What's That Vol 2: Definitions Every Foodie Should Know

New Blog Post (1).png — An updated list of terms we think everyone should know.

Here we keep a list of terms and their definitions that we think every foodie should know. If you want to understand the basic politics around food, start here. We have also provided an evolving resource list to help you further your learning.

Food Desert

The United States Department of Agriculture defines a food desert as, “an area lacking access to affordable, healthy food options, or is restricted or nonexistent due to the absence of one or more grocery stores within convenient travelling distance and the average income of the area”. Roughly 2.2% of the U.S. population is living more than 10 miles from a grocery store where fresh fruits and vegetables are sold, and do not have a vehicle or reliable transportation. We also have to take into account the affordability of the products there, and the options available.

In 2020, 23.5 million people were reported to be living in food deserts across the United States and report not having reliable or affordable options at the stores that were able to get to. It is also very important to add that in the poorest social-economic areas, residents are exposed to 2.5 times the amount of poor quality, low nutritional value fast food than anywhere else.

Food Apartheid

The term Food Desert excludes an important component to understanding global hunger and food injustice. It does not explicitly address the systems put in place to keep people hungry. Food Apartheid addresses the economic inequality and systemic racism that support hunger. It goes beyond knowing where hungry people are, and pulls into view the reasons why.

Food Apartheid requires that we acknowledge the economic divide caused when farm subsidies go to predominantly white farmers or when grocery store chains avoid low-income neighborhoods. It addresses the racism in our food, like the lack of culturally relevant foods being available at the local store emphasizing the structures and policies surrounding who gets to eat and what. We use this term instead of food desert because desert implies that the space is empty. These communities aren’t empty, they are full of people who have been purposefully left behind. We want to make sure that we address hunger from all sides, include all cultures of hungry people, and work towards a sustainable future that supports us all.

Food Distance Measures: Distance to Food and Food Miles

Your distance to food is how far you have to travel to get to and from your grocery store. Many travel long distances to be able to get to their food, and what they find isn’t even always reliable. The distance between you and your food is also relevant, even if your grocery store is close by.

Food miles are calculated in the industry to gauge the average costs of shipping food from one region, country, or continent. It’s essentially how far your food travels to get to the store. Due to virus outbreaks and other economic disruptions, we have to strongly consider how transporting fresh produce can alter its quality. This is why farmers markets and food cooperatives are becoming vital resources in many communities. Not only does it support local businesses and farmers, but it helps provide safe, fresh, and quality products to communities who wouldn’t have otherwise had access to such goods. Type in your zip code and locate your nearest farmer’s market here.

The Right to Food

Here at Fennigan’s Farms we firmly believe that access to healthy food is a human right. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of The United Nations, “the right to food protects the right of all human beings to live in dignity, free from hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition”. The right to food is not about charity, but about ensuring that all people have the capacity to feed themselves in dignity.” That is the heart of our work here. We believe it is our duty to help all communities exercise their right to safe and quality food.

Good Nutrition

The adequate, well-balanced diet combined with regular physical activity. It is the key to good health.

Under-nutrition

Our bodies need specific essential nutrients in order to continue to grow and function properly. Under nutrition refers to a deficiency of calories, or of one or more those essential nutrients. Causes include poor diet, issues your body may have in absorbing nutrients, and even improper preparation of food.

Under nutrition can present at wasting (low weight for your height), stunting (low weight for your age), individuals becoming underweight, and inadequate vitamin and mineral intake. Under nutrition is a type of malnutrition.

Malnutrition

Malnutrition can take on many forms and includes: under nutrition, inadequate vitamin and mineral intake, overweight and obesity, and diet-related noncommunicable diseases like diabetes and some heart diseases. This is especially dangerous in children who are still growing, because it can lead to severe mental and physical issues, hindering their ability to learn and grow strong.

Food Poverty

Food poverty is used when we are referring to household-level hunger. Households living in food poverty do not have enough nutritional food to meet the energy and nutrient needs of every member in the home. Because of intra-household food distribution, at least one member is always hungry. More often than not, all members of the home are.

Food Access

Access to supermarkets, super-centers, grocery stores, or other sources of healthy and affordable food. Because food access is more than lacking, it makes it harder for individuals and their families to eat a healthy diet. Indicators of access include:

Accessibility to sources of healthy food, such as the distance to stores, and number of stores in an area.

Individual-level resources, such as family income or vehicle availability.

Neighborhood-level indicators, such as the average income of the neighborhood and the availability of public transportation.

Food Security

There are two types of food security. They have been split to further understand the hierarchy of food access.

High food security: no reported indications of food-access problems or limitations.

Marginal food security: reports one or two reported indications that typically present as anxiety over food sufficiency or shortage of food in the house. There are little or no indication of changes in diets or food intake.

Food Insecurity

Food insecurity can be categorized into two groups as well.

Low food security: reports of reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet. Little or no indication of reduced food intake. This means individuals and their families are eating, but not quality or nutritionally rich foods. Quality is key. Sometimes called food insecurity without hunger

Very low food security: reports of multiple indications of disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake. This means that it isn’t just the poor quality and quantity of the food, it’s also unreliable food and food too far away. It is also known as food insecurity with hunger”. School lunch programs that offer free or reduced priced meals for students, and local shelters and churches offering meals or pantry supplies to families, have become a lifeline for many who are struggling with food insecurity.

Notes

Food is fun. Here we enjoy having fun experimenting with food and challenging our pallets. We believe that if we can experiment with food we can experiment with ways to keep people fed, and that if we challenge our pallets, we can take the time to challenge the systems that keep people hungry.

As of 2017, the World health organization reported over 15 million households in the United States that are facing food insecurity, whether low or very low. This is not an issue specific to one country, as there are currently 815 million people worldwide facing hunger every day. This hunger is the primary factor contributing to deaths in women and children all over the world who are undernourished.

As we continue our food fight, we will keep this blog post updated to reflect the data as it is analyzed, as it pertains to food, our food rights, and creating a community where people can grow and thrive.

Sincerely,

Fennigan’s Farms