Hunger in the suburbs

“Radio Times,” WHYY – Philadelphia • July 16, 2014

Perhaps the most devastating aspect of living in poverty is being “food insecure,” a term devised by the government to describe those who are not always certain that they will have access to food.  15 percent of Americans are food insecure, and in Pennsylvania, that number is 12.5 percent, according to statistics from the Pennsylvania Hunger Action Center.  And the face of hunger is changing, with seemingly comfortable, suburban families needing to visit donation-based food pantry’s in order to make ends meet.  Today, we look at hunger in the suburbs with TRACIE McMILLAN, Continue reading “Hunger in the suburbs”

Toensing, McMillan: Hunger no longer affects ‘marginal’ populations

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Photo by Rachel LeGoubin, Chautaqua Daily staff photographer

The Chautauquan Daily  • July 2, 2014

In 1968, CBS Reports showed a documentary called “Hunger in America.” The film illustrated the face of late ’60s poverty: uneducated, unemployed men and women raising skinny-legged kids in run-down shacks. Senior citizens and children were the worst affected. One in 20 Americans at the time struggled with hunger, a figure just above the unemployment rate.

That picture has changed. Continue reading “Toensing, McMillan: Hunger no longer affects ‘marginal’ populations”

Morning lecture to address American food insecurity, hunger

The Chautauquan Daily • July 1, 2014

Hunger in the United States looks different than anywhere else in the world, according to National Geographicphotographer Amy Toensing.

“Most of the time, you wouldn’t even know your neighbors were struggling,” she said. “How could you? Some of these people are overweight, and most are employed. They just can’t make ends meet.” Continue reading “Morning lecture to address American food insecurity, hunger”

Wal-Mart and Organic Food

“The Craig Fahle Show” WDET • April 18, 2014

Author of New York Times’ bestseller, “The American Way of Eating,” Senior Fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism and Oakland County native Tracie McMillan joins Laura and Travis to discuss an article she recently wrote for The Guardian that debunks stereotypes about who wants and who’s buying organic food. She breaks down the article and talks about Wal-Mart’s role in bringing organic food to the masses. Continue reading “Wal-Mart and Organic Food”

Food Inequality Uncovered

The Hoya • March 28, 2014

When journalist Tracie McMillan set out to write about poverty through the lens of hunger, she had no idea that her ideas would spark a national debate on the relationship between food and class in America.

In her widely acclaimed book, “The American Way of Eating,” McMillan argues that fresh and healthy food should be thought of as a social and public good. Continue reading “Food Inequality Uncovered”

How Americans Eat with Tracie McMillan

“Talk of Iowa,” Iowa Public Radio • Oct. 15, 2013

Recent movements addressing the obesity epidemic or industrial agriculture’s dominance attempt to change how Americans eat.  Tracie McMillan sets out to understand the American food system from the bottom-up in  her book, “The American Way of Eating: Undercover at WalMart, Applebees, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table.”  Host Charity Nebbe asks McMillan where our food comes from and how we can eat healthier.  Continue reading “How Americans Eat with Tracie McMillan”

Food Fight: Feminists and Femivores

In These Times • June 26, 2013

“Is Michael Pollan a sexist pig?” asks Emily Matchar in her new book, Homeward Bound: Why Women Are Embracing the New Domesticity, published in May by Simon & Schuster. Matchar wants to know why many young, middle-class women are returning to the home after their feminist forebears rushed to leave it—and whether the revival of domestic arts like home cooking and canning is also reviving some of the sexism that kept women moored to these tasks. “It’s easy to forget in the face of today’s foodie culture,” Matchar writes, “that cooking is not fun when it’s mandatory.” Continue reading “Food Fight: Feminists and Femivores”