Food Desserts In LA by Eduardo Romero

Food Deserts In Los Angeles

What is a food desert 

Food Deserts are areas where most of the community does not have access to a grocery store that sells fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthy foods at an affordable price. Within those areas it will be easier to access fast food stores, corner stores and liquor stores.

Identifying The Problem 

• Some of the issues that come from being in a food desert are low access to healthy foods. 

• Members of the community have to travel far to acquire groceries 

• Members of the community suffer from heart disease, diabetes and other obesity related diseases. 

• High childhood obesity rate

I found the USDA has research on food access, food nutrition and assistance, diet quality, and much more. A Low Income census was done by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program in 2019 and from that we can determine that low income communities are more likely to have a food desert. 

“Low access to food stores is characterized by the number (at least 500) and share (at least 33 percent) of people at different distances from the nearest supermarket, supercenter, or large grocery store, as well as the number of housing units in the areaa without access to a vehicle and that are more than 0.5 mile from one of these stores.”

-USDA Food Access Research Atlas

 

Blue is Low Income

Green is Low Income and Low Access at 1 and 10 miles

Orange is Low Income and Low Access at 1/2 and 10 miles

Red Square is Los Angeles

To access this interactive map click here or copy & paste the link below.. There is a Guide available that gives an overview of the atlas. 

https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/

This Matters to me

This is important to me because I am directly affected by food desserts. Growing up I would have to travel far to go to a grocery store, I was surrounded by fast food and corner stores. This made my choice of food very unhealthy at a young age and it made it feel like a struggle to get healthy food. I have a family who are also in a food desert. What had happened in their area was the local market closed down which made the distance of the nearest grocery store much farther away. Food deserts exist throughout the city, some of the communities affected are in South Central and the EastSide of Los Angeles.

In my research I found Project MercadoFresco that are transforming local markets into cornerstones of the community. Ramirez Meat Market was the second project they have done and is local to me. I was able to see its transformation first hand and it is amazing for the community. If you click the link you can watch a youtube video on their makeover. 

Market Makeovers: NextGen Leaders 

Market Makeovers: NextGen Leaders

Works Cited 

Food Access Research Atlas. USDA ERS - Food Access Research Atlas. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/

The issue: Oklahoma is hungry ⋆ hunger free oklahoma. Hunger Free Oklahoma. (2021, February 15). Retrieved from https://hungerfreeok.org/theissueoklahomaishungry/

M.M. – East LA + boyle heights // ramirez meat market. Public Matters. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://publicmattersgroup.org/projects/marketmakeoverseastlaboyleheights/ramirez/

What is Food Justice? What Is Food Justice? | Community Service Center. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.bu.edu/csc/edref/what-is-food-justice/