ART 3170 Civic Engagement: Social Issues "Action" Project: Lack of Healthy Food Options in Low-Income Communities

Lack of Healthy Food Options in Low-Income Communities

Spreading Awareness

In 2009, the United States Department of Agriculture conducted a study on "Food Deserts". Food deserts are urban areas where it is difficult to buy affordable and/or high quality fresh food. This study by the USDA found that 23.5 million, or about 8% of people living in the United States cannot access a supermarket within one mile of their home (Treuhaft & Karpyn, 2010). Low-income neighborhoods have been historically under-served so it is no surprised that these communities are also facing a lack of healthy food options in their communities today.

The lack of healthy food options people have in these communities has a multitude of effects on them as well as their surrounding environment. People who are considered overweight and/or unhealthy because of their diet are more likely to develop diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. According to Treuhaft and Karpyn, inequitable access to healthy food is a major contributor to health disparities between economic classes. Lack of supermarkets and grocery stores in low-income communities also hinder the economic growth of that community because of all the lost economic revenue those stores could be bringing in (Treuhaft & Karpyn, 2010).

The need for a more equitable and sustainable food system extends past the lack of supermarkets and places to get fresh and affordable groceries. Not only are there a lack of places to get groceries but there is also a lack of restaurants that offer people in these low-income communities healthy food options away from home (Lewis et al., April 2005).

Findings

According to a nation wide study, low-income neighborhoods have half as many supermarkets as higher-income areas and four times as many "small grocery stores" or corner stores (Treuhaft & Karpyn, 2010). These corner stores rarely offer any produce and if they do, they are rarely fresh and do not offer much variety, instead these stores sell things that are cheap, processed and high in fat and sugar.

In addition to the lack of healthy food options low-income neighborhoods face for groceries, there is also a lack of healthy food options when it comes to buying food away from home. In the American Journal of Public Health: African Americans Access to Healthy Food Options in South Los Angeles, a study compared healthy food options in restaurants in a less affluent area (South Los Angeles) to healthy food options in restaurants in a more affluent area (West Los Angeles); in this study the American Journal of Public Health found that nutritional resources in South Los Angeles made it more challenging for people in that community to maintain a healthy diet away from home (April 2005).

In South Los Angeles, it was found that there was 1 restaurant for every 1910 residents as opposed to West Los Angeles's 1 per 542 residents. It was also found that 58% of restaurants in West Los Angeles were full service restaurants, where as in South Los Angeles just 27% of restaurants were full service. It was also found that restaurants in West Los Angeles offered more healthy food options than South Los Angeles by almost 10% (Lewis et al., April 2005).

Other People Passionate about this Issue

Cristina Hernandez, ER Taylor Elementary School - After School Program Teacher

"I feel strongly about this issue because [it shapes a child’s] health for the rest of their lives; what their families can provide for them, what they normalize. And these children are already put at a disadvantage: their education, their available resources, [and] this"

Joselin Castillo & Stephanie Cruz, Cal State LA - Gorilla Food Pantry Volunteers

"The Guerrilla Food Pantry was created in order to help students with food and personal needs. CSULA students are working to meet the needs of their fellow peers, who are struggling financially. It is not only open to the students, but the faculty and staff as well"

Why This Issue Matters to me

Stephanie Hernandez, Author

I grew up in San Francisco in a neighborhood called Visitacion Valley, a relatively quiet low income neighborhood (see map below). In my neighborhood there was one bus in and one bus out. The closest places for me to get food were a liquor store and a gas station about 6-7 blocks away; the closest grocery store was about a mile away. I didn’t have many healthy food options growing up, if I got hungry while my parents were out, my only option was to walk to the liquor store and get some soda, chips, or candy.