Is enough being done to combat food deserts in the city of Austin?

When you walk into the grocery store with your list in hand, you probably have a goal to accomplish. Whether it be you are trying to satisfy a craving, stocking up for the week, or you are trying to finally kick in that healthy routine, most people walk into their favorite grocery store knowing that they have options. Options to either create what you want in the kitchen or grab things that are easy to make. While for most it’s easy to get into the car or other form of transportation to go to another grocery store if you please, for some it’s not that easy.

Portions of Austin are categorized as food desert, meaning it is one of the areas where a portion of the population has limited access to food retailers (Diao, 2014). The USDA defines food deserts as the segments of the country who do not have access to fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthful whole foods, usually found in impoverished areas (Shannon, 2016). The boundaries of who falls into being food insecure were defined by asking families whether there was a period in the past year when they had a difficulty meeting their food needs (Shannon, 2016). 26.5 million Americans live in a food desert (Cole, 2012). Texas as a whole has the 7th highest food insecurity rate in the country. (Davis et.al, 2016). At the city level, one in four Austin households experience food-insecurity and 24 % of kids are considered to be food insecure in Travis County as of 2016 (Davis et.al, 2016). The City of Austin has embarked on initiatives to combat the problem of food desert, but starting to fix the issues is only part of the solution. Examining what are the biggest issues for those living in food deserts are, noticing what part of the population these initiatives need to help, and inspecting what progress has already been done with existing programs will be fundamental to measure if the grocery and food gap have improved.

When it comes to grocery shopping, Austin has choices for whatever the consumer is looking for. To demonstrate a part of the options, the table below shows how many grocery stores a person can find if you search on google. This by all means does not represent all of the grocery store options in the Austin Area. For example, this graph does not represent mom and pop grocery stores or smaller stores like Wheatsville Coop. On top of the grocery stores, there are 8 farmers markets and 3 farm stands in Austin (Rhode, 2016). This graph is meant to highlight that Austin has options and the options are endless (“Activity Level Reflects Grocers’ Enthusiasm About Austin.”, 2014).

However, using the graphic below provided by AustinTexas.gov, the distribution of grocery stores are concentrated in very few areas. I-35 is represented by the light brown line on the first image. Everything on the east side of that line is what has been discussed is a food desert in Austin and there are very sporadic locations of full-service grocery stores. Non-full-service grocery stores are concentrated very closely to the highway and decreases when you move out from the highway (“Food Security in Travis County.”, 2012). Having options is only relevant to those who are in closer distance to the stores. On top of there being a lack of grocery stores in East Austin, there is a lack of a reliable public transportation system in this particular area (Diao, 2014). Owning a vehicle can increase options and flexibility to access more options, but having a vehicle and the maintenance for it can often cut in to the money set aside for food as Mi Dao stated in her journal, “Are Inner-City Neighborhoods Underserved?”. (Diao, 2014). These barriers that citizens in East Austin experience induce problems for residents due to location and lack of resources (Bell, et.al 2013). Without a faster way to get to larger supermarkets, the best options are to take their money to small convenience stores as their main source of food, causing them to suffer from higher risks of obesity and other diet-related health problems (Bell, et.al 2013).

The second image provided by AustinTexas.gov, scales the issue for all of Travis County. The problems of not having access to a grocery store within one mile in a urban area and the problem of low access to a vehicle grows larger moving away from the inner-city of Austin (“Food Security in Travis County.”, 2012). The research has been done to showcase where these issues are happening, but the question is, Is enough being done at the moment to make this issue less prominent?

Getting down to the core of the problem, The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs published a report that included statistics about Travis County. In Austin, 427, 224 people live more than half a mile away from a grocery store (Davis et.al, 2016). The median income for those in Austin is $55,216 but the average price to have just enough food is $63, 268,470 (Davis et.al, 2016). 217,684 people, mostly in East and South Austin, are categorized as being in a food desert, meaning that one can find food but it is particularly difficult to find healthy food (Davis et.al, 2016).

Texas as a whole has the SNAP program- the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which allows low-income families to buy nutritious foods from local stores. However, 43% of those who qualify for the program in Austin are not registered for the program (Cole, 2012). Programs such as SNAP do provide relief, but it has been reported that the majority of the money people in Travis County use to get food, about 54 %, comes from their own pocket as shown by the chart above provided by AustinTexas.gov (Dwyer, 2016). While many are eligible to receive benefits such as SNAP, 54 % make too much money to access SNAP, and 39 % do not qualify for federal nutrition programs (Dwyer, 2016). For many on paper, some look like they have enough to sustain their families, but the changing factors of life have an effect on what their income can actually provide. Just as there is a grocery gap, there is a gap in the programs available and who can receive the benefits. Finding the missing elements to provide healthy foods to all is critical so that the increased benefits of nutritious foods can be experienced by all.

The state and city government have programs that are in place and plans to help reach out to the public that needs relief. Embarking on an education outreach to get those who qualify registered, putting more money into supporting small neighborhood corner stores in providing healthy foods, and working out ways to figure out how to make safe routes to farmers markets are a priority for the city of Austin (“Food Security in Travis County.”, 2012). Programs like Farmshare Austin, Fresh for less and the Sustainable Food Center and GAVA are non-profits focusing on the issues associated with food desserts. These non-profits focus on reaching out to the public to get them access to healthy foods and to educate those that need it how to sustain themselves on healthy foods (“Food Security in Travis County.”, 2012). Programs catering to the needs of children have been in action for a while. Schools have jumped in to attempt to provide relief as programs such as Breakfast in the Classroom helps feed students in the classroom instead of the cafeteria to increase participation in the free breakfast program and to decrease the shame of depending on a free meal (Davis et.al, 2016). According to the City of Austin Sustainability office, 82% of AISD schools have an active food garden (Davis et.al, 2016).

When you look on the Fresh for Less website, it states that the City of Austin is partnering with all of the programs listed above, but it is hard to tell what kind of part the city plays in when concerning all of the initiatives these programs are embarking on. It is hard to tell what part the city has other than providing money to these programs.

It seems there are negative aspects to these programs. The negative side to these relief programs are that there are evident limitations. With programs such as SNAP, there are restraints in getting the most amount of participants due to language and other barriers in getting participants enrolled, a certain stereotype painted by most if you use food stamps, an income cutoff causing certain people from receiving the benefits, and the quantity and quality of the food provided with these programs do not allow for a healthy diet (“Food Security in Travis County.”, 2012). 70 % of SNAP participants have reported that what is provided in the program is not adequate enough for a hearty diet (Davis et.al, 2016). Getting down to it, food insecurity is prevalent in areas with high levels of poverty, low annual median household income, high unemployment rates and large populations of minority residents (“Map the Meal Gap.”, 2017). These issues are the root of why an area is a food desert. Hispanics and African Americans mainly occupy these areas in Austin that are considered a food desert where resources are sparse, housing is high and the amount of money they make bears a weight on what they can afford. These are the issues the city of Austin should be looking at. If these programs the government implements can work to fix these problems and food retailers keep these populations in mind , food deserts can start to alleviate themselves.

Taking this all into account, I contacted Carolina Mueller who is the food access manager for Fresh For Less who was taken on the team when the mobile markets were launched in 2016. I wanted to get more of an insight of what Farmshare and the program Fresh For Less are doing. Even before we talked about what Fresh For Less was doing for the community, she launched into a history lesson of why they do what they do. She explained to me the 1928 master plan in the city of Austin and the implications of it. The 1928 master plan was a city plan developed that located “undesirable industry” east of what is now I-35. This plan basically fostered the segregation for it required blacks and hispanics to move to East Austin. To this day, much of Austin’s Black and Hispanic populations live in the area that is now divided by I-35. For years populations have been dealing with the repercussions of this plan as for years money and resources were taken elsewhere,this area received the brunt of industrial projects that lead to health effect and the 90’s lead to a gentrification that has perpetuated the division of population and in turn to a division of resources. Carolina stressed to me that this is a real and tough part of our history and that nothing is going to change because people do not want to talk about it. She also mentioned that “The food desserts were essentially intentional. It was the city’s actions that cut off these people to basic needs and we are still dealing with the implications today.” Carolina also mentioned “The City of Austin has provided 400,000 dollars to the Fresh for Less program and its initiatives. One of the biggest things they do is the markets and farm stands they have for the people.” They have 4 markets every week and 7 weekly farm stands. She plays an integral part in the process of getting the food to the people at a reasonable price they can afford while paying the farmers full price. She said “the food talk is tricky because workers have not had high wages in a long time and there is room for conversation to talk about balance between the two.” She personally loves working for Farmshare and Fresh for Less because loves looking at the food system in a deeper way. Carolina and this nonprofit are working to build that relationship again between food and people again because we have lost the knowledge on how to maintain a good food system. She also mentions “A good food system needs good farmers so a good place to start of seeing that connection between community and people who grow the food is to create a new generation of successful farmers and that is the movement Fresh For Less is trying to lead.”

After speaking with her, I had a better picture of the scale of this issue. The thing she said that stuck with me the most was that these food desserts were not unintentional. It was the actions of the government that put the city in this mess and now they are trying to pick the pieces up. Carolina talked with such passion about what her non-profit does that it seems to me that it is the non-profits that are spear heading these efforts. The City has given Farmshare money to get out there and bring about some change but after talking with her, there does not seem to be any following up on how this money is being used. I think that if the City of Austin really backed up these non-profits with what they are trying to accomplish we could see some real changes happen.

While the Texas Legislature is actively trying to close the food gap, it is hard to tell if any improvements have been reaching those who need it. This table shows a portion of the bills that have been attempted to be in acted, but many have been met by little support (Atteberry, 2017).

Out of the eleven bills presented to focus on access to affordable healthy food/reducing hunger listed in a report from the Michael and Susan Dell- Center for Living, only one passed which is listed at the bottom of the table. For the HB 164 bill, two other bills were presented in different ways but were also rejected. The bill SB 725, was presented one other time before it was passed (Atteberry, 2017). Just by what was presented here, action has been put in motion but has not been successful.

As reported by Leslie Rhode from KXAN Austin, Texas Democratic Representative stated, “The state needs to help the locals out. We need to find more ways to get healthy food into the mouths of people with food insecurity. ” (Rhode, 2016). If the Texas Legislature could come together and find solutions to amend the problems associated with food deserts, it could set an example that could echo down to cities like Austin.

Mari Gallagher describes the situation well in a Ted Talk titled Food Deserts in 2010, “There is not one problem and there is not one solution when concerning food deserts so that means that everyone can do something and every project matters. Imagine the ripple effect if everyone is doing something.” (Gallagher, 2010). Take for example, Ron Finley, who has been working in South Los Angeles to provide vegetable gardens in abandoned areas in his side of town, which is considered a food desert, because he was tired of “the drive-throughs killing more people than the drive by’s. ” (Finley, 2013) In his Ted Talk, he says “Food is the problem and the solution. Growing your own food is like printing your own money.” (Finley, 2013) He also mentions “Let the community garden be a tool for transformation in your city”, because community gardens are a chance to educate the public and especially the children. (Finley, 2013) Children will follow your lead and set an example for their generation. (Finley, 2013) Ron has been recognized for his work in South Central LA because he has been able to turn many desolate, lonely areas to a vibrate, positive community garden for his community. Ron is an example of what an eagerness to stop a problem can accomplish. Ron, who is just one person, started a movement that has resounded a positive outcome in his community. Food deserts won’t be fixed by tomorrow, but with more people taking action like Ron, we can come closer to it.

There is no denying that work is being done in the City of Austin but there seems to be a disconnect between plans and initiatives that start out with our politicians and leaders and seeing these ideas being put into action with the populations who need it. The most important thing for the City of Austin to do going forward is to follow through with all the initiatives and proposals that have been suggested that the legislature will do and to fully support the work that these nonprofits are doing. Educating the public would also be key because education is happening but it would be beneficial for education of the issues and relief programs to be brought to a larger scale. By reaching out to larger populations to educate the public, the different programs can see higher success rates and more participation. The food desert problem is widespread but if the government, non-profits and those from the public who are willing to back the issue come together, unify our projects and work together on how we can alleviate this concern, Travis County and the city of Austin could see palpable change happen.

Peer Reviewed sources-

• Diao, Mi. “Are Inner-City Neighborhoods Underserved?” Journal of Planning Education and Research, Sage Journals, 23 Dec. 2014, journals.sagepub.com.ezproxy.lib.utexas.edu/doi/full/10.1177/0739456X14562283.
• Davis et.al., “Food For All: Inclusive Neighborhood Food Planning in North Austin.” Edited by Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, Issuu, Sustainability Office of the City of Austin, 5 July 2016, issuu.com/atxsustainability/docs/food_for_all_final_070616.compresse.
• Bell, et al. “Access to Healthy Foods and Why It Matters.” Foodtrust.org, 2013, thefoodtrust.org/uploads/media_items/access-to-healthy-food.original.pdf.
• Jerry Shannon (2016) Beyond the Supermarket Solution: Linking Food Deserts, Neighborhood Context, and Everyday Mobility, Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 106:1, 186–202,
• Cole , Celia. “Access to Healthy and Affordable Food Is Critical to Good Nutrition.”Forabettertexas.org, Mar. 2012, www.forabettertexas.org/images/2012_02_FoodAccess.pdf.
• Atteberry , Heather. Food Policy . Michael and Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living , 2017, sph.uth.edu/research/centers/dell/85th-texas-legislature/food-policy.htm.

Other Sources-

• “ Activity Level Reflects Grocers’ Enthusiasm About Austin.” Top 100 Markets, 14 Jan. 2014, te7fv6dm8k.search.serialssolutions.com
• Leslie Rhode/KXAN Special. “Food Deserts: How Austin Is Tackling the Problem.” KXAN.com, 8 Nov. 2016, kxan.com/2016/11/07/food-deserts-how-austin-is-tackling-the-problem/.
• Lueckemeyer, Olivia. “Data Shows Some South Austin Residents Live with Limited Accessibility to Full-Service Grocery Stores.” Community Impact Newspaper, 25 Apr. 2017, communityimpact.com/austin/data-reference/2017/04/26/data-shows-south-austin-residents-live-limited-accessibility-full-service-grocery-stores/.
• “Map the Meal Gap.” Feeding America, 2017, map.feedingamerica.org/.
• Gallagher , Mari, director. TEDxWindyCity — Mari Gallagher — Food Deserts. YouTube, Tedx Talks , Nov. 2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEWriN6kh3c.
• Finley, Ron,. A Guerilla Gardener in South Central LA | Ron Finley. YouTube, Ted , Mar. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzZzZ_qpZ4w.
• “Food Security in Travis County.” Austintexas.gov, Aug. 2012, www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=175568.