." Unites States Department of Agriculture. United States Department of Agriculture. Web. 20 Mar 2014. <http://apps.ams.usda.gov/fooddeserts/foodDeserts.asp&xgt;.

This Article Food Deserts by the USDA (2014) helped me define what food deserts meant because before deciding to place my attention on such an issue I never knew that it had a specific word to define it. The article gives a clear example on where food deserts occur and why they occur in those places. It is a factual article that helped me provide data.

I believe the issue of Food Desert are still not resolved, this article has been updated it 2013 and the issue of food deserts are not even in progress of being resolved by the department of USDA itself. The article did a great job at defining how the issue occurs and why it occurs, which most times is do to lack of money and access but I still am in suspicion as to why they won’t raise more awareness on the issue.

Besides all those facts it also provided me with other references I can look onto to find  if I myself am in a food desert community, but of course it is already very easy to tell once you look at your own community yourself but it was a great way to get insight on other communities. This article is not the best when it comes to raising awareness but it is informative on defining the word food desert for those people that need more clarification.

Diana, Jones. "Appalachia's War: The poorest of the poor struggle back ." http://old.post-gazette.com/headlines/20001126appalachiamainnat2.asp. PG news, 26 Nov 2000. Web. 7 Mar 2014. <http://old.post-gazette.com/headlines/20001126appalachiamainnat2.asp>.

In the article The Poorest of the Poor Struggle Back by Diana Nelson Jones (2000) she argues the war on poverty. This article is not up to date but I used it for my own knowledge to compare the crises that the city of Oakland faces. The war on poverty was a way to raise awareness for states that lack funding but even then the people that needed the funding the most never got what they deserved. Oakland stands in the same position because the fundings that the city receives gets used on things like the court system but the streets are flooding in poverty.

Throughout the article I gathered many facts as to how much money goes into funding for street remodeling and placing many corporations like Walmart and fast food restaurants but no money was going into rural communities. This issue of profit over people happens all around the United States and the main point I got out of this article is,  poverty goes unnoticed in rural communities because they get mistaken for placing unneeded corporations in those areas. Those things don’t wash away the struggle of the people, they just force them to only spend money on necessities that they wouldn’t need. The money used to build those corporations can instead better communities by providing them with grocery stores and parks which will help rural communities strive and nourish.

I enjoyed this article because it was very clear with identifying poverty levels all throughout the US. The article also provided us many resolutions that can stop the war on poverty.Many interesting idea that actually are suitable if profit over people wasn’t embedded into the heads of corporations. It provided quotes from people that are suffering from being an inch away from homelessness.People Power was highly stressed throughout the article because it was a means of survival but no one understands that being homeless is very damaging to communities, houses get foreclosed and neighborhoods began to look like ghost towns. What the federal government hasn’t stated is what will happen to Walmart and the strip of malls than. That is one question that remains unanswered because the money that funds them seems to never run out. Lets see what other informative articles I can find that will continue provide you guy with informative details.

Fields, Tory. "Food for Body, Food for Thought, Food for Justice: People's Grocery in Oakland, California."Other Worlds | Harvesting Justice Series. Truth Out, 24 Jul 2013. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. <http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/17760-food-for-body-food-for-thought-food-for-justice-peoples-grocery-in-oakland-california>.

In the  article Food for Body, Food for Thought, Food for Justice by Tory Fields (2013)  not only was I provided with  local information but it also provided further references that I can include in my blog. I have used this blog site to my advantage because it focuses on many social justice issue and it will help me get my point across because with my busy schedule I am not always able to go to communities to take a look at the disastrous chain of food deserts or even the community building that is taking place.

    Taking this blog into consideration has been the backbone to my blog posts. I have many insightful, heartfelt , and eye opening stories to relate to and include into my blog because the cause of this blog is to raise awareness . However from one blog to another I think it is great to share other stories and bring more attention to other great blog sites.

I enjoyed this blog very much because it was one of the many articles that had real life stories to read and share with my audience to give my blog more credibility and it also helped me open up to my audience. With my sensitive topic I can’t just state facts and expect people to truly feel what endangered citizens are feeling. Using the real life stories that this article proposed was a great addition. 

Hoffman, Beth. "Who Receives 'Food Stamps'? And Why It Is Critical To Continue Their Support." Forbes: 1. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.

In the Blog Who Receives Food Stamps? And Why is it Critical to Continue their Support by Beth Hoffman (2013) she not only provides her opinion but she also provides facts that show the scarce in food stamps. Like previous articles have stated that children are the most affected by food stamp cuts due to children being the largest percentage of food stamp user. Within this article I actually had  data to look at that stated the distribution of food stamp as well as the percentage of what type of people use it ,also how highly affected the economy is by the increase in food stamp distributions and the increase in job loss.  This blog was very relevant in my understanding of food deserts because food deserts don’t always mean lacking grocery stores. Food deserts are also similar to lack of food stamp distribution to people that need it most.

The blog however was written from one's interest but it did fill me  with knowledge, and now I am able to include it within my blog. I also have came up with different topics to discuss due to the questions this blog article helped me raise. It stated that  most people may take advantage of food stamps and that is one reason as to  why cuts are being made upon them. That raised a question in my mind as to why isn’t the US government instead thinking of different strategies to mandate the distribution of food stamps. The article supported my thoughts because it also stated that the decision lawmakers are making once again isn’t paying attention to the millions of Americans in need of food.

Indiana University. “Higher rates of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease , stroke in ‘food desert’.” Science Daily. ScienceDaily, 5 November 2013. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/13110.htm>.

In the article Higher rates of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke in ‘food desert’  by Indiana University (2013) it argues the outcomes of food desert and it gives us a thorough number of how many people are living within a food desert. Many studies were done to prove the credibility of this article.

I believe the surveys done for this article prove every point I am trying to make throughout  my blogs. In addition to the surveys the comments that are stated allow me to use another person’s view on this issue in order to prove to my audience that food deserts are dangerous health risks. This article shows us that at least college students are demanding change,especially in the state of Indiana. Now we are able to bring the change from state to state.

Change begins from the bottom than rises up, and that is what this article is showing us. In order to see change we first have to inform people everywhere because those in food deserts have the time don’t even know what a food desert is and those in rich neighborhoods are very ignorant to the fact that poverty is not only being homeless it also is lacking the right nutrients. 

Linn, Allison. "Food stamp benefits going down before the holidays - NBC News." NBC News. MSNBC, 21 Oct. 2013. Web. 7 May 2014. <http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/food-stamp-benefits-going-down-holidays-f8C11418632>.

In the article Food Stamp Benefits Going Down Before the Holidays by Allison Linn (2013) was written to not only give us the facts of how many people suffer from food stamp decreasing but to also give us real stories from real families. As unemployment rates decrease food stamp cuts also decrease only this time it was just in time for the holidays. The holidays are another day for consumers and corporations to celebrate like they aren’t hurting anyone or at least like they aren’t hurting the pockets of civilians and taking all the attention away from people that are starving in the streets.It amazes me at how unemployments rate reduce the same time that food stamps get deducted. Aren’t they supposed to go hand in hand, like one helps out the other. The stories told by the families in this news article was very depressing and pretty relatable to the lives of the 40 million Americans on food stamps today. The family in this article has been struggling for a long time but who struggles the most in the mother, she does all she can to provide meals for her children even it means starving herself. She was laid off from a well paying job years back and has been on and off with temp jobs for a while. She is a hard worker , and does whatever she can to continue to work even while being disabled in the shoulder during her time in the army. Her average salary is $17,000 a year which is not much at all ,but she does stop accepting food stamp help when she feels stable for the time being.

This article also furthers my ideas for future blog topics because like I may have stated before , food stamp cuts are due to the idea that people may be abusing the help they receive. The story of the mother of two tells us that it is not necessarily true because it was written that she lays of the assistance when feeling stable enough to provide for self. It should be illegal to base food stamp cuts of that assumption. Rather should have different tactics to finding out who really abuses food stamps and who wholly is in need of it.

McBride, Dr.Noelene. "Anti-Fast Food Message: Sharing Slow Food with Children." Early Childhood Australia . N.p., 8 Apr. 2014. Web. . <http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/every_child_magazine/every_child_index/anti_fast_food_messages_sharing_slow_food_with_children.html>.

In the article Anti- Fast Food Message: Sharing Slow Food with Children by Dr. Neolene McBride ( 2014) she expressed her concern for kids. She spoke on the what slow foods are, and how they affect young children predominantly children of color.I must say she is all the way correct because being in the public school system throughout my life long education I have never seen a healthy school lunch being served to students. Dr.McBride as well spoke about the influence that children are taking after, believing that it is normal to eat what is given and not question what is put into our foods.

The points made in the article where very accurate to my concern because it supported my ideas and beliefs I have about the food crises that occurs in Oakland,California as well as many other states. As stated in the article and many other articles referenced the crises that is a worldwide issue but it just sounds crazy when it is happening in your own home town but not to mention in a state that is well funded. What impressed me most about this article is the details it provided about places that provide to children needs by holding programs such as curriculum classes about what stable foods.These places also allow children to perform hands on projects harvesting in gardens and preparing their own meals.

Slow Foods is somewhat an informative blog for children and activities that support their nutritional choices. Fast Food becomes a habit because it is fast and of course everyone likes the quickness of solutions to problems. The issue is that will only worsen another problem of child obesity, kids should start at an early age choosing tasty healthy foods will better benefit there health and lifetime choices.

Mitchell, D. (2014, april 4). Next up for disruption:the grocery business. Retrieved from http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2014/04/04/grocery-delivery/

In the article Next up for disruption: the grocery business by Dan Mitchell (2014) it focused on the growth that the Amazon corporation has surpassed. Amazonfresh is now a grocery delivery service and I must say that is a brilliant idea because many Americans don’t have the time to shop for their groceries in stores. The article argues that the buying your groceries from the store is a waste of time, patience and gasoline. I do agree because I also am a busy women and sometimes I wish buying groceries was a click away.

A part of me is not hundred percent for this business. Although it is convenient for the rich and sometimes the middle class , how about those that have no type of income. This business must be expensive to operate so I can already tell that it will be expensive to use for thyself. The article states their fear of losing business quick if one little mishap takes places, such as delivering bad groceries. The amount of money you spend to receive the delivery system than purchasing the grocery itself adds up and no one wants to waste money if the items are not in good shape.

This article was interesting because it is amazing to see how business and technology changes in the US but it also is sad because food deserts are still existing. The towns that are already sustaining very well are getting more efficient ways to get the proper nutrients needed but the low income communities are still standing in food deserts.

Resnikoff, Ned. "Congress passes $8.7 billion food stamp cut ." . MSNBC, 4 Feb. 2014. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. <http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/congress-passes-farm-bill-food-stamp-cuts>.

In the article Congress Passes 8.7 Billion Food Stamp Cut by Ned Resnikoff (2014) he informs us about the enormous cut that is affecting low income communities as well as children. Within this article I gained a lot of resentment against the democracy that we so called have, it was sad to see that much money being taken away from communities that need it the most. 90 dollars per month is something that will provide a low income household with all the necessities and also help them get back on track. The article states what states will be the most highly affected with New York being the number one. Specific states carries many low income families as well as many minorities that also are in the same boat as being low income. To hear the exquisitely high budget cut to be coming from that State was a shock to me because I believe  that only lowers our economy strength.

The article  stressed many factors as to who stresses food stamp cuts and who highly is in need of it. It was not biased in any way, and it provided information that allows you to reflect on humanity and who really favors humanity. Cutting food stamps from those in need of it is a cruel intention to have, and reading within this article that is was Republicans that mostly favored the idea which i felt to be  threatening to the majority of people living in the United States. How is one percent of the economy able to have a say on what will make the 99% better. If unemployment keeps increasing than cutting food stamps will only harm people at a worse rate.

Those making these cuts may think that it is what will help the economy but I still can’t put the pieces to this solution together because the majority of folks on food stamps are children, veterans, and seniors. Not to  forget to mention single parents which most likely are using food stamps to provide for their children. The article pointed out many ideas as to why these cuts are intentional and what strategy is being used to make these cuts happen. From further reading this article I got the idea to make my next post a little unusual and ask a question that usually gets unheard of but many people i’m sure are wondering what the answer is.

Young, J. (2014, january 31). Millions Are Now Realizing they’re Too Poor for Obama Care. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/31/florida-medicaid-uninsured_n_4680566.html

In the article Millions Are Now Realizing they’re Too Poor for Obama Care by Jeffrey Young (2014) opened up my eyes on the in sight of  our democracy world. It was very saddening to hear the stories of those who don’t qualify for health care, and the lame reasons that are qualified as exercises for this cause. I related this source to the increase in food deserts because once again it goes hand in hand as those that are already wealthy getting a least cost of health care and those that are in need not even being eligible for health care.

This article raises many questions because from my understanding I used to think health care was free for everyone, then I started to think that the pass on Obama care meant that it really was free for everyone. After reading the article I was notified otherwise. The article has specifies which parts of the country are well over uninsured and why they are uninsured. Also just like my other source this article provides us with stories that other people have shared, which is a great way to capture the hurt in peoples lives.

Out of all my sources used this was the most helpful because it showed the profit over people that occurs in America. It once again made my topic more valid as to why I want to continue raising awareness on food deserts, because health insurance is just as important as having the proper nutrients to sustain and live healthy.