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Imagine yourself having to commute a few miles every few days to get fresh produce and healthy foods. Doing this for the rest of your life because your community can not provide their residents’ access to healthy foods. But there is a never-ending list of corner stores and liquor stores with not the best food choices like junk food available only. This socio-economic issue is referred to as food insecurity or food deserts. Food deserts have been impacting low-income communities all over the world. Food deserts are a health inequity issue impacting mainly people of color. Food insecurity has been connected with poor health and is a result of socioeconomic disparities. A specific location I am focusing on is in West Oakland, California where people have struggled with food insecurity for quite some time now. The members of this community are African American and Latinx people also known as people of color. Food deserts cause health inequities that negatively impact low-income communities in West Oakland, causing illnesses like malnutrition, diabetes, and obesity. These structural health disparities are rooted in institutional racism and capitalism and are serious social justice equity issues. This a complex issue and I will be analyzing this through an upstream lens on public health and the five different levels of influence in the ecological model.
To get a clear concept of what a food desert is a definition is provided. The definition is, food deserts are defined as parts of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthful whole foods, usually found in impoverished areas (‘The Community for Science-Based Nutrition American Nutrition Association’2017). Food desserts are also known as food insecurity. I will be using both terms in the research paper. In the community of West Oakland, there is an ongoing issue of food deserts. Food deserts are only impacting a certain part of Oakland which is the West part. West Oakland is found to be one of the poorest areas compared to the rest of Oakland. Due to being a low-income community, the resources are limited and more health disparities are present. In the article, it was stated that West Oakland is home to 24,000 primarily African American and Latino residents, approximately 35% of whom live in poverty (Rongerude 2002). People who are living in poverty are known to be struggling to make ends meet, and even struggle to be able to pay for a meal. Living in poverty limits community members to what type of food they can afford. Sometimes what they can afford is not a portion of nutritious and healthy food.
Food deserts have become a health inequity issue because it is impacting a person’s health and putting them at risk for illness and malnutrition. Due to the efficiency of healthy food and fresh produce, some health impacts can be diabetes, malnutrition, or obesity. The less access low-income communities have to healthy food the more prone they are to diseases. Reliance on high-fat, high-carbohydrate fast food diets has become a significant problem and prevents individuals from pursuing a healthy lifestyle (Harris, N. K. 2005, May 9). These types of food are not ideal meals for people this is trash going into someone’s system. These types of food are what are causing diabetes because they are high in sugar and calories. The more carbohydrates they have the harder your body has to work to break them down and since not everything is broken down it is stored as fat causing obesity. The saltiness and sugary substances can also cause high blood pressure because the substance in an abusive amount is overworking your body causing these illnesses. African Americans are 12.7% and Latinx are 12.1% diagnosed with diabetes at a higher rate than whites 7.4% (National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2017). There is a difference between minorities and privileged groups based on percentages of minorities being highly affected. Sometimes these diseases can be developed without even noticing because there aren’t physical changes. The only major change people can start to notice is weight gain other than that most symptoms can go unnoticed for some time. In West Oakland, it is cheaper to get drunk than to have a nutritious meal. As sad as it sounds it is a reality. To get access to fresh produce and healthy foods means you have to drive. Many families rely on public transportation so it is easier to just go to a nearby corner store and buy chips, sweets, or frozen food as a meal. These food items are not providing any nutrients leading them to malnutrition. All these ingredients that junk food has aren’t providing the person with any vitamins, calcium, or energy causing malnutrition. People aren’t aware that their food choices can start to cause health problems in the long run. They aren’t aware of the outcome because to them this is the only resource available to them they believe this is okay for their bodies. Especially in communities where it becomes a norm to shop at a liquor store or corner store instead of an actual grocery store. Food deserts are an ongoing issue and we must pay attention to help low-income communities that are majority people of color. Families are struggling to get access to healthy food which has started to impact their health slowly.
Food insecurity is mostly seen in areas of poverty and communities of people of color creating a racial issue. The people who live miles apart in the Oakland hills are not experiencing limited access to healthy food because their community is majority white and has more money. Therefore, it becomes a health inequity issue because only low-income communities and people of color health are at risk. Oaklands Food Divide shares a story of a family who says that because produce and meat at the few nearby grocery stores often expire on the shelf, Patricia Jones and her family drive twenty-five minutes away to supermarkets in San Leandro to buy food (Oakland Foods Divide 2016). People are having to go out of their way to a different city that is 25 mins away in the car but on public transportation the time doubles. People should be able to go walking or even a 5-minute car ride to the grocery store, not no 25 minutes. The community in West Oakland is being discriminated against because of their class and race. If there was a flip that the majority of residents in West Oakland were white and had more money they would have more resources. Grocery stores and food chains would immediately start to develop in West Oakland. But these food chains and grocery stores don’t develop in West Oakland because they know that the majority of people are minorities who live in poverty so they don’t see any business to establish there. There is no access to healthy foods which is developing an interracial justice issue that I will be connecting with the ecological model and root causes.
Health disparities are being portrayed in neighborhoods and community environmental conditions that can have a high impact on people’s health, not knowing the root causes. The root causes of food deserts in West Oakland have been tied to institutional racism and capitalism creating serious social justice issues. These root causes of food deserts in West Oakland are part of the five levels of the ecological model. If we are looking directly at the issue the people who are affected are people of color and low-income communities. Food insecurity should be understood and practiced as an interracial justice issue. An interracial justice issue is an issue between two races or groups of people. In this case, food deserts are an issue between white and people of color. Food deserts are an interracial issue according to Christoper Curran and Marc Gonzalez we fear and predict that food efforts will likely exacerbate existing racial conflicts, as have so many prior laws and policies that are bound by colorblindness or the nascent post-racial ideology (Curran, C., & González, M. 2011). These authors believe that it is an interracial issue because it has a connection with racial conflicts because only minorities are being affected. This is known as institutional racism. In the city of Oakland, there are different parts to it the east, west, and hillside. Each area in Oakland is impacted differently based on its location there is a difference in class and race for each area. There is a significant difference between all areas, for example, in the Oakland Hills, there are more white people leading to more wealth. The distance between West Oakland and the Oakland Hills is just miles apart. It is surprising how in the Oakland hills they have up to two or three grocery stores compared to West Oakland where one grocery store has been open. This is how capitalism is portrayed in West Oakland and its connection with food deserts. The economic and political systems get to pick and choose in what regions to provide more resources for residents. Picking and choosing the communities that are in need are looked past because they aren’t taken into consideration. In this case, all the funding and projects are being implemented in Oaklands Hillside because that is where wealthy and white people are. They can bring in money and get the economy circulating but compared to West Oakland people of color who are living in poverty aren’t given the same resources. This brings up the argument that food deserts are an interracial issue because where white people live they have easier access to healthy food and grocery stores compared to in West Oakland where more people of color live their access to healthy food is extremely limited. There is a connection between institutional racism and capitalism when it comes to the food deserts in West Oakland.
Analyzing food deserts through an upstream lens on public health, and through the different levels of the ecological model impacts health disparities in depth. Food deserts are part of the ecological model impacted by institutional factors, community factors, and public policy are all part of this public health issue. The institutional factors involved in Food deserts in West Oakland were Jerry Brown the Governor in 2005 tried to combat this health inequity. In 2005, Mayor Jerry Brown authorized a study of Oaklands food system, an effort that eventually led to the founding of the Oakland Food Policy Council in March 2009 (Jackson, R. J., & Sinclair, S. 2012). Jerry Brown by initiating and authorizing this study to occur in West Oakland brought to light the importance and how of a tremendous issue it was. Mayor Jerry Brown 2005 did something for the people after many years. This was a huge impact on community involvement in wanting to get justice. The Oakland Food Policy Council started to focus more on community health disparities and take action. Community factors for food deserts are private organizations working towards this issue and finding a solution. By doing this, the community was able to get some support and have public officials be more active in addressing directly food access issues in Oakland. In recent years, community organizations and public officials have been more active in directly addressing food access issues in Oakland (Oaklands Food Divide 2019). The Oakland North was involved in February of 2000 when the Oakland City Council approved a resolution establishing a no-net increase policy in the number of liquor vendors allowed in the city (Oaklands Food Davide 2019). With this policy being approved fewer liquor stores and corner stores would be opening and less junk food would be available to residents. Decreasing the number of residents consuming non-nutritious foods that are known to cause illness. Not only would this prevent more liquor stores from opening but would also start to decrease the amount of junk food being sold and fewer people consuming it. Also, public policy has been issued towards combating food deserts by initiating social laws and policies. When mayor Jerry Brown in 2005 made called on this issue. He authorized a study that leads to going to the Oakland Food Policy Council. The study happened in 2005 and the council was formed four years later, it took some time but at least after those years, there were a council addressing food access issues in the community. Another policy was regulating the increase of liquor stores opening trying to limit the number of liquor stores/corner stores. Public policy is one way for regulation to happen and solutions. Policies can take some time to develop but at the end of the process, these become a solution to address these issues in communities. Change won’t happen overnight but by applying pressure you, the community, and the institutions can be done. Food deserts are part of the ecological model impacting people of color who are in low-income communities in West Oakland with fewer resources impacting their health.
When conducting my research I took into consideration where I was receiving my information. The 5 sources that I have chosen have all been either research conducted on food deserts, especially in Oakland, California, including West Oakland, or personal stories from experiencing food deserts in West Oakland. In the article by Curran, C. & González they inform the reader about urban farming being the solution to food injustice in Oakland, Ca, and how it is an interracial justice issue (Curran, C., & González, M. 2011). Helping me develop my systems of oppression. In my second article written by Harris, N. K. his main idea in the article is focusing on the shortage of accessible, and affordable healthy foods in West Oakland and how community gardens, and local farmers’ markets have helped this food desert issue (Harris, N. K. 2005, May 9). This was able to get some insight into how food deserts are affecting the community. The book by Jackson, R. J., & Sinclair, S is about different disparities of health through different communities, especially in Oakland targeting access to healthy foods (Jackson, R. J., & Sinclair, S. 2012). With the information from this book, I was able to compare and contrast different areas in Oakland and their effect on food deserts. The article by Oakland’s Food Divide organization focuses on the issue of arguing how there are more liquor stores in low-income communities than access a grocery stores causing food deserts (Oakland’s food divide.2019). From the journal written by Washington, E. B. shares her experience working in a food pantry in Oakland Ca, and she notices how food insecurity is a big issue throughout the community giving a personal insight into food deserts which helped me see this issue from a personal point of view (Washington, E. B. 1996). Out of the five resources I have examined the only person who has a powerful stance is Jackson R. Sinclair who isn’t a person of color. He is a white male with power in society due to white privilege. There can be some bias coming from him because he isn’t a person of color or part of a low-income community. Therefore he hasn’t been part of this health inequity or personally impacted. He is mentioning the issue from a third-person point of view. Out of all the research resources, the book written by Jackson R. Sinclair tends to have a slight chance of bias (Jackson, R. J., & Sinclair, S. 2012). Bias comes from an author when they are telling a story from a different point of view and out of all my resources his book stands out the most.
Many people can argue that food deserts are a problem caused by the community in West Oakland due to poverty and violence. They argue that it is an inside issue that if people contributed to their community they would have the resources available to them. Food pantries and food markets are available to the resident in West Oakland, yet they don’t take advantage of these resources that are provided. If this has been going on for quite a while, why are people now taking action toward it? As time has passed more and more people are being affected by food deserts, especially in West Oakland. The thing isn’t that people don’t take advantage of the resources provided but transportation is an issue and money is as well. If the food pantry is a mile away or more how are the people going to be able to carry their groceries if they have no money for transportation? Also, food markets are known to be a bit pricey because everything is fresh and organic therefore it is easier to get a frozen burrito at the corner store instead of some apples and strawberries at the food market. It all comes back to the issue of location, money, and race. Grocery stores aren’t available to the minorities in the low-income community of West Oakland. On the other hand, white rich people have an abundance of fresh healthy food available to them. This is also known as gentrification. When a new community with a majority of wealthy white people comes in, more resources become available to them than those residents who have been there for years. Yes, it might sound like a great idea, but what happens to those old residents who just get pushed out of their community? This solution isn’t getting to the root cause of the issue this will only move out of the low-income communities to different cities to continue struggling. The issue will continue to happen in other communities the problem would just move locations. Food deserts have developed to be a health inequity issue impacting people of color and low-income communities. This is why the community and organizations like the Oakland food Divide are taking a stand and fighting for this issue.
All in all, food deserts have been a public health issue that has been overlooked in today’s society. Food deserts aren’t only affecting people’s health but they are making an imprint on our low-income communities. Food deserts cause health inequities that negatively impact low-income communities in West Oakland, causing illnesses like malnutrition, diabetes, and obesity. These structural health disparities are rooted in institutional racism and capitalism and are serious social justice equity issues. These communities have little to no voice so we must work together as a community and combat this health inequity issue.
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