Navigating food deserts in Mississippi

“Meals desert” is a time period used to explain areas the place entry to wholesome and reasonably priced meals is proscribed. Rural and minority communities are disproportionately impacted by meals deserts, and that’s definitely the case in Mississippi.

Mississippi is the poorest state, with a poverty fee of 20.3%, and 50 out of the 82 counties are thought-about to be in persistent poverty. Nevertheless it’s additionally the hungriest state with 1 in 5 youngsters going hungry. 

In Mississippi, 15.3% of households are meals insecure. These charges are a lot increased in Mississippi’s rural areas than they’re in city areas because of the lack of assets to realize meals. Feminine-headed households are additionally disproportionately impacted by meals deserts.

The Supplemental Diet Help Program advantages assist present some assist to people experiencing meals insecurity. Within the state, greater than 73% of SNAP profit recipients have youngsters. 

There are totally different phrases that can be utilized to explain communities who’ve restricted entry to wholesome and reasonably priced meals, and in recent times, there was a push by activists to make use of “meals apartheid” as a substitute of “meals desert” to spotlight how systemic racism and oppression led to restricted entry to wholesome meals. 

Anne Cafer, director of the Middle for Inhabitants Research, assistant professor of sociology and co-director of UM Neighborhood First Analysis Middle for Wellbeing and Artistic Achievement, doesn’t agree with this swap.

“I feel the time period apartheid has a really particular public connotation—talking very clearly of racial divides and particularly Black and white divides. I’d fear that using apartheid would negate the nuances of race and racial disparities in meals entry and subsequently well being entry; it isn’t only a Black and white difficulty,” Cafer mentioned. “(It additionally) negates the essential variations in how poor meals setting is skilled by of us from different forms of demographic teams, rural versus city for instance or female-headed households. Nevertheless I readily admit I don’t have a greater phrase.”

In line with the College of Mississippi Medical Middle, 70% of households eligible for SNAP advantages journey greater than 30 miles to achieve a grocery store. Touring such distances may be costly for low-income households who’re already dealing with monetary struggles.

The Oxford Neighborhood Market is a non-profit group dedicated to supporting native farmers and constructing a neighborhood meals system that helps deal with meals insecurity by making wholesome, native meals accessible to the group. 

Market director Betsy Chapman emphasised the significance of making a group.

“Our objective is to construct a farmers market group the place everyone feels welcome. We wish our distributors and clients and volunteers and the whole lot we do to mirror the demographics of our group at giant,” Chapman mentioned.

The Oxford Neighborhood Market has a number of applications, which embrace accepting SNAP advantages, which they match as much as $20, and collaborating in a Particular Supplemental Diet Program for Ladies, Infants and Youngsters. 

The Oxford Neighborhood Market additionally sends contemporary produce to the Oxford Meals Pantry. 

“All of our outreach work is centered round offering providers for people who find themselves most definitely liable to meals insecurity and making an attempt to achieve their dietary wants,” Chapman mentioned. 

The market goes into communities dealing with meals insecurity and helps make wholesome, native meals accessible.

On Nov. 14, the Middle for Inclusion and Cross Cultural Engagement hosted their “Are You Prepared?” dialogue sequence about “Meals Insecurity in Our Metropolis.” It was a roundtable dialogue on meals insecurity and the way it impacts the group. Restricted entry to meals can result in poor well being situations. 

“Loads of the meals that we now have entry to that’s cheap are the unhealthy meals,” Victoria Zigmont, assistant professor of public well being and well being sciences, mentioned. “Vegetables and fruit are sometimes costlier than the unhealthy meals, so individuals which are experiencing meals insecurity have a neater time getting these unhealthy meals, and over time should you maintain consuming unhealthy meals you’re extra more likely to develop totally different persistent ailments.” 

The persistent ailments that may develop from meals insecurity embrace weight problems and hypertension. If somebody is already experiencing meals insecurity, they could not have entry to preventive screenings that may stop coronary heart assaults.

There are a number of methods to fight meals insecurity. 

“There are numerous coverage and sensible approaches,” Cafer mentioned. “For instance, subsidizing the manufacturing of horticultural merchandise in the identical approach we do commodity crops. Creating strong rural transportation networks to get of us to grocery shops or supporting native grocers. A majority of these challenges require a number of stakeholders, a number of disciplines and many nuance.”