Food deserts plague Indianapolis communities, especially minority neighborhoods
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For many Hoosiers, coming home to dinner is something to look forward to after a long day of work. However, for many in Indianapolis, dinner on the table isn’t always a guarantee. According to the Indianapolis Community Food Access Coalition, over 208,000 Indy residents live in a food desert.
A food desert is an area of a community where access to fresh and nutritious foods is limited. To be considered a food desert, more than one-third of an urban population must live more than a mile from a grocery store, while in a rural area one-third of the population must live ten miles from a grocery store. In a state that’s an agricultural powerhouse, absolutely no one should go hungry.
While food deserts affect large areas of Indianapolis, they disproportionately plague minority communities. A 2021 study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that almost 20% of Black individuals live in a food-insecure household. Overall, Black individuals are three times more likely to face hunger than their white counterparts. Even though these are national statistics, the numbers in Indiana are relatively the same. In fact, in Marion County alone, Black residents are more likely than any other race to live in a food desert, especially Black children. When it comes to having healthier options, minority communities have a harder time due to racial disparities.
Limited access to nutritious food can impact multiple aspects of an individual’s life. Notably, a lack of healthy food can result in a myriad of negative health issues. Often instead of grocery stores, food deserts normally have a high rate of convenience stores that carry large selections of junk food. Without nutritional choices like fruits and vegetables, many are forced to consume prepackaged, processed options. Consumption of processed food can result in obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular issues, high blood pressure and many cancers. Along with physical health, food insecurity negatively impacts mental well- being. Individuals who struggle with hunger are more likely to develop depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses.
What’s more troublesome is that the number of Indianapolis Hoosiers affected by food deserts is growing. Since 2016, people who live outside Monument Circle alone have been impacted by food deserts by an increase of 21%. The growth of deserts can be attributed to a lack of economic development and grocery store closures, such as the closure of the Marsh Supermarket chain. To make matters worse, when new grocery stores come to Indy, they usually choose locations near other grocery stores.
With these locations naturally having a higher amount of consumer spending, businesses follow the profit instead of settling in food-insecure neighborhoods. Local businesses have closed, grocery stores have failed to expand, and many are struggling with unemployment aiding the slow growth of food insecurity. While interest in the issue has increased in the past decade, we must do more as lawmakers to stamp out hunger.
Consistently, Indiana House Democrats have voiced our support for investments in food security but the Republican supermajority has largely blocked progress. In fact, in 2021 the budget allocated $50 million to address health disparities and $600,000 to those who want to open a grocery store in a low-income area. Even with these investments, little has been done to find an actual long-term and sustainable solution – not just one-time investments. Thankfully, my call to study food insecurity during the interim resulted in an interim committee study topic. During the interim, I implore my fellow lawmakers to take a deeper look into food deserts, groups that they impact and what must be done to ensure nobody goes hungry. A basic, necessity of life, all communities in Indianapolis should have adequate access to nutritious food.