With low-income children much more likely to be overweight than their wealthier counterparts, Sarah Parsons looks at six innovative ideas for improving access to healthy foods in low-income communities.
The six areas of innovation highlighted by Parsons include efforts focused on grocery incubators, healthy corner stores, food education, farm-to-school programs, farmers' market coupon programs, and urban farms and food pantries.
The locally and nationally oriented programs she identifies seek to tackle the food desert phenomenon, wherein "More than 20 million people live in food deserts, areas where at least a third of the population lives more than one mile from the nearest grocery store (10 miles in rural areas)," by increasing education, availability, and affordability of healthy food.
FULL STORY: Just Deserts: 6 Ways to Bring Good Food to Poor Neighborhoods
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