For those of us who are fortunate enough to not have to worry about how our next grocery bill will be paid, it can be easy to forget that access to food is a universal human right, not a privilege for those who can afford it.  With this in mind, then, we have a responsibility to ensure that each individual in our community has access to enough food to feed their families and themselves.  This goal can be accomplished in a variety of ways, from stocking your local food bank, to educating low-income residents about their options for food stamps and reduced price lunches for their children, to distributing information about healthy, low-cost food options. 
 
The latter option is one of the most important and forgotten in this list of activities for community members and students alike.  Our present culture often promotes junk foods, fast foods and sweets as viable options for the everyday diet, yet these foods, while at times cheap, are not nutritional and can lead to health problems.  People who subsist on such foods can suffer from increased incidences of obesity and diabetes and a lack of energy, thereby reducing productivity at school or work, potentially causing greater unhappiness and increasing the chances of health problems.  While the consequences of regularly eating such foods can negatively affect health, many people do not have the knowledge to avoid these options. 
 
In her book, Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health, Dr. Marion Nestle examines the fast food industry as it presently works in and through schools to boost sales and create a niche market for younger generations.  Advertising through soda and snack machines, Channel One News and other items donated by the snack companies, these companies have begun to influence the diet of children in increasing ways.  This influence demeans lessons about healthy eating, and potentially reduces the likelihood that these children will adopt healthy eating habits in their adulthood. 
 
Jane E. Brody, a journalist who reviews Nestle’s book, writes “Some schools have turned their entire lunch programs over to management companies that bring in nothing but fast foods, in the process forfeiting the federal reimbursements offered to schools that meet government nutritional standards. Of course, the children are required to pay a lot more for these meals — $2 or $3 instead of 40 cents — which may make them out of reach for children from low-income families, the very children school lunch programs were designed to help” (“Schools Teach 3 C's: Candy, Cookies and Chips”  http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/24/health/nutrition/24BROD.html).  These trends make it even more imperative that we teach lessons in nutrition to our students.  Service-learning projects in this area would be beneficial to both the community and the students.
 
While learning about basic nutrition, students can create service-learning projects that address the issue of nutrition and the importance of a healthy diet.  Students can also learn and then teach others about different low-cost possibilities for meals and why preparing one’s own food can be a healthier and cheaper option.  This research can culminate in the creation of a healthy living booklet that could include nutritional information on different foods, recipes using these foods and suggestions for cost-cutting and time-saving measures for cooking.  Students could highlight vegetarian dishes, which are often less expensive, quick and easy to prepare, and provide a good source of vitamins.  They can even try these dishes out themselves to learn that healthy foods can taste as good, or even better, than fast and junk foods.
 
As children are bombarded by advertisements for sugar-laden cereal, sodas and snacks, projects such as the one above can instill in them a better understanding of the significance of a proper diet.  This will hopefully influence them in their everyday lives, leading them to a healthy lifestyle.  Just as importantly, those low-income individuals who are affected by the project will also benefit.  They will learn about various resources and options they have to improve their health affordably, and will be able to independently change their habits for the better.  Teaching nutrition in this way meets genuine needs in the school and in the surrounding community, thereby affecting future generations of children and parents.