22 Search results for "food deserts"

With a recent grocery store opening, Salvation Army is beginning a program to combat food deserts, communities without meaningful and close access to fresh produce and meats. Food deserts often have substantial poverty levels. The communities are often of-color and reflect larger national food security problems. As the Huffington Post reported, the Baltimore store, constructed on a […]

Actor Wendell Pierce – famous for roles in The Wire and Treme – is giving back to his hometown of New Orleans by opening a chain of grocery stores in food deserts across the city.

Assata’s Daughters is a Chicago-based collective that embraces a Black radical perspective to serve their Washington Park community. One of their newest programs is a food justice-oriented garden. Members will provide food to the community, share knowledge about gardening and conservation, and teach “the importance of self-sustainment as a tool of resistance.” 

  Six years ago, Ald. Joann Thompson (16th) traveled to the International Council of Shopping Centers convention in Las Vegas to push for retailers to bring their business to Chicago’s Englewood community. She came away with nothing. 

According to a recent study, the body mass index of low-income African Americans that live in close proximity to fast food is higher than those who do not. Often called food deserts, cheap, affordable, abundant fast food options in low-income neighborhoods is highly influential on obesity rates among the population.

Afternoon RoundUp September 9, 2011 The internet has been freaking out today at the prospect of fast food chains like McDonalds, Wendys and Taco Bell accepting food stamps from customers. You’ve got one side arguing that nobody, rich or poor, should be utilizing a tax payer-funded program like food stamps to buy junk food like […]

Do You Live in a Food Desert? Search Your Area Asraa Mustufa, Colorlines | May 24, 2011 The USDA introduced a mapping tool this month that tracks food deserts across the country, and includes demographic information about those living in areas without access to healthy and affordable food. The Food Desert Locator highlights areas that are low-income […]

I come from folks who organized rent parties and bail funds, who put money away for rainy days or times when mamas needed to escape dysfunctional and abusive households. I come from folks who believe in direct giving and show it. Folks who give hugs and offer handshakes in order to exchange money discreetly. Folks who […]

by Donnie Moreland  My father is a diabetic, with chronic pain and a fragile immune system due to rounds of dialysis, which cause more pain and thus tosses him into the throws of a cycle which is, observably, hell. He is also a business owner, which necessitates an urgency of decision making, that suffers when […]

According to the Institue for Self-Reliance, a community located on the north side of Tulsa, Oklahoma is looking to push dollar stores (Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar) out of their community. At present, the stores have over 50 locations in North Tulsa alone, and while this predominantly Black portion of Tulsa goes on […]

Activists in Chicago’s Bronzeville community are tired of losing schools in the district. After plans by Chicago Public Schools to close more than 50 schools in the city went into effect, residents and community members are saying that enough is enough. They are fighting to keep Dyett High School, the neighborhood’s last CPS high school open. 

  It broke my heart the other day when I saw a family of four buying their actual groceries at a gas station. The family consisted of a mother who clearly looked overworked and anxious, three little girls and a young boy. While the mother had a very average weight, all of her children were […]