10-22-12: Documenting Hunger and Poverty in Photographs

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WitnessToHunger-1022.mp3

In this segment, Sheilah talks with Dr. Maureen Black, professor of pediatrics and director of the Division of Growth and Nutrition at the University of Maryland School of Medicine about the "Witnesses to Hunger" exhibit and the pictured families' experiences dealing with hunger and poverty.

Margaret Marion lives in Baltimore and is the mother of five children. She is also the photographer of five photos  in the exhibit. 

Participants were given cameras to take photos of what they think would help policy-makers and the public understand their struggle to feed their families.

Marion said feeding one's family is even more of a struggle when one wants to purchase healthier foods.

"I don't find nutrition in a bag of potato chips,"Marion said. "A lot of times families not having the money to have nutrition is really difficult for the children who are in school. It's hard."

Dr. Black is the founder of the Growth and Nutrition Clinic in Baltimore that provides evaluations and assistance to infants and toddlers with feeding difficulties. As director of the clinic Dr. Black promotes establishing healthy eating habits early in a child's life.

"We work with families to ensure that they have access to enough food and we try to improve their management of food and their feeding behavior," Dr. Black said. 

The Growth and Nutrition Clinic has treated nearly 1,000 children since it was founded in 1989.