| _____________________________________________________________________ | | Far too many Blacks still living in 'food deserts'
By Cheryle R. Jackson
Growing up, I don't recall ever being concerned about the quality of the food we ate at home. Memphis is metropolitan but located along the Farm Belt. Even non-farm families were more likely to grow some of their own vegetables and spices. Access to fresh food wasn't a problem.
But living on the South Side of Chicago is a different story. After moving here, it wasn't long before I had joined the chorus of residents frustrated by the lack of reputable grocery stores in the area. Why should I have to start up my car and take my dollars outside my community to get a decent piece of fruit?
In 2006, a groundbreaking study, Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in Chicago, identified numerous Chicago neighborhoods as "food deserts," areas lacking access to quality grocery stores and, therefore, quality food. And, not surprisingly, I was living in one of them.
The study was recently updated by the original authors at the Mari Gallagher Research and Consulting Group and found that the food desert has shrunk by 1.4 square miles, benefiting 24,000 people. But we're not out of the woods by a long shot. Areas such as Chatham actually got worse after that community lost two grocery stores, according to the Chicago 2009 Food Desert Progress Report, which covers a period up to September 2008.
More than 600,000 people still live in food deserts, most of them African American and about a third of them children. The research goes right to the heart of what residents are experiencing everyday. But more importantly, it shows statistically the impact of the loss of even one grocery store on a community. In that way, it has become a road map for city planners and grocers who are using the data to identify grocery development sites. Areas most in need are Austin, Fuller Park, Grand Boulevard, Englewood, Greater Grand Crossing and Roseland, according to the study.
"The industry as a whole has rallied to come up with solutions," said Mari Gallagher, creator and head researcher of the food desert studies. "They want to address market level concerns against human need. We are starting to see evidence of that."Here is where the rubber meets the road. Walgreens recently announced that it would expand its food lines in areas identified as food deserts, starting with locations along Madison Street on the West Side . That's good news in the interim, because when grocery stores move out of Black communities, another grocer is less likely to move in. "That has a direct impact on the quality of life and length of life," Gallagher said.
The updated study provides a new measurement called Years of Potential Life Gained that really captures what's at stake. For instance, the study found, if a grocer moved into Roseland, 24,000 people would benefit. But the community as a whole would gain 15 years of life back from diabetes, 58 years of life back from diet-related cancers, 112 years of life back from cardiovascular diseases and 13 years of life back from liver disease.
The findings sure do put into perspective why the African American community suffers in greater numbers from food-related illnesses and obesity. It also helps to explain "commercial deserts," areas generally lacking high-impact retailers. "A grocery store is an anchor that can attract other kinds of retail. But unfortunately, grocers go where grocers are already. It takes effort to overcome that," Gallagher said.
While lawmakers in Washington grapple with how to solve America 's health care crisis, we, in the Black community, need to start paying close attention to the factors contributing to the illnesses that have been sickening our relatives for decades.
The food desert study provides some eye-opening statistics that speak to the urgency of the problem in Chicago and around the country. Think it's not your problem? The study also sought to dispel perceptions that all residents living in food deserts are poor. Food deserts can affect people of all income and education levels. Of the 24,000 residents who benefited from Chicago 's food desert shrinking, about 1,300 earn more than $75,000 a year and 590 earn more than $100,000, the study found.
It's also essential that when our community's do gain reputable grocery stores that we support them. The Chicago Urban League featured one, Farmers Best Market, at 1424 W. 47th St ., on our first season of nextTV: Change You Can See. If you haven't stopped by, check it out.
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