Food Access

The wide-spread access and consumption of healthy and organic foods have a variety of benefits for the reproductive system. A lack of access to healthy foods decreases the ability to maintain a healthy balance of all the necessary nutrients for optimal bodily functioning. However, not everyone has access to these types of foods. According to Feeding America, one of the largest charities working to end hunger in the United States, more than 44 million people in the US are food insecure. 

People are food insecure when they lack dependable access to sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious food needed for normal growth, development, and a healthy life, as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States explains. Whereas food security promotes the well-being of individuals, food insecurity is associated with adverse health conditions such as:

  • Anemia, 
  • Gestational diabetes, 
  • Preterm birth, and 
  • Newborn mortality. 

It can be difficult to overcome food insecurity because of the challenges that surround access to healthy food, much of which is the result of structural inequities, such as redlining, lack of transportation, and gentrification. 

Limitations to Accessing Healthy Food in Communities

Redlining

Redlining was the systematic denial of financial services, such as insurance, mortgages, and other loans, to certain areas based on race and ethnicity. This structural injustice has led to continued segregation and economic inequality within residential communities, as explained by Bruce Mitchell, PhD.

This practice, which was carried out by the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC), graded neighborhoods in the US to assess their mortgage security. The grading system is described by Robert Nelson, PhD., as follows: 

  • A (green) = the “best” neighborhoods, deemed prime candidates for receiving bank loans 
  • B (blue) = “still desirable”
  • C (yellow) = “declining”
  • D (red) = “hazardous”

 

Because of this system, people living in areas given a grade of D were essentially barred from receiving bank loans to buy homes, making it difficult for those families to accumulate generational wealth through home equity. The lack of generational wealth in these communities presented and still present financial challenges for families, making it difficult to afford basic necessities like healthy food. Because of the financial barriers that this grading practice imposed upon residents, grocery store owners were less likely to invest in and establish stores within these neighborhoods. The process by which supermarkets are placed within neighborhoods with wealth or existing stores are removed from neighborhoods of lower income is defined by Mengyao Zhang, PhD as spatial supermarket redlining. In an interview with Nathaniel Meyersohn, historian Joshua Davis, PhD states that supermarkets focus more on a “white, suburban, middle-class family of four” as they believe these communities are more profitable. This lack of investment in lower-income neighborhoods further limits access to healthy food.

Lack of Transportation

In addition to structural inequities in the built environment, transportation can influence someone’s ability to access food. Transportation insecurity is characterized by Alexandra Murphy, PhD as the inability to regularly get from one place to another in a “safe or timely manner.” Murphy asserts that 1 in 4 adults and certain communities of people are more likely to experience transportation insecurity. This includes those of low income, those without a car, and people of color. Without a car or accessible public transportation, individuals are limited to the options closest to them, and Colleen Heflin, PhD concludes that this increases their likelihood of food insecurity. 

Surveys conducted by the organization U.S. Hunger show that 42.6% of people seeking food assistance since 2020 lacked transportation access to grocery stores. In separate studies, Jacqueline Shieh, MS and Brianna L. Dumas, MPH, RD found that many people face challenges accessing free food donations from pantries and other entities because of long distances and limited transit—forcing them to rely on others for rides or go without food. 

Gentrification

Gentrification can also cause food to be less accessible for long-time residents of a neighborhood with the introduction of new food spaces such as cafes as well as public and farmers’ markets that appeal to higher income consumers, as Nevin Cohen, PhD. explains. National Geographic describes gentrification as the process by which working class communities and communities of color are displaced by higher-income residents. Investment in these neighborhoods by real estate companies that cater to wealthier communities can cause prices to rise, pushing out long-term residents. As Cohen stresses that those who are able to stay are not only faced with higher rents but also higher food prices.

Urban economist Rachel Meltzer, PhD lists some of the ways in which gentrification can alter food affordability and the food landscape of a community:

  • The influx of new, higher-income residents increases the demand for new food grocers
  • Existing businesses may change their products and prices to cater to new residents, which can exclude long-term community members
  • New products may not be culturally appropriate for long-standing residents
  • Existing businesses may not be able to afford the rising rents of their property, which can force them to shut down. This can hurt lower income residents who depended on the business for sustenance

Institutional practices such as redlining detail how food inequalities are not isolated and are the result of structural racism. Food inequity, Rachael Dombrowski, PhD, MPH explains, is also connected to examples of historical and present day structural racism such as, but not limited to, segregation and unfair hiring practices. These factors can also impact the ability of people to gain access to healthy foods.  

Various studies have shown food insecurity as not simply a matter of individual choices but as a condition that can be deeply intertwined with historical discriminatory practices, structural inequities, and systemic racism. The legacy of redlining, along with transportation inequities and gentrification, has had profound impacts on shaping neighborhoods. These elements play a major role in restricting access to essential resources, including healthy and affordable food options. Understanding the root causes and multifaceted nature of food insecurity is critical in developing equitable solutions that support the wellbeing of individuals and the communities in which they live.