by Share On Social!
The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 left many cities deserted and families without access to grocery stores or healthy food access, but New Orleans took the rebuilding opportunity in 2011 with the Fresh Food Retailer Initiative (FFRI), seeded with $7 million to help invest in healthy food access for all New Orleans residents.
On November 29th, eighteen legislators from states plagued with food deserts visited healthy food retail outlets in New Orleans, which were funded by their city’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), to learn how they could create similar programs in their states to benefit their constituents.
HFFI’s are a tool for state and local governments to bring new supermarkets and grocery stores to low-income, underserved communities and have been shown through research to help improve healthy food access and economic vitality in underserved areas.
The National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) and the American Heart Association (AHA) led the Food Desert Tour in New Orleans to help provide inspiration and stimulate conversation on how to bring healthier foods to all areas that are underserved or considered food deserts throughout the nation.
Showing to be a successful example, New Orleans stores have brought together schools and communities and created new jobs around healthier food access. For example, Dryades Public Market recently opened in 2016, not only offers fresh food but also has a public school on their second floor and office space to rent on the third floor. The local Whole Foods offers the community most items on sale, but also has offices that include a cooking school, a public school and a nonprofit!
States and cities interested in making the healthy choice the easy choice and helping to reverse chronic disease through healthier food access can follow the examples of many successful initiatives across the country, including in New Orleans.To read more on this story, click here.
By The Numbers
1
Supermarket
for every Latino neighborhood, compared to 3 for every non-Latino neighborhood
