In the U.S. education system, education and child nutrition are closely tied. Many families and students depend on school meals to not go hungry and help meet nutritional needs. Especially in areas of high poverty with high proportions of students of color, school meals help to address inequity in food security. With the onset of the pandemic, …
Tag: Health
May 31
What does food mean to you?
Food, and the consumption of it, bridges the divide between the “biological” and “cultural” spheres of human behavior. While food consumption is necessary for survival, the preparation and selection of certain ingredients are heavily influenced by culture and social upbringing. Past these collective meanings of food, we also have individual psychological memories associated with food—both …
May 26
The Disparities and Inequalities of COVID-19: How coronavirus has impacted the BIPOC community
The narrative that the coronavirus does not discriminate based on race, gender, or class is a false concept that needs to be addressed. While in theory, yes, the coronavirus does not discriminate, our systems do. A year into the pandemic, the coronavirus has deepened the consequences of pre-existing inequalities that are placed on BIPOC (Black, …
May 03
Supporting Youth Mental Health: The Do’s & Don’ts
May is National Mental Health Month. This month is set aside to help raise awareness regarding mental health concerns. As we approach the halfway mark of 2021, the world is continuing its efforts to recover from the enormously stressful, bleak, and traumatizing impacts of 2020. People are coping with the continued threat of COVID-19 and …
Oct 06
I Am a Young Breast Cancer Survivor and This Is What I Want You to Know
I was 28 when I heard the words that changed my world forever. “You have breast cancer.” At the time I was working full time, finishing my graduate degree, and living a healthy life. My diagnosis completely knocked my life into a new reality that was dark and frightening. I did not look or feel sick, …
Dec 07
Quiet Health Concern – Iron Deficiency Anemia
I was a junior in high school and 17 years old when I first heard the term anemia. In California, where I live you have to be at least 110 pounds to give blood, I finally got to that weight and was energized to give blood and give back to the community. So the blood …
Jun 26
My Fight for the Preservation of the Cookie Jar
My mom and I have had an ongoing debate for oh… approximately twenty years or so. About what exactly, you might be asking yourself? Nutrition. Childhood nutrition, to be exact. Our debate mainly rests on the question – when it comes to childhood nutrition, is restriction really the best way to go? Let me set …
May 31
Inequality of Breast Cancer
In this world, there are those who are privileged and those who are less fortunate. Let’s face the fact that America’s history illustrates its structure of social inequalities. America is full of Americans who have and those who have-not. For example, the way in which women are screened and treated for breast cancer is no …
Feb 25
Economics and Happiness
In the 1970s Richard Easterlin wrote an article titled “Does Economic Growth Improve the Human Lot? Some Empirical Evidence,” in which he described what is now known as the Easterlin Paradox and became the father of happiness economics. The Easterlin Paradox, simply stated, suggests that people do not get happier as they get richer. …
Feb 22
Breastfeeding in Developing Countries
Almost 6.9 million children under five died around the world in 2011. Did you also know that almost 830,000 deaths could be avoided if every baby was breastfed within the first hour of life? As soon as the infant is born, the mother produces a special milk called colostrum. Colostrum is known to be the …