Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio. Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren vogle bomb here with a classic episode
Speaker 1: from our archives. This one goes into the harsh realities
Speaker 1: of the gaps in our food supply chain here in
Speaker 1: the United States and what's being done to improve the situation.
Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff, Lauren voge bomb here. The United States
Speaker 1: still struggles to feed people adequately. According to a new
Speaker 1: analysis by the nonprofit organization Reinvestment Fund, seventeen point six
Speaker 1: million Americans lack access to healthy food. It's not all
Speaker 1: bad news. They analyzed limited supermarket areas or l says,
Speaker 1: often called food deserts. Their analysis shows that in most states,
Speaker 1: access to healthy food has improved overall during the past
Speaker 1: several years. Even in states with significant population growth, such
Speaker 1: as Florida and Arizona, the percentage of people who lived
Speaker 1: in alisas decreased from six point eight percent in to
Speaker 1: ten to five point six percent in twenty six. That
Speaker 1: means three point one million people have better access to
Speaker 1: fresh foods than they used to, but progress hasn't been
Speaker 1: consistent across the country. Even though grocery stores aren't the
Speaker 1: only places to get fresh food. Other retailers, including drug
Speaker 1: stores and corner stores. Health experts note that food prices
Speaker 1: at grocery stores are lower than those at smaller stores,
Speaker 1: and that large clubs like Costco and Sam's typically require
Speaker 1: membership fees that may be a barrier for some families. Plus,
Speaker 1: when there are fewer grocery stores in a given area,
Speaker 1: food prices are typically higher. Additionally, the analysis found that
Speaker 1: ls as are disproportionately found in areas where the demographics
Speaker 1: include more people with low incomes, people in poverty, and
Speaker 1: people of color. For example, food access improved overall in
Speaker 1: Rhode Island. The number of people living in alisas they're
Speaker 1: dropped thirty eight percent between twenty and twenty sixteen, but
Speaker 1: of Rhode Islands remaining ls A population is income residents.
Speaker 1: Access to healthy food is key for good health and
Speaker 1: quality of life. People who live in areas with poor
Speaker 1: access to healthy food are fifty cent less likely to
Speaker 1: have a good quality diet. In communities with good access
Speaker 1: to healthy food, there's a reduced incidence of diabetes, for example.
Speaker 1: Food access also impacts other health conditions, such as cardiovascular
Speaker 1: disease and even some types of cancer. The Reinvestment Fund
Speaker 1: analysis identifies low supermarket areas by looking at criteria such
Speaker 1: as income, car ownership rates, and the distance to existing
Speaker 1: grocery stores, making adjustments for differences in rural and urban areas. Still,
Speaker 1: residents of LSAs travel almost twice as far to get
Speaker 1: to grocery stores as residents in places with good access
Speaker 1: to healthy food, even when there is a similar population
Speaker 1: density and car ownership. Retailers typically place stores in areas
Speaker 1: where there's enough demand to sustain operations, such as a
Speaker 1: denser population with a higher income. Low income or rural
Speaker 1: areas don't offer those characteristics to attract retailers without other incentives,
Speaker 1: and in urban areas, retailers face barriers such as real
Speaker 1: estate costs, limited parking space for customers, and traffic issues
Speaker 1: which can make it hard for large trucks to enter
Speaker 1: and make regular deliveries. The LSA analysis by the Reinvestment
Speaker 1: Fund will help direct government assistance to communities to help
Speaker 1: bring grocery stores and healthy food retailers to underserved communities
Speaker 1: through the government's Healthy Food Financing Initiative. In the past
Speaker 1: ten years, drug stores such as Walgreens have made efforts
Speaker 1: to stock limited grocery items, including milk, eggs, and fruit
Speaker 1: calling these efforts a food oasis to combat limited access
Speaker 1: in food deserts, and some communities address food access through
Speaker 1: grassroots efforts such as mobile grocery stores, community gardens, and
Speaker 1: farmers markets. For example, in Chicago, and urban Farming program
Speaker 1: that started back in seen with just a few acres
Speaker 1: of land and a converted bus, served its ten thousand
Speaker 1: customer as of August. The program called Fresh Moves Mobile
Speaker 1: Market serves senior centers, schools, and other locations on Chicago's
Speaker 1: South and West sides weekly, focusing specifically on areas with
Speaker 1: no access to fresh foods. Today's episode is based on
Speaker 1: the article seventeen point six million Americans still lack access
Speaker 1: to healthy food on house toworks dot com, written by
Speaker 1: Sean Chavis. Print Office production of I Heart Radio in
Speaker 1: partnership with house to works dot Com and it's produced
Speaker 1: by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from my heart Radio
Speaker 1: visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.