Ending Hunger in the Elderly Population in America Essay

Ending Hunger in the Elderly Population in America - Essay Example It is surprising to note that this problem is growing on a large scale in the United States of America that believed to be, the most powerful democracy in the world. Economists argue that this condition is specifically created by the inequity in the food distribution system of the country, and food insecurity is increasing at an exceptional rate, especially in the elder population (Nestle & Guttmacher, 1992). According to a survey conducted by Weill, (March 2008), a majority of the elderly population in the United States of America is suffering from malnutrition and food insecurity.He proposed that a solution lies in developing a better food distribution network in the United States of America which should provide food according to the needs of the individual and/or family irrespective of race, religion, or age. This solution is the most logical one based on an observation registered by (Pothukuchi & Kaufman), 1998, that points out a deficency in the food distribution system in the U nited States of America. The growing phenomenon of hunger is also causing the health standards of elders to drop significantly. The underlying fact is that the medications require healthy food intakes to maintain their effectiveness, although, elders are being provided with high quality medicines by federal agencies, but these people need healthy food. During the medical treatment, these medicines make a human body weak, for this reason, the body needs healthy and ample amount of food to survive to fight this weakness caused by medicines. But, at the same time most of the government policies to eliminate hunger are proving to be a mere lip service, many multimillion projects are not implemented to their full potential (Notz, 1971). These failed projects to eliminating hunger in elderly population is causing level of frustration in the general public of US, but the government is also facing a severe deficit in the city of New York alone, therefore, governmental financial resources ar e bearing high pressures regarding fulfilling the needs of public. Inavailability of food for elderly population is forcing them to forego at least one meal each day to fulfil their other necessities such as housing and insurance, this trend is also contributing towards making a bad condition worse in relation to the food supply for elderly population (Gomez & Ranney, 2002). Many researchers are of the view that, elders should be trained in such a way which could help therm in becoming useful members of the society, but this point of view is not a realistic one, because with the increase in age the mobility and strength of an individual is compromised rendering a person unable to work actively. Thus, it is the responsibility of federal government to work for the welfare of these people. On the other hand, international organizations, including UN, are playing a significant role in attempting to eliminate the hunger peoblem; however, their effort is less than effective, because, thes e organizations provide aid to the local government and cannot interfere in the internal affairs of a country. Due to this reason, local government utilizes these fundings in an unjust method, so these international organizations should be empowered to manage and implement these hunger elimination programs by themselves. NGOs of all kind are more than interested in their profitability, therefore human compassion is