Monday, February 3, 2014

Food Deserts: Go Hungry or Get Happy (Meals)

One week ago today marked the first meeting of a house committee that was formed to bring "food deserts" in the United States to the attention of American government officials. Newsobserver.com reported that members of Congress were educated by "officials connected with public health, social services, agriculture, economic development and local food systems," on this issue that many had never heard of before. 


Food deserts are defined as urban neighborhoods and rural towns without ready access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food. Instead of supermarkets and grocery stores, these communities may have no food access or are served only by fast food restaurants and convenience stores that offer few healthy, affordable food options. The lack of access contributes to a poor diet and can lead to higher levels of obesity and other diet-related diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease.

While the public discourse on health in America has been focused on the recent failures of the Affordable Health Care Act (on the Republican Side) and the triumphs of Michelle Obama’s battle against childhood obesity (on the Democratic side), food deserts have been quietly emerging across the nation. Though the first lady has made efforts to bring attention to this issue as a part of her Let's Move! initiative, no mention of it was made in the State of the Union. The fact that many American citizens are unable to affordably, conveniently obtain nutritious food products remains almost wholly unconsidered by people who have the privilege to be ignorant.

In cities such as Los Angeles, food deserts are scattered across the map (as seen below) in categorically “low-income communities,” such as Compton or Inglewood, not far from areas such as Silver Lake or West Hollywood, where farmer’s markets bustle and grocery stores abound with fresh produce. 



The Food Empowerment Project reported that to combat this disparity,

In 2008, the Los Angeles City Council voted to enact a moratorium on new fast food outlets in a 32-square-mile zone encompassing some of South L.A.’s most arid food deserts… Councilmembers subsequently passed another measure offering grocery stores and sit-down restaurants serving healthier meals financial incentives to open up in underserved communities. 


The success of measures such as these can already be seen locally as more and more healthful food options become available, but in order to see a national improvement the issue needs to be brought into the light (and I don’t mean the light of those infamous golden arches).  

3 comments:

  1. The lack of access to healthy food in South Los Angeles is absolutely appalling. With grocers leaving town left and right (http://www.cocomovement.org/2013/07/ralphs-abandons-south-l-a-lack-of-healthy-grocery-options-concerns-residents/), why should families spend half of their weekend driving to the Westside to go to Bristol Farms or Whole Foods?

    As a single college student who works full-time, I can’t even afford to shop at those places. How can a family of five living paycheck-to-paycheck manage to do that? Even if the city does give tax breaks to those providing healthy food options, what are they going to do about the price of the food itself? Federal aid in the form of food stamps is being whittled down to nothing, and L.A. food banks are running dry as well. Until BOTH accessibility and affordability are addressed, expect to see profits continue to soar under those golden arches.

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  2. I had never realized this was a problem until you brought it up. So thank you. I spent my childhood in areas where Walmart or other affordable grocery stores were accessible. When I moved to Los Angeles two years ago, I was shocked by the lack of bargain grocery stores. Walmart was the place I bought all my food before moving here. Now the only options I have, as a fellow poor college student, are places like Ralphs, Fresh and Easy, or Vons. Fresh and Easy should have in parenthesis (and Expensive). When comparing prices there is no competition- Walmart offers all the same products for much lower prices.
    I think this could be a major help to food deserts at least in California, if Walmart or even just Neighborhood Market would open more locations. They carry healthy products comparable to that of grocery stores currently available. The question is why haven't they opened stores here already?
    I think it has to do with the stigma of LA eating - that Angelenos buy 100% organic, raw, vegan, freshly pressed, high end items that can only be purchased at specialty shops such as Fresh Pressed Juicery or high end grocery stores like Whole Foods.
    Because of this it might not seem appealing to visit a Walmart instead, but for the many people like myself or people in poverty it would be a huge step in the right direction.

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  3. It is troubling that there are food deserts in the US. I really began to notice this after moving to LA for school and realizing that in our very area, there are many, many fast food restaurants and few options for buying fresh produce (at least inexpensively). Where I live near campus, there are countless fast few chains that are right near me, conveniently located, while there is not a single grocery store within a mile of me. I think it is a good idea to raise awareness on this issue, because many low-income Americans are extremely unhealthy due to this.

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