Research Log #1 - Solutionary Project 2021

Date: 9 February 2021

Name: Aubrey Dunaway
Central Question: How can I help Hawaii’s hunger issue?
Thesis: Hunger is a big problem in Hawaii, and it deserves more of our attention and generosity. To reduce hunger
Oahu can do this, this, and this.
Essay Sections:
#1 What is the problem? What are the systemic causes? Who is hurt and who benefits? (Use three sources.)
#2: What has been and is being done? (Use two sources.)
#3: What do you think should be done and what do you intend to do? (Use one source.)

In which section will you use this source? #1 What is the problem?

Excerpts:

In the article it is stated that “imports about 85% of its food, at a cost of $6.8 billion per year,” meaning the price to
import grows higher, impacting the price of foods we buy at the market.

It’s becoming hard to get affordable food on island that is grown and sold. Growers themselves report that farm
income is not stable. “The history of agriculture in Hawaii shows long-standing trends that have worked against
community wealth creation.”

Farming is not an option; the article clearly responds later in the article “Our conclusion is that commercial markets
will continue to fail low-income residents. Other systems will have to be put into place to ensure that all who live in
Hawai‘i have proper access to healthy foods.”

Commentary and Analysis:

This report examines the food system of Hawaii with special attention to low-income access to food. To do so,
they examine the conditions under which low-income people currently obtain food. Then they examine the history of
agriculture. Next, they profile several promising food initiatives. Finally, they make recommendations for
strengthening community-based food systems on the Islands.

It showed how many people get food from farms, but soon learn how many people don’t have access to
farming and agriculture in Hawai’i. Thus, forcing people to buy from supermarkets where the food price is racked up
because it is being imported from out of state. The market system is failing low-income residents, there needs to be
different options for people get the food they need with easier access

While several of these community-based food systems are profiled in this report as examples of what is
already emerging. To support this work, significant public commitment is required. Some solutions include:
“1. The State of Hawai‘i must ensure that all eligible Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly
known as food stamps) recipients can easily enroll and receive benefits. This may bring as much as $100 million
additional income into the state economy.
2. Food system leaders should dedicate concerted resources to building community-based food systems — not simply
local food production — while paying particular attention to engaging low- income communities. Private firms,
nonprofits, and public agencies alike have helped build community- based food systems. Consistent public support will
be needed for as long as immense inequalities of income exist.
3. Hawai‘i should consider community-based food systems as an integral part of the state’s Public Trust, as defined by
the Hawai‘i Constitution and reinforced through legal precedent. As shown below, court precedent holds that the State
carries a Trust responsibility whether legislators act or not, yet we urge legislators to formalize this in law.
 This is a call to create a new culture of self-determination. Rather than waiting for outside investors to appear,
the state can build health, wealth, social connection, and personal capacity from the ground up using its own resources
and vision. This work will draw upon insights gained from traditional food systems, create more opportunity for
cultural enclaves to thrive, address new market realities, attract local investment, and create innovative technologies.
While community-based, it will require the engagement of stakeholders at all levels of capacity.”

MLA Work Cited:

“Facts About Hunger.” Hawaii Food Basket, www.hawaiifoodbasket.org/facts-about-hunger.

This is a reputable and reliable article because it was published by Hawaii food bank which is a reliable
organization, and this project was supported by USDA SNAP-Education fund

Research Log #2 - Solutionary Project 2021- Factual news article, report, study, survey
Date: 18 February 2021
Name: Aubrey Dunaway
Central Question: How can I help Hawaii’s hunger issue?
Thesis: Hunger is a big problem in Hawaii, and it deserves more of our attention and generosity. To reduce hunger
Oahu can do this, this, and this.
#1 What is the problem? What are the systemic causes? Who is hurt and who benefits? (Use three sources.)
#2: What has been and is being done? (Use two sources.)
#3: What do you think should be done and what do you intend to do? (Use one source.)

In which section will you use this source? #1 What is the problem?

Excerpts:

In this article it stated that “Hawaii’s food insecurity rate will increase by about 50% to some 233,000 people in 2020,
up from 151,000 in 2018, because of the effects from COVID-19.”

What was even more alarming was that further down in the article report it states, “the statewide food insecurity rate
for 2020 was projected at 16.8%, but the figure was far greater for children at 29.4%, or 89,050.’

This harsh realty brought by COVID-19 has made people realize, “Hawaii’s 1.4 million people have lost the ability to
pay for food as the tourism-dependent state has been hit hard by job losses.”

Commentary and Analysis:

This article report on how COVID-19 has taken its effect on the hunger issue in Hawaii and highlighted the
problem in a way that it needs to be addressed immediately. We can see from the article that Hawaii’s hunger issue is
suffering because of COVID and the numbers of children and people going hungry have gone up over 10%. In recent
large-scale food distribution drives, 78% to 83% of recipients said they lost their jobs during the pandemic.

The Hunger problem was already an issue before but due to recent circumstances it has only gotten worse, the
article also stated, “More people from all walks of life have been impacted for the first time, on top of those who were
already experiencing poverty and hunger, said Ron Mizutani, president and CEO of the Hawaii Foodbank, which
serves Oahu and Kauai.” The problem keeps getting worse and it’s up to the people that can help and are willing to do
something.
 Government assistance like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, continues to provide
some of the biggest help to millions of people needing food, according to the Feeding America report. A breakdown of
the funding from the Hawaii Data Collaborative shows that more than $25 million, or 2% of total funds, have been
allocated for food programs. Local production of food isn’t helping either, the long-term solutions are on hold. What
we can do right now is donate.

MLA Work Cited:

Jung, Yoohyun. “COVID-19 Is Changing 'The Face of Hunger' In Hawaii.” Honolulu Civil Beat, 24 Nov. 2020,
www.civilbeat.org/2020/11/covid-19-is-changing-the-face-of-hunger-in-hawaii/.

This is a reputable and reliable article because it is the Honolulu Civil Beat, it is a trusted and well researched news
company with good data and reliable sources. Their url is also .gov which makes me trust that more than I would a
.com website.

Research Log #3 - Solutionary Project 2021- TED Talk

Date: 18 February 2021
Name: Aubrey Dunaway
Central Question: How can I help Hawaii’s hunger issue?
Thesis: Hunger is a big problem in Hawaii, and it deserves more of our attention and generosity. To reduce hunger
Oahu can do this, this, and this.
Essay Sections:
#1 What is the problem? What are the systemic causes? Who is hurt and who benefits? (Use three sources.)
#2: What has been and is being done? (Use two sources.)
#3: What do you think should be done and what do you intend to do? (Use one source.)

In which section will you use this source? #1 What is the problem?

Excerpts:

In this TED talk Josette Sheeran’s vison is: "Food is one issue that cannot be solved person by person. We have to
stand together." That alone is really inspiring and true.

She also stated that “this year and last year and during the 2008 food crisis, there was enough food on Earth for
everyone to have 2,700 kilocalories.” It’s the access of food that has changed.”

In a time like this most countries around the world can’t get any resources to help after a disaster. “Eighty percent of
the people in the world have no food safety net. When disaster strikes -- the economy gets blown, people lose a job,
floods, war, conflict, bad governance, all of those things -- there is nothing to fall back on.”

Commentary and Analysis:

In this TED talk, I felt it was very eye-opening how Josette Sheeran, talked about how we have the solutions.
100 years ago, we didn’t but now we do, she talks about how we have the technology, and the systems so why can’t we
solve hunger? It rises to the question, what are we doing as humans, and friends, and neighbors, what are we doing
wrong to not solve this pressing issue. We need to work harder as a unit to attack this problem, with little things.
 We know what has changed over time and it’s the access to food that people can't get anymore. It’s too
expensive, the food banks are too far, there isn't enough anymore to need everyone. If we can unlock the technologies
that are commonplace in the richer world to be able to transform foods. This would help tackle malnutrition for
children at a young age to protect their brain development that gets damaged when they aren't fed within the first 1000
days of their life. We know that breastfeeding is important and needs to be taught and shared more, which is one
temporary solution.

Amartya Sen won his Nobel Prize for saying, "Guess what, famines happen in the presence of food because
people have no ability to buy it." Food can be there, and people can't buy it. That is how it is here in Hawaii too.
Things being imported to the islands gets more and more expensive where families can't afford it. Whether they are
already facing hunger or lost their jobs due to COVID-19 and are unable to get stable meals. We learn this issue is
taking place everywhere around the world. This affects everyone whether you’re facing hunger or not, this is all our
problems.

MLA Work Cited:

Sheeran, Josette. “Transcript of ‘Ending Hunger Now.’” TED,

www.ted.com/talks/josette_sheeran_ending_hunger_now/transcript.

This is a reputable and reliable article because TED is very well respected and credible. Their speakers may use
science to illustrate their topic and may be presenting some or all a scientific presentation, this is not a venue intended
to disseminate scientific information

Research Log #4 - Solutionary Project 2021-EBSCO ARTICLE

Date: 4 March 2021
Name: Aubrey Dunaway
Central Question: How can I help Hawaii’s hunger issue?
Thesis: Hunger is a big problem in Hawaii, and it deserves more of our attention and generosity. To reduce hunger
Oahu can do this, this, and this.
Essay Sections:
#1 What is the problem? What are the systemic causes? Who is hurt and who benefits? (Use three sources.)
#2: What has been and is being done? (Use two sources.)
#3: What do you think should be done and what do you intend to do? (Use one source.)

In which section will you use this source? What has been and is being done?

Excerpts:

In this article, they talked about addressing children in poverty and food insecurity. They stated, “In the United States,
an estimated 15 million households (11.8%) experienced food in-security at some time during the 2018 fiscal year,
despite national spending of $96.1 billion on domestic food assistance overall.”

We learned that “To specifically address food security, the US Department of Agriculture ad-ministers 15 food and
nutrition assistance programs, the largest of which is SNAP, with annuals pending of $65 billion.”

The conclusion states important information like, “The United States consistently spends less on children than other
countries do, in spite of the great returns that these investments provide, particularly for the most disadvantaged
populations. Currently in the United States, with or without SNAP, many low-income families still struggle to meet
their basic needs.”
Commentary and Analysis:

This article was very detailed and gave a lot of statistics and numbers regarding Americas help to food
insecurity for children. They showed how the US spends less on children than other countries do like Denmark,
Finland, and Iceland. In Several countries they also have minimum income assistance for individuals or families who
are below a certain threshold. For example, in France, unemployed or low-income individuals can receive Active
Solidarity Income (Revenu de Solidarité Active) benefits if they do not meet the minimum-wage annual in-
come.77This program aims to guarantee “sufficient means of subsistence,” and encourage continuation of or return to
employment. Whereas the U.S aims to punish those who are unemployed and make them and their children second
priority. These are one of the big issues in regard to food insecurity and poverty.

In the United States, the single greatest transfer of funds to families with children is incorporated through the
tax system. An example of this is families with children filing taxes are eligible for the Child Tax Credit. The bulk of
these tax benefits are provided to families with incomes that exceed the poverty rate, and the total cost of these
investments in recent years has exceeded the costs of most in-dividual programs for the poor. Another proposal was
the universal child allowance. It would provide a stable cash income for children to help them and their families. The
proposal by child development researchers and policymakers in the United States would provide $250 to$300 per
month per child according to the age of the child. These are all good way but how would we fund it without taking
from working-class people? That’s the real problem with food insecurity is being able to help them on their feet and to
keep providing during these times.

There are still so many other social issues I learned about, like the current US political climate, a history of
underinvestment in social programs, a lack of political will, and a culture of structural racism have all hindered
progress toward protecting vulnerable children and families. While SNAP offers many critical benefits to US
households, such as improved food security, health, and developmental and educational outcomes, and lower health
care costs, it has not been enough to prevent food insecurity. The analyses show that child food insecurity and poverty
are much lower in many OECD countries and that the United States is an outlier, with higher social spending and
higher rates of childhood food insecurity than nearly all other high-income nations.

MLA Work Cited:

Fernald, Lia C. H., and Wendi Gosliner. “Alternatives to SNAP: Global Approaches to Addressing Childhood Poverty
and Food Insecurity.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 109, no. 12, Dec. 2019, pp. 1668–1677. EBSCOhost,
doi:10.2105/AJPH.2019.305365.

This is a reputable and reliable article because EBSCO is researched based and is filled with scientific articles on
every topic. They are trusted by my teacher which makes it a credible source and its used all-around America in
schools as an education tool.

Research Log #5 - Solutionary Project 2021

Date: 4 March 2021
Name: Aubrey Dunaway
Central Question: How can I help Hawaii’s hunger issue?
Thesis: Hunger is a big problem in Hawaii, and it deserves more of our attention and generosity. To reduce hunger
Oahu can do this, this, and this.
Essay Sections:
#1 What is the problem? What are the systemic causes? Who is hurt and who benefits? (Use three sources.)
#2: What has been and is being done? (Use two sources.)
#3: What do you think should be done and what do you intend to do? (Use one source.)

In which section will you use this source?

Excerpts:

In this YouTube documentary we learn the story of Christina Drier and her husband. Their situation: “..often must
choose between paying bills and buying enough food for their family despite having many of the trappings of middle-
class life.”

The founder of the Mitchell County food bank, Leo Chisholm said, “if you drove into town you wouldn’t think anyone
was hungry.”

Christina, the wife to a truck driver stated, “if we pay our bills we don’t eat that good. It’s hard.” It’s heartbreaking,
middle class people with children struggling to eat and make a living.

Commentary and Analysis:

It was truly eye opening and a shock when you see regular people, not even homeless with 3 kids, both parents
work 2 jobs and still struggle to make ends meet. In their little town the food bank there is only about the size of a
classroom which isn’t enough to support everyone that comes through. The founder of the town’s foodbank said
around 2,566 people needed food last year.

What are you supposed to do if your neighbor, classmate, friend can’t find a meal at the end of the day? These
middle-class people are trapped, on paper they have minimum wage jobs, a house, kids that go to school and 2 cars.
They seem fine, so the government pushes them aside and doesn’t help them with their food shortage. It’s a trap, these
hardworking people need to choose between feeding their kids and paying bills.

No one should have to choose between feeding their family and paying bills. Obviously they need to pay bills
or the bank will take their house they won’t have anything, but at the same time their sacrificing their health and
wellness, things they shouldn’t need to worry about. Its truly heartbreaking because there are probably kids I go to
school with that can’t afford a meal every night. It makes me more appreciative and willing to help and find better
ways to donate.

MLA Work Cited:

National Geographic. “A Family Faces Food Insecurity in America's Heartland | National Geographic.” YouTube,
YouTube, 23 July 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV2XCQZWf_g. 

This is a reputable and reliable article because this was a national geographic film. There are a nationwide news
source and nature source for information, and they provide reliable info.

Research Log #6 - Solutionary Project 2021-TED TALK #2

Date: 6 March 2021
Name: Aubrey Dunaway
Central Question: How can I help Hawaii’s hunger issue?
Thesis: Hunger is a big problem in Hawaii, and it deserves more of our attention and generosity. To reduce hunger
Oahu can do this, this, and this.
Essay Sections:
#1 What is the problem? What are the systemic causes? Who is hurt and who benefits? (Use three sources.)
#2: What has been and is being done? (Use two sources.)
 #3: What do you think should be done and what do you intend to do? (Use one source.)

In which section will you use this source?

Excerpts:

In this TED talk I thought it was so fascinating when Jasmine said, “And what I've come to realize is that we are doing
hunger wrong. We are doing the same things over and over and over again and expecting a different end result.” Its insanity.

Early in the talk she goes on about her experience working in a local food pantry but while she was angered. “We weren't
about to give these people any real meals. We were essentially just giving them food.” She said this in regard to the
“menu” at the pantry.

Towards the middle she said something that really stuck with me and it was, “But the ever-present reality is
that, even with all of this work, millions of people are still going hungry. And we can do better. Globally, 821
million people are hungry. That's one in nine people on this planet.”

Commentary and Analysis:

It was shocking to know in the United States, nearly 40 million people experience hunger every single
year, including more than 11 million children that go to bed hungry every night. Yet, we're wasting more food than ever before
-- more than 80 billion pounds a year, to be exact. The EPA estimates that food waste has more than doubled between 1970
and 2017, and now accounts for 27 percent of everything in our landfills. And as this food sits, it gradually rots and produces
harmful methane gas, a leading contributor to global climate change. 

I believe that technology and innovation have the power to solve real problems, especially hunger. All of
this made me realize that hunger was not an issue of scarcity but rather a matter of logistics. After all, food delivery
apps had begun to explode, and I think surely we can reverse-engineer this technology and get food from businesses
like restaurants and grocery stores and into the hands of people in need. In 2016, France became the first country to
ban supermarkets from throwing away unused food. Instead, they must donate it, and they're fined if they don't. In
2017, Italy followed suit, becoming the second European nation to pass an anti-food-waste ban. And they stated it
so simply as it was passed through legislation: "We have millions of pounds of good food going to waste, and we
have poor people that are going hungry." That simple. 

This lady Jasmine Crowe has made an app  that would inventory everything that a business sells and
make it super easy for them to donate this excess food that would typically go to waste at the end of the night. All
the user has to do now is click on an item, tell us how many they have to donate, and our platform calculates the
weight and the tax value of those items at time of donation. She’s solving hungry as a social enterprise. Changing
the narrative and the thought process on how we think that hunger can be solved. 

MLA Work Cited:

Crowe, Jasmine. “What We're Getting Wrong in the Fight to End Hunger.” TED,
www.ted.com/talks/jasmine_crowe_what_we_re_getting_wrong_in_the_fight_to_end_hunger. 

This is a reputable and reliable article because TED is very well respected and credible. Their speakers may use
science to illustrate their topic and may be presenting some or all a scientific presentation, this is not a venue intended
to disseminate scientific information