Hybrid Essay

Food! A delicious(or not so delicious--depending who makes it) way to nourish your body with the essential nutrients one needs. According to dictionary.com,food is any nourishing substance that is eaten, drunk, or otherwise taken into the body to sustain life, provide energy, promote growth, etc. Although our bodies can go a few days without food, our minds and bodies need food in order to sustain a healthy lifestyle. Food is everywhere and anywhere one goes. Not only is it a means of living, it is also a way to connect with others on a daily basis no matter what type of food it is. Choosing this topic has made really understand that food brings people together, depending on where you reside depends on the food that particular place or area will offer, and being healthy and eating nutritious food depends on the upbringing each person has--especially with their parents, and most importantly, social economic status plays a significant role on the food that one consumes. It is intriguing to know that something so simple, well-known, and consumed by people every single day such as food can have a significant underlying impact on the way society thinks as well as does when in taking food.

Food definitely brings people together. Whether it is at a party, a get-together, a celebration, a date, or even dinner at home in a Thursday night--food is a connector. No matter what country you are in, what ethnicity you are, or what beliefs you might have-food has seemed to bring us together since there was known life on earth. One could connect through food by making  and preparing the food, sharing recipes on the type of food one intakes, or as simple as eating the food that was made. This essential nourishing substance has had a great impact on people due to it's ability to provide as well as balance with one another, creating a body full of nutrients making sure a sustainable, yet healthy life is being brought upon that particular person . Depending on how you were brought up and taught by your legal guardian allows for being healthy or not so healthy. Being raised with different definitions of what eating healthy is may be a bit tough, but it is the consensus on how each person should live their life in the healthiest way. Through this way of a healthy lifestyle, people should try to live it to their full potential.

Social economic status plays a significant role whenever any type of health issue is brought up in any conversation. It is the foundation of how a family makes, it is what makes them, them. Although it may be a bit unfair to people of lower economic status, there are places I'm their neighborhood that are known as food deserts. Food deserts are areas in a neighborhood where little to no nutritious food can be found. There are limited amounts of grocery stores and where there is on, there aren't any vegetables or any other type of healthy foods. If and when there happens to be some sort of healthy food, it is on the expensive side. It is unfortunate to know that people that do not have large amounts of money are being deprived of eating in a matter that can benefit them, essentially saving their lives. In these poorer, lower-income areas, there are also lots of fast-food restaurants as well as mini-marts and liquor stores. Some of these fast-food areas have bullet-proof windows where your food is ordered or are "food stamp friendly." It is amazing that food has to go through a glass window first,  before  reaching the customer. The company's fear against the consumer in poorer areas is way more significant in comparison to those that live in middle to upper middle class areas.


 
Places and neighborhoods that are poorer are often exposed to different situations in comparison to those that live in better areas. A single street can divide someone from living in a not so well area to a decent area. Something that one will see when in lower class neighborhoods are people that sell goodies such as ice cream, corn, and shaved ice. Every child that lives in that specific area knows the distinct sound it makes and rush over to purchase their goodie. Another example of this is the person that drives a big white truck, typically decorated with fruit and vegetables that sell groceries and junk food. These people never ever go to Hollywood or Beverly Hills, for example, they stick to whatever they know as well as what their comfort zone is. On the opposite side of the spectrum, places that are poorer like this, do not have the same restaurants that people of a higher status do. One example is frozen yogurt. Frozen yogurt has gotten really trendy in  the past few months, that it seems as though they are everywhere! But, poorer areas--that is. This healthy snack is filled with lots of vitamins and is on the lower calorie side. Sadly, poorer areas do not get a chance to even buy it due to it being more pricy, and the simpler fact that there aren't too many in low-income -areas. It is unfortunate that these people don't even get a chance. They are being singled out, if you ask me, and should not be limited to having a healthy lifestyle like other people.

Living a healthy lifestyle can be both pricy for the one,  and on the other hand, difficult to continue for a long period of time. People nowadays, are always worried that their diet may not have an abundance of fruits and vegetables so they strive to continue a healthy lifestyle. But what happens when you are on the poorer end? Does that mean that you should eat junk food all day and potentially be fat? It is extremely  unfortunate to know that poorer people are more prone to being fat in comparison to your typical upper-middle class person. People that are poorer should have the same opportunity for fresh food if not more of an opportunity than your average stable upper-middle class Joe. There should be a lot more well-known programs are more aid assistance from the government because the majority of them are already struggling to make ends meet.









Researching and learning about food and its impact it has on society has definitely opened up my mind and made me have a very different perspective one food. I know that now, while I'm eating, I will think about what food really means in our daily lives as well as what it means to society.  While researching, I read a lot of different ways one could save at the grocery store in addition to not spending as much money if you are on a budget crunch. By making this blog, if I could help one person save that is struggling with money, it would mean a lot to me. Although the tips and tricks I will mention might be somewhat logical, I feel the need to still mention them. Some tips to help save at the grocery store are: buy eggs in bulk, drink water, make a list beforehand and stick to that list when you're at the grocery store, cut out coupons from the daily newspaper, make sure you sign up for the rewards card at your local grocery store--it can save you money and after a certain amount of points, they give you money in return!





Works Cited
"Food." Dictionary.com. Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.