Did you know that approximately 13.5 million Americans are living in areas known as “food deserts”? It’s an unfortunate reality that so many Americans don’t have access to fresh produce, leaving them with unhealthy options like fast food. There are many reasons why getting fresh produce and healthier choices are difficult for some people—including lack of resources, far commutes and/or high pricing—and the overall problem needs to be fixed.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), food insecurity is a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life. For many, this can be the result of living in a food desert or not having the income necessary to purchase healthier food or even food spoilage. And this problem continues to grow.
Thankfully, some non-profits and other organizations have been assisting struggling communities. We’ve talked a bit about some companies providing homegrown produce in cities and urban areas, but now more are trying to do their part in helping communities! For example, the bulb introduced a series of weekly mobile farmers markets, bringing fresh produce to 15 food desert neighborhoods that lacked access to proper grocery stores.
Tiny Fields, a Minneapolis-based organization, has provided households with resources to start their own curbside gardens and grow their own fresh produce. This not only helps families get easier access but also provides a way to lower their carbon footprint!
Daily Table, a Massachusetts-based grocery store, has been working to provide affordable, pre-made meals, as well as to keep more food out of landfills. Along with food deserts, food waste has been another prominent problem.
In the Santa Fe community, MoGro, a pre-order delivery service, has started offering weekly produce shares on a sliding pay scale. This allows those with lower wages and income to pay what they can and still get the healthy food they need. They even host events to help families learn how to cook healthier and get the most out of their food!
While these are just four examples, there’s plenty of other organizations looking to provide helpful resources and options to those who lack them. Seeking out healthier options is not only great for an individual, but it can make a big impact on the planet as well. Fast food companies, for example, can produce quite a bit of trash that overloads the landfills or pollutes nature.
For those without easy access to healthy food, it might be ideal to look into planting your own vegetable garden or even starting one in your community! You can also check out food pantry options for areas that struggle to get fresh produce or provide enough food to last families in need.
Does your community offer services like these to people who need them? We’d love to hear about it. Please share with other readers in the comments below!Resources:
I started a backpack program in my town called Erin’s Angels. Please check out our website at http://www.erinsangels.com
Sheila, that’s wonderful! Thank you for all you are doing to bring awareness to this issue—and help and hope to those who need it!
Glad some are working to solve this problem
My family grows and sells at the Farmer’s Market seasonally. We also grow lettuce (inside) year-round. Excess produce we take to Transformational Tuesdays (through Love INC) that provides a free meal weekly and our local food shelf. We are blessed to have fresh produce and able to share that blessing with others. https://www.facebook.com/SalmonsPlace/freshfromthegarden
Jeanette, that’s wonderful! Thanks for sharing, and keep up the good work!
We have multiple food pantries throughout our cities & state, even some for pets. My daughter is a TA & her school has a garden that they plant each year & use it to teach their students. They even have chickens, which the students love to help with! They have the capacity to have rabbits & bees, but haven’t gotten that far yet. They were given a grant to help set all this up, even won an award last year for it! What they don’t use in the classroom, they sell to the Farmer’s Market; that money is then put back into the garden to keep it going. Unfortunately, with the pandemic, they weren’t able to plant their garden this year.
Cheryl, thanks for sharing, and how heart-warming to hear about all your daughter and her school students are doing to learn, teach and share with others. Hopefully, this will all be behind us soon and things can get back to normal.