The right to food was introduced through The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and was implemented by the United Nations. Article 25 in the declaration states that the right to food, as well as many other necessities such as clothing, housing, and medical care, should be granted in order to sustain an appropriate standard of living for the individual and their dependents (United Nations, 1948). It is important to note that prior to 70 years ago, these rights were not seen as a basic human right and many people worldwide suffered (World Hunger, 2009).
Researchers have established that many individuals who experience food insecurity also tend to experience short and long-term physical health-related issues such as chronic conditions, inability to perform daily tasks due to malnutrition and mental health-related issues such as depression and loneliness (Hawkins & Roshanafshar, 2015). When individuals encounter food insecurity and have limited access to safe food it impacts overall health, growth, and development (Ayala & Meier, 2017). Therefore, the issue of food insecurity encompasses other aspects of wellbeing and is categorized as a determinant of health.
Additionally, individuals who have access to social assistance from the government are the most affected by food insecurity. Although people have social assistance they are the most impacted by food insecurity. From this we can infer that the programs offered by the government to help individuals are not adequate enough to ensure an appropriate standard of living. This flaw in our legislation is in violation of Article 25 in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As mentioned previously, Article 25 states that the right to food, as well as many other necessities such as clothing, housing, and medical care, should be granted in order to sustain an appropriate standard of living for the individual and their dependents (United Nations, 1948). Food Not Bought aims to collect food as the focal point of our program, collect other basic necessities to help those in need, and to increase supply within our local food banks to help individuals have equal and fair access to food. After all, it is a human right!
"The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members."
- Coretta Scott King
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