When It Comes to Healthy Food, Geography Matters

Access to healthy food choices is one of 16 key factors that affect a region’s ability to expand economic and social mobility for its residents, according to ISP Partner Opportunity Nation’s “Opportunity Index.”

In its ongoing blog series, Opportunity Nation’s Scott Jones explores how access to healthy food intersects with other measures of economic mobility, such as instances of chronic illness and a greater diversity of food retail in our neighborhoods.

Jones writes that:

“PolicyLink’s report The Grocery Gap: Who Has Access to Healthy Food and Why It Matters states that “low-income zip codes have 25 percent fewer chain supermarkets and 1.3 times as many convenience stores compared to middle-income zip codes. Predominantly black zip codes have about half the number of chain supermarkets compared to predominantly white zip codes, and predominantly Latino areas have only a third as many.

Clearly, when it comes to access to healthy food and opportunity in America, geography matters.”

Read the complete article here: http://www.opportunitynation.org/blog/entry/food-deserts-leave-low-income-residents-stranded