Food Desert Fight: Getting Fruits & Veggies Into Low Income Communities

Dear EarthTalk: What are some innovative ways to get more fresh food—fruits and veggies—to low income people?

—Paul Towner, Boston, MA

Across the U.S., communities are facing a growing problem—a lack of healthy, fresh food. With the price of fruits and veggies shooting up 40 percent since 1980 and the price of processed foods going down 20-30 percent, many families find buying processed foods the only sensible economic decision. Now, with the Centers of Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) reporting that only one in 10 adults eats enough fruits and vegetables, expanding access to low-income communities is more important than ever before.

Voucher incentive programs, which provide coupons, vouchers and financial incentives to low-income individuals, offer a viable solution. The New York City Health Department, for example, introduced the $2 NYC Health Bucks coupons in 2004, which gave SNAP recipients $2 to purchase fresh produce for every $5 they spend at a farmers market. By reducing the financial barrier to purchasing fresh produce, these programs allow consumers to choose healthier food options without sacrificing affordability.

Similarly, Produce Prescription programs expand accessible access to fresh foods through a health care pipeline: Health care workers like physicians and nurse practitioners can prescribe fruits and vegetables to patients with chronic diseases or a lack of access to nutritious food. Fresh Prescription, a Produce Prescription program implemented in Detroit, found significant decreases in hemoglobin H1c for its participants signifying a lower risk of diabetes complications and better heart health.

These programs have proved successful in improving both access to fresh food options and the quality of people’s diets. According to Fresh Approach, an organization that provides Veggie Rx service—a Produce Prescription Program—in the San Francisco Bay Area, 89 percent of participants reported eating more vegetables since the program began. “With eight people in our family, I’ve had to really watch what I spend money on, so I do a lot of coupon clipping, but you don’t find coupons for fruits and vegetables,” reports Bethany Thompson, a VeggieRx client. “The VeggieRx program has been absolutely great because it helps me to actually afford the healthy food that I want to feed all my kids.”

However, America’s food and nutrition insecurity crisis is far from over. Organizations still face inconsistent funding, limiting the amount of people they can directly assist. Consumers can support these programs by donating to partner organizations and telling others how to get involved. Together, the community can help expand access to nutritious food for everyone, by everyone.

CONTACTS

EarthTalk® is produced by Roddy Scheer & Doug Moss for the 501(c)3 nonprofit EarthTalk. See more at https://emagazine.com. To donate, visit https://earthtalk.org. Send questions to: question@earthtalk.org.