First Lady Highlights Efforts to Improve Food Access in Visit to LA

Yesterday, Michelle Obama visited the site of a new grocery store in an impoverished section of Los Angeles to highlight her work in spearheading efforts to improve access to fresh foods and reduce obesity across the country.

February 2, 2012, 9am PST | Jonathan Nettler | @nettsj

As Anna Gorman reports, the First Lady's visit helped to spotlight the work of the California FreshWorks Fund, a coalition of health organizations, banks and groceries led by the California Endowment, that has committed $264 million in public-private loans to help the stores get underway.

"Access to fresh food has long been a problem in low-income neighborhoods around California. Nearly 4.4 million Californians live where they have limited or no access to healthy food, according to a study by the nonprofit organization Social Compact."

"Inglewood teacher Melody Pogue, 46, said the grocery store will be a great addition to the city. Many of her students' families will be able to walk to the market rather than traveling elsewhere to get food, or relying on fast food or corner stores for their meals."

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First Lady Michelle Obama visits Inglewood to promote food access

Published on Wednesday, February 1, 2012 in Los Angeles Times