Food Systems and Gardens

Healthy eating is important to maintaining healthy lives (read more about healthy eating and its connection to obesity), yet healthy eating is not always as simple as it should be. Many supermarkets, restaurants and fast food chains sell high calorie processed foods, and access to fresh fruits and vegetables can be difficult, especially in food deserts where the nearest grocery might be miles away.

Fortunately, there has been a recent explosion in interest in the food we eat – from its origins, to its production methods, to its relationship to our health. This has led to a growth in healthy and sustainable food production and consumption, through an expansion of backyard and urban gardens, local farmers’ markets, and community supported agriculture, which has resulted in healthier items on the menu. Our communities will see direct health benefits from increased access to healthy food.

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National

Regional

Facts

Regional

  • The Food Desert Oasis Act of 2009 would officially designate Kansas City, Missouri – and 19 other cities as food deserts.

    H.R. 3100 Food Desert Oasis Act of 2009: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.3100.IH:

  • Since 2006, 82 of 213 grocery stores serving Kansas communities with populations of 2,500 or less have closed.

    David Procter, director of the Center for Engagement and Community Development at Kansas State University: http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/news/story/rural_grocerystores062410.aspx

  • Number of low-income residents in the HCF service area living more than one mile from the nearest grocery store:

    • Jackson County - 36,713
    • Cass County -9,951
    • Lafayette County - 4,757
    • Wyandotte County - 12,914
    • Johnson County - 9,853
    • Allen County - 2,268

    U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Environment Atlas: http://www.ers.usda.gov/foodatlas/

National

  • 23.5 million Americans lack access to a supermarket within a mile of their home.

    Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Measuring and Understanding Food Deserts and Their Consequences, U.S. Department of Agriculture, June 2009

  • Of all the households in the United States, 2.3 million, or 2.2 percent, live more than a mile from a supermarket and do not have access to a vehicle. An additional 3.4 million households, or 3.2 percent of all households, live between one-half to 1 mile and do not have access to a vehicle.

    Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Measuring and Understanding Food Deserts and Their Consequences, U.S. Department of Agriculture, June 2009

  • The number of small farms, as well as their diversity of crops, is growing in the United States.

    2007 Census of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture

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