Austin Sets Out to Eradicate Food Deserts

By Nicole Scallan
AUSTIN, Texas (March 8, 2016) The Austin City Council directed City Manager Marc
Ott Thursday to organize a task force to deal with food deserts in the city.
The Healthy Food Financing Initiative Working Group, an Oakland, California-based
public interest organization, defines a food desert as a low-income census tract in which
a substantial number of residents have limited access to a full service grocery store.
City Council member Delia Garza introduced the proposal to create the task force. The
task force will include Ott, Garza, and a few chair members from various local health
organizations.
[These areas are] parts of the country devoid of fresh fruit, vegetables, and other
healthy, whole foods, and theyre usually impoverished areas, Garza said in a news
conference Thursday.
Garza said parts of Del Valle are more than 15 miles away from a full-service grocery
store, and that many of the District 2 Del Valle residents have rallied to get a store that
is more accessible.
Food deserts became a topic of conversation in 2010 when First Lady Michelle Obama
raised the issue as it relates to childhood obesity. Parts of southeast, northeast and
central east Austin were identified as food deserts soon after.
Access to food is a basic equity and quality of life issue, said Garza. Part of this
resolution is to ensure that the newly-formed Equity Office will include access to food as
a part of their mission.
Sustainable Good Policy Board Chair Kathy Green said her team is studying the issue
carefully to make recommendations to City Council. In an interview, Green said her
work with the Capital Area Food Bank has given her insight to the reality that lowerincome households are making basic-needs choices, and consequently, nutritional food
options hold minimum priority.
Our lower-income neighbors do not eat poorly because they want to; they are resigned
to it because of lack of money, lack of a full service grocery store, or both, Green said.
Garza said the newly-formed Equity Office in Austin plans to propose an educational
component, along with solutions like wholesale produce markets as well as full-service
grocery stores.
Adam Smith, 29, said that education is most important in creating food security. Smith
is the co-founder of Kakaxi, a local agriculture company that works to provide
consumers with information about where their food is coming from. Consumers can use
the Kakaxi app to follow along farmers in real-time for updates on crops throughout

their growth process.

While this is a serious problem in many areas, I think the issue facing most lowincome areas in Austin is the rapid gentrification that is occurring, said Smith in a
phone interview. Gentrification brings high-dollar food to these areas but doesnt do
anything to improve food access to those families that are being pushed out.
Smith said that providing education in addition to food accessibility can yield a healthier
population and more educated consumer.
The task forces report is due in mid-June.