Food for Thought: Nutrition
Nutrition is important during this quarantine time, but it may be hard to get and even harder to think about.
October 13, 2020
Nutrition, though not on the minds of many, is crucial. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, it was much easier to get what you needed– when you needed it. In these recent quarantine times, the world is filled with many obstacles to overcome, and nutrition is one. March marked the start of a nationwide panic-sprint for the shelves of every grocery store and supermarket. Since panic-buying has calmed down, have circumstances gotten better for individuals to obtain and maintain a healthy, nutritious diet?
Grossmont Community College student, Claire Shope, had much to say about how COVID has affected her life regarding nutrition. According to Shope, nutritious food during this time has become “more of an annoyance to get.” Her reasoning was due to the “shortages of stock” within stores near her. The other reason is that she lives with her dad, who has celiac disease, leaving him unable to ingest gluten. She attested that “options are limited.”
“I’m becoming more aware of my nutritional choices since the pandemic,” Shope said. “I even started working out when I get the chance.”
Jason Stevens, a Grossmont Community College Nutrition Professor, was interviewed about food and diet during the coronavirus lockdown and how it affected himself and students. As someone deeply invested in nutrition, even he admitted that sometimes he must eat “convenience foods,” which generally aren’t the most healthy of options, but it isn’t completely his fault.
“We don’t want to shame people for making the food choices that they make. Because sometimes those choices come from what they can afford, what they have access to, and what’s convenient to them,” Stevens said. “So, it’s trying to find a way to marry those things together.”
