Greater Third Ward community members take a stand against food insecurity
Kimberly Robinson patiently waited for her order at Frenchy’s Chicken on Scott Street near the University of Houston. She’s visited multiple fast food restaurants this week for lunch.
“There’s not a lot of places to eat or buy healthy things, so it’s easy to slide through here or McDonald’s a lot,” said Robinson.
According to the Houston Health Department’s 2017 health profile on the Third Ward area, about 40% of adults were obese in 2014 compared to 33% of Houston.
“A lot of my family members have health problems, like Diabetes and high cholesterol. It runs a lot in my family,” said Robinson.
With a lack of produce stores and healthy food establishments, the Third Ward sits in a food desert. As defined by the USDA’s website, food deserts are areas that lack “grocery stores, farmer’s markets, and healthy food providers.” Urban areas with low-income neighborhoods are often the main victims to these circumstances.
The streets in this area are booming with liquor, convenience, and corner stores. The closest grocery store, Fiesta, is located on Main Street and highway 59, near the outside boundaries of the Third Ward district. However, there’s been recent efforts by the community to consider the full effects that come with low-food security.
One place paving the way is a garden that offers free vegetables to locals. The oldest community garden in Houston, Alabama Gardens, is an extensive lot of harvested greens located on Alabama Street. The garden is a part of the American Community Gardening Association, which promotes self-reliance and preserving resources in communities.
Clifford Williams, 55, has dedicated a lot of his life to growing and harvesting lots at the garden. He feels the garden is a solution to the region’s food issues.
“I always tell people this is an oasis in the desert,” said Williams.
Kale, cauliflower, lettuce, and cabbage are grown around the year and are free nutritional sources for the community.
“We eat what we grow,” said Williams.
Williams is among a group of community members that are trying to raise awareness and offer solutions to Third Ward’s food desert.
Down the street on Ennis is the Third Ward multi-service that facilitates the Diabetes Awareness Center. They offer multiple programs for families at risk or affected by Diabetes, ranging from cooking to fitness classes.
Caleb Boutte is a public health educator, who works at the center on advocating healthy eating and activities. Boutte says that corner and liquor stores are plaguing every block creating a shortage of healthy foods.
“You can pass up five to eight corner stores before you reach any type of grocery store. I think the closest one is about a mile and a half from here, Fiesta,” said Boutte.
“We encourage people around the community to actually grow their own gardens,” said Boutte.
The center has a gardening club that teaches individuals how to maintain a garden. According to Boutte, giving individuals the knowledge of harvesting at home is one of many possible solutions to living in a food desert.
“You save yourself a lot of money and get exercise by actually going outside and tending to your garden. Some people maybe do want to garden, but maybe they don’t have knowledge on how to take care of it,” said Boutte.
Boutte believes that poor food choices are also linked to the low-income of some families in the area. A lot of those families depend on programs, like SNAP, which is a food stamp assistance program for families in need.
“There’s a lot of people who depend on the SNAP program. If you have a family of five you’re not going to go for the most expensive veggies that are in the produce, instead you will look for something that lasts a long time and feeds your family,” said Boutte.
One place that’s putting an end to the long proximity of healthy food options is Nu Waters, located across the street from Emancipation Park. They provide fresh organic fruits, vegetables, juices, herbs, and sources of fiber.
Store manager Kassandra Jones, 51, says “we opened up a store to address low food security. All we had to do was open our doors and offer fresh food and vegetables.”
The shop is organized with a series of wooden bins, each containing vegetables ranging from tomatoes to cantaloupe. Some tables have large tin or glass cans filled with beans, nuts, and pasta. By the checkout table, there’s a stand with cook books and African-American inspired art work that depicts a close family with God behind them watching.
The store is considered a co-op, a store opened by the community collectively.
“It’s about us changing the way we think as a community and the things that we do”, said Jones.
Mario Allen, 24, is a regular at Nu Waters, who says the shop is the closest grocery store to his house.
“This here is the spot. I come here every day because this is the closest store with real food that’s within blocks of my home,” said Allen.
As more places offer a solution to the community’s food desert, Kimberly Robinson has hope that her family can break away from the cycle of unhealthy eating.
“We’re trying to cut back on the junk and purchase more veggies and things like that at stores.”
