1971 THROWBACK: "BLACK GROCERY SHOPPING"

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 39.4 million Americans continue to live in communities where it is far easier for most residents to buy grape soda instead of a handful of grapes. Lower-income families have access to fewer supermarkets and other healthy food retail outlets that provide a wide selection of affordable, nutritious foods. This problem impacts residents of both urban and rural areas across the country and is compounded by disproportionately higher rates of diet-related disease and the lost commercial vitality that makes communities livable and helps local economies thrive.

The challenge of healthy food access is notably persistent for those living in communities of color — the very same communities that are quickly growing in number and population share By 2044, a majority of Americans will be people of color According to the 2012 study, Searching for Markets: The Geography of Inequitable Access to Supermarkets in the United States, African-Americans are 2.49 times and Latinos are 1.38 times more likely than Whites to live in neighborhoods without access to a full-service grocery store. Further, families living in a low-income block group are 2.28 times more likely to travel a greater distance to shop at a grocery store or supermarket than middle-income households (Historically, people of color have lived in, and continue to live in, the most under-resourced communities with the lowest-performing schools, poor access to transportation, inequitable access to affordable, healthy food and the furthest distance from quality jobs Intentional and persistent disinvestment and discriminatory credit practices— e.g., redlining— in these communities have contributed to the deep racial disparities in health and economic outcomes

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