In order to develop policies to combat food deserts, we must first identify why the food deserts exist in certain areas of Houston or the policies that we suggest to implement might not accurately address the problem. We identified four key factors that contributed to the creation of food deserts in tracts of Houston - lack of grocery stores, lack of healthy foods, lack of transportation, and high prices on healthy foods.
Certain areas of Houston have a serious lack of grocery stores. Some residents travel miles just to get food. Many times this is due to big supermarkets being unwilling to open up stores in low-income areas for fear of losing profit. To fight against this problem, we propose that the city of Houston offer grants or loans to incentivize businesses to open stores in food deserts in order to provide for those living there.
Because a food desert also means an area that has limited access to nutritious food, the lack of healthy foods also contributes to the overall problem. Even if residents have nearby food options, many times the choices are only convenience stores and fast food chains, neither of which contain healthy options for neighborhoods there. As a result of this, we believe Houston should be taking the initiative to stock healthy alternatives in the stores that already exist within a nearby radius of the residents.
At times, even when residents have access to grocery stores with healthy options, the prices are too high for them to afford. When this is the problem, many residents choose to just buy food from the cheapest and most convenient option, which most of the time are unhealthy options. To combat this, the government of Houston can increase the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, also known as food stamps) benefits in order to support the nutritional intake of residents. An example of SNAP benefits would be the usage of Electronic Benefit Transfer Cards at farmers’ markets, encouraging residents to buy fresh produce as the government allows them money bonuses as they shop there.
Even when residents have access to healthy foods and grocery stores and are financially able to buy the food they need, transportation can still be a barrier to healthy food access. There are a variety of ways Houston can solve this problem - allowing purchase of food online with SNAP benefits, improving public transportation and utilize fresh produce vans.
School lunches are critical to student health and well-being. Increasing the nutrition value in school lunches promotes healthy eating habits at a young age and improves learning. Research also shows that access to school lunches reduces food insecurity and obesity rates.