The Cycle of Poverty: How Access to Food can Break the Cycle.
The cycle of poverty is the unfortunate set of factors that trap low-income families into poverty for generations, meaning that a childs economic status is greatly influenced by that of their parents.
Children born to a low income household have less access to nutritous food and clean water. Food insecurity and inadequate nutrition leads to hunger, which then causes disease, malnutrition, and even death. A decrease in health directly effects earnings potential, which lowers the household income and continues the cycle from generation to generation.
Social services that provide access to proper nutrition and healthcare can increase the chances of economic mobility. A child can be born into poverty but if the family participates in government programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) they are given access to an adequate amount of nurtritous food. Studies performed demonstrate that a good diet increases academic performance. With a properly nurished body and routine healthcare visits, a child can avoid malnutrition, disease, and is given the opportunity to succeed in school. A proper education has a cascading effect on multiple social issues, ranging from disease reduction to social responsibility, and can increase the income potential of those born in to poor circumstances, thus breaking the cycle of poverty.
Joshua
1:14 pm on Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Regardless of what social caste you are born you should have equal opportunity to achieve. In "The best country in the world" no child should be under developed and put at a handicap because lack of proper sustenance. The very thought that you are stuck in poverty because you were born in poverty and poverty begets poverty is in polar opposite to what the ideal of America was in the first place. I can only hope that good will and logic defeats love of money and unjustified "It's your own fault if you are poor" mindset.