The Slow Food USA Blog

Fresh food access for all: PolicyLink addresses food distribution disparities

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by intern Jessie Weiland

Some time ago I received a call from my father back home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He’d just returned from an urban bike trek through inner city Milwaukee and was now in an angered emotional state bordering on manic distress.  “It’s just not right. You shouldn’t have to go miles from your neighborhood to find an apple,” he raged. His rant on his futile hunt for food of the healthy variety was heightened by his newfound dedication to a diet. I could picture his hands wildly dancing above his head now, “I just wanted an apple. I walked past a Chick-A-Lil’s, a Mickey D’s, a Burger King—there must have been at least 15 different fried food places and not one fruit store.” I then listened to him vividly outline his plans to open up a fruit and nut stand in the area of concern, ӅAnd I’d call the store, The Health Nut!!!” 

My father’s dissatisfaction with inner-city food availability was valid; it’s a dissatisfaction echoing across America in cities and rural areas alike and sadly, reflecting our thickening waistlines. Last year, food insecurity was a daily reality for 14.6 percent of Americans . Now, as we draw the lines between health care and food choices, let us also make the connection between food environments, the fundamental ability to make healthy decisions, and income. According to the New York Department of City Planning the availability healthy, fresh food directly corresponds with income and consequently, skyrocketing obesity rates. 

Last month, the advocacy group PolicyLink hosted a webinar on the subject called, An Apple a Day: Bringing Healthy Food to All Communities. The call kicked off with PolicyLink president, Judith Bell. She showed a series of compelling maps that outlined this fundamental issue: that the consumption of fruits and vegetables is lowest in low-income neighborhoods where obesity and diabetes cases are high. In these areas where there are higher obesity rates, healthy food choices are far and few in between—There are fewer supermarkets and fruit and veggie stands, and more fast food retailers and convince food stores. For people in neighborhoods suffering from a lack of nutritious food and at the mercy of the flood of fast food joints, funding is a major obstacle for development. According to Judith Bell, past efforts have not solved this giant failure in the market. Studies from the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene state that now approximately 3 million New Yorkers live in these underserved, high needs neighborhoods. And that’s just New York.

The good news is that there have been some positive steps towards improving these food distribution gaps. On the webinar, Tracy Giang, a program manager from The Food Trust, and Patricia Smith from The Reinvestment Fund presented one solution. Together, the two nonprofit organizations, manage the Fresh Food Financing Initiative (FFFI).  This Pennsylvania based initiative works to bring more supermarkets, fruit stands, and farmers markets to underserved, low-income areas— ultimately preventing obesity and obesity related deaths. As FFFI assess community food needs, they also work to remove funding barriers to entry as they provide capital grants, land acquisition and equipment financing. Patricia Smith from The Reinvestment Fund pointed out that developing food markets in underserved communities not only has stark health benefits, but serves an economic stimulus role as well (by increasing local taxes, leveraging private capital, revitalizing neighborhoods, and creating jobs—a new supermarket can open up as many as 600 employment opportunities!). The FFFI received a 30 million dollar state grant, which, as Patricia noted on the call, The Reinvestment Fund was able to match three to one. The pilot program has been successful in Pennsylvania and the goal is for it to become a federally funded national program—used as a model across the country.  And the FFFI model is already spreading—even without any major investment on the federal level. This past summer Governor Quinn approved 10 million Fresh Food Financing Fund in Illinois, and the state of Louisiana passed a Healthy Food Retail Act, and Mayor Bloomberg founded the F.R.E.S.H. program to provide zoning incentive for healthy food retailers. 

The FFFI is proposing that the USDA select a national fund manager to work with local, state, and regional partners including food/health nonprofits and industry leaders to ensure that as the projects spread, they continue to meet community needs and stimulate local economies.  These local leaders would be responsible for marketing, outreach, and provide grant implementation. To be eligible for FFFI funding, the project must be a viable enterprise, be located in a low-income and underserved area with significant access limitations.  A project resolution was passed this past year and individuals working with the FFFI are pushing hard for federal government legislation next year. I hope that this proposed solution to our nations food distribution problem, is just the first of many as more attention is drawn to the issue. My father’s health food store plans didn’t end up taking off, but he was on to something.  To get more information on the Fresh Food Financing Initiative or other PolicyLink webinars contact Judith Bell at jbell[at]policylink.org.