publichealthmessage

[publichealthmessage]

Bridgeport – We need to be better together (loss frame)

On the surface, the Chicago neighborhood of Bridgeport may have an appearance of overall affluence yet may not know the reality of poverty and the physical and emotional consequences of food insecurity within their shared Bridgeport community. Less than 45% of Bridgeport’s residents are not at risk of food insecurity, over half of the of the community is at food risk (Coffey, 2020). As a source of stress, food insecurity impacts physical and mental health and puts children in food insecure families at risk of obesity (Gundersen & Ziliak, 2015;Wahlbeck et al., 2017; Oberle et al., 2019). There is a need for wealthy to understand that mental health struggles can be exploited for those struggling with food insecurity.

           In order to step into change for health equity and food insecurity, there needs to be community engagement and utilizing resources within the community. There needs to be action to help their fellow neighbors for their sake and for the overall benefit of the community. About 29.9% of Bridgeport families have at least one person under age 18, and there is a child poverty rate of about 22.2%, nearly identical to the childhood obesity percentage of 21.6 (US Census Bureau, n.d.; Chicago Health Atlas, n.d.). There are affluent families who have children, they all have the same perspective that their children are their priority. The affluent families would think critically and empathize with their neighbors in need.

           The more affluent residents in Bridgeport, specifically those who make more than $75,000 are best equip for this change. If they have the means to make their own neighborhood better holistically, they will benefit on their side as well. They are connected to their food insecure neighbors through a shared community. If the roles were reversed, they would be grateful if others did the same for them in their time of need.

A call of action that is already within their community is the Benton House. Benton House is an independent non-profit organization providing social services for the Bridgeport community in the city of Chicago for over 100 years (Robinson, 2018). The Chicago Benton House would greatly appreciate food, money, or volunteering as a community. By donating to this organization, this can begin to bridge the gap between the affluent and food insecure. The privileged would be working with the community food pantry to uplift the poor. This organization is a steppingstone to make Bridgeport a neighborhood that everyone who lives there can say is truly doing well.

References

Coffey, C. (2020, December 3). Race in Chicago: A Look at Chicago's Ongoing Food Insecurity Struggle. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/race-in-chicago-a-look-at-chicago-s-ongoing-food-insecurity-struggle/ar-BB1bzSK7.

           Oberle, M.M., Wilson, S.R., Gross, A.C., Kelly, A.S., & Fox, C.K. (2019). Childhood Obesity,    15(5):298-305. http://doi.org/10.1089/chi.2018.0333 

Robinson, N. (2018, June). Forward Together: A Roadmap to Reduce Food Insecurity across the             City of Chicago. Retrieved February 25, 2021, from        https://www.chicagosfoodbank.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/CityRoadmap.pdf

US Census Bureau. (n.d.). Retrieved on February 18 2021 from      https://data.census.gov/cedsci/all?q=ZCTA5%2060608%20Housing

[publichealthmessage]

Bridgeport – We need to be better together (gain frame)

           On the surface, the Chicago neighborhood of Bridgeport may have an appearance of overall affluence, but there are many families in this neighborhood experiencing poverty, particularly food insecurity. About 36-55% of Bridgeport’s residents are at risk of food insecurity (Coffey, 2020). “It’s been a problem for many years. We know that Chicago has an issue that relates to racial segregation. People lack access to basic resources and one of those basic resources is retail food,” said Dr. Angela Odoms-Young, an associate professor in the department of kinesiology and nutrition in the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Applied Health Sciences (Coffey, 2020).

           In order to step into change for health equity and food insecurity, there needs to be community engagement and utilizing resources within the community. The more affluent residents in Bridgeport, specifically those who make more than $75,000 are best equip for this change. If they have the means to make their own neighborhood better holistically, they will benefit on their side as well. They are connected to their food insecure neighbors through a shared community. If the roles were reversed, they would be grateful if others did the same for them in their time of need.

           A great example of a call of action that is already within their community is the Benton House. Benton House is an independent non-profit organization providing social services for the Bridgeport community in the city of Chicago for over 100 years (Robinson, 2018). The Chicago Benton House would greatly appreciate food, money, or volunteering as a community. This organization can benefit from the Bridgeport affluent homeowners to act for the neighborhood by supporting this resource along with food pantry to help relieve food insecurity. This organization is a steppingstone to make Bridgeport a neighborhood that everyone who lives there can say is truly doing well.

References

Coffey, C. (2020, December 3). Race in Chicago: A Look at Chicago's Ongoing Food Insecurity Struggle. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/race-in-chicago-a-look-at-chicago-s-ongoing-food-insecurity-struggle/ar-BB1bzSK7.

Robinson, N. (2018, June). Forward Together: A Roadmap to Reduce Food Insecurity across the City of Chicago. Retrieved February 25, 2021, from        https://www.chicagosfoodbank.org/wp/content/uploads/2018/06/CityRoadmap.pdf