Access to Healthy Affordable Food

Overview

The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines a community’s lack of reasonable access to affordable quality food as “community food insecurity.” This condition disproportionately affects minority and lower economic status communities and is a major contributor to health risks affecting these groups.  Among the many reasons that a community may have limited access to healthy, affordable food are the flight of large grocery store chains from inner city neighborhoods, lack of affordable and accessible transportation options to access quality foods, and a proliferation of unhealthy eating options.

Under the power reserved by local units of government under the Constitution to regulate for the general health and welfare of their citizens, some cities and counties have tried regulatory approaches in an attempt to improve access to healthier foods. Minneapolis recently enacted an ordinance mandating a minimum selection of perishable food items be offered for sale in grocery stores in the city. The City of Los Angeles passed an interim control ordinance (ICO) prohibiting the approval of new fast food restaurants or the expansion of existing fast food restaurants in selected areas of the city. Both approaches could potentially improve the food insecurity issues in their communities, but would likely be more successful if combined with related positive incentives that involve and have the support of the local community in efforts to increase healthy eating options.

Another approach gaining acceptance is for local governments to incorporate the issue of community food insecurity in city or county comprehensive land use plans. The comprehensive planning process involves consideration of multiple community elements that affect and involve local food systems and engages a variety of constituencies in review and recommendation. It thus incorporates many of the elements that have proven to be effective with other options in alleviating food insecurity.

To combat community food insecurity and improve access to affordable quality foods, local governments can use tax incentives, remove barriers to community-based initiatives, adopt regulations and prohibitions (such as restricting access to fast foods), and incorporate food systems into comprehensive land use planning.  The recent success of communities that have taken such measures shows the importance of land use regulation in the fight against obesity.

Select Research

• Julie Samia Mair, JD, et al, The Use of Zoning to Restrict Fast Food Outlets: A Potential Strategy to Combat Obesity (2005). Background information on the use of zoning to attempt to reduce the health impact of fast food restaurants.
• Ed Bolen & Kenneth Hecht, California Food Policy Advocates, Neighborhood Groceries: New Access to Healthy Food in Low-Income Communities (2003). Useful case studies of community and non-profit collaboration with neighborhood stores to improve food offerings in lower income neighborhoods.
• Leslie Mikkelsen and Sana Chehimi, Prevention Institute, The Links Between the Neighborhood Food Environment and Childhood Nutrition, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2007). Informative discussion of the factors contributing to neighborhood food insecurity and some options that may alleviate the problem. The paper concludes with some suggestions for additional research.
• Rebecca Flournoy & Sarah Treuhaft, Policy Link, Healthy Food, Healthy Communities: Improving Access and Opportunities Through Food Retailing (2005). This paper provides a high-level overview of community food issues and some additional success stories from around the country.
• Judie Levy, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, 10 Ways to Get Healthy, Local Foods into Low-Income Neighborhoods, A Minneapolis Resource Guide (2007). Suggestions and tips on strategies to alleviate community food insecurity and looks at local applications of those strategies. 
• Heather Stouder, Office of the Mayor, Madison, WI, Grocery Stores in City Neighborhoods: Supporting Access to Food Choices, Livable Neighborhoods, and Entrepreneurial Opportunities in Madison, Wisconsin (2004). Examples of success in revitalizing neighborhood stores in Wisconsin’s capital city.

Select Resources

• The Food Trust, Special Report:  Stimulating Supermarket Development:  A New Day for New York (2009).
• Healthy Eating Research, Bringing Healthy Foods Home:  Examining Inequalities in Access to Food Stores (July 2008).
• Community Food Security Coalition. “The Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) is a non-profit…organization dedicated to building strong, sustainable, local and regional food systems that ensure access to affordable, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food for all people at all times.”
• World Hunger Year / Food Security Learning Center.“WHY is a leading advocate for innovative, community-based solutions to hunger and poverty. WHY challenges society to confront these problems by advancing models that create self-reliance, economic justice, and equal access to nutritious and affordable food.”
• American Planning Association Policy Guide on Community and Regional Food Planning - http://www.planning.org/policy/guides/adopted/food.htm “The American Planning Association provides leadership in the development of vital communities by advocating excellence in community planning, promoting education and citizen empowerment, and providing the tools and support necessary to meet the challenges of growth and change.”

Key Links

• Healthy Corner Store Initiative, The Food Trust.  “The Healthy Corner Store Initiative seeks to be an active partner in changing the food landscape in low-income Philadelphia communities. This innovative approach encompasses environmental change, social marketing, nutrition education in local schools, technical training and assistance with corner stores, and research in order to reduce the incidence of diet-related disease and obesity in our communities.”
• Healthy Community Store National Network. “The Healthy Corner Stores Network promotes efforts to bring healthier foods into corner stores in low-income and underserved communities. Led by the Community Food Security Coalition, The Food Trust, and Public Health Law & Policy, the Healthy Corner Store Network (HCSN) brings together community members, local government staff, nonprofits, funders, and others across the country to share best practices, lessons learned, and new approaches to common challenges.”
• United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Food Security Resources.  “The primary focus of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s nutrition assistance programs is providing food security—access by all people at all times to enough nutritious food for an active, healthy life.”

Select Legislation

Zoning ordinances regulating the location/density of fast food restaurants

• Los Angeles County, CA, moratorium on new fast food restaurants in Southern L.A. County
• City of Arden Hills, MN, Zoning Code § 1325.04 subd. 1

Licensing ordinances to promote healthy food choices in convenience stores

• Minneapolis Code of Ordinances, Ch. 203, §§ 203.10-.30 (requiring grocery and specialty food stores to stock a minimum amount of fresh, perishable foods)

Incentive programs promoting grocery stores in underserved areas

• Food Trust Model – Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative
• New York City’s Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (FRESH) Program