Bridging the Food Access Divide

I just saw the short film Food Stamped, by Shira and Yuval Potash. This middle class Berkeley, CA couple chose to live off of food stamps for one week. After stealing lots of free samples, skipping and skimping on usual items such as coffee, carrots and cheese and thoroughly planning each meal, the couple successfully pulled off a week's worth of meals on $50.

However, what about the millions of Americans who rely on food stamps every week of the year? And, what if they don't have tidy herb gardens lining their driveway, like Shira and Yuval, to add nutritious and tasty ingredients to spice up their somewhat bland foods? What if someone on food stamps doesn't have access to a supermarket in their neighborhood for nutritious foods? Millions of low-income Americans live in food deserts without easy access to farmers markets, supermarkets or any type of produce.

While our entire nation continues to expand their waistlines, the numbers are more alarming in low-income communities who have disproportionately high rates of obesity, diabetes and other health-ailments from poor diets. And, they are plagued by these for a host of reasons, including limited access to healthy foods.

There are many things you can do (whether or not you use food stamps) to help to bridge our nation's food divide. First, get involved with your local community garden and help to expand them into new communities in your city. Learn about the Food Trust, a Philadelphia-based organization that is bridging the food access divide (and whom we're working with for our Food, Inc. campaign) If you live in the Bay Area, get involved with the People's Grocery to learn more about their work to bring produce to communities in Oakland. Finally, if you patronize farmers markets, make sure they take food stamps.

photo by caryn74, Creative Commons