Requiring Resources

For the first time in my entire life, I will be one of three girls renting a house that is not but ten minutes walking distance away from my school. This means that for the first time ever, I will have responsibilities that I have never had before, like paying bills, caring for the home, and helping to create rules by which members of the house will abide. The responsibilities that come along with this situation will significantly affect my life and the way I live on a day-to-day basis. With that being said, it is easy to be intimidated by the changes that lie ahead of me. Out of all changes, however, there is one that intimidates me a little more than most: groceries.

It might seem silly that with all of the new responsibilities and excitements that are heading my way, groceries are something that are making me nervous. Nevertheless, groceries, and all of the things that come with them, are a significant source of concern that I have for this upcoming year.

Think about it.

For the first time in my life I will be shopping on my own, which makes me wonder what I am going to buy. Am I going to continue eating and buying the way that I was raised? I wonder if the changes will occur in my diet will be positive, or negative, and how much that will correspond with my budget. I also worry about preparing meals for myself, as that too is something that I have only done on rare occasions.

When I think about these things, and how much they are causing me concern, I can barely fathom the thoughts of individuals who are being introduced to healthier foods and grocery food shopping for the first time in their lives. After all, I am a young, middle class individual who has had the privilege of growing up with the luxury of a nearby grocery store that supplies my family and I with the foods we depend on every day. When it comes to food deserts, however, the populations that are being exposed to new resources are much different. They are lower-class individuals, who have maybe lived in the same area their whole lives, relying on the same fast food and low priced stores that are available to them.

Therefore, I understand why it would be such a problem for them to utilize newer and healthier more materials into their diets. For one, it is something that they are not accustomed to, which means that they would have to go out of their way to learn how and why to use such food items. Also, the items that are healthier are more costly, which presents a problem within itself as these individuals live in poverty stricken areas.  Moreover, I think that education should be accompanying efforts to better food desert campaigns, as I think such campaigns are a necessity for American society, but that the resources of the campaign need to be better utilized.