We are all so saddened by the events that have taken place in our community and country recently. The last several months have been nothing short of challenging for most. It’s time to heal and come together as a community; stronger, wiser and more united. In this blog post, we’ll first look at disparities burdening POC communities, and then we’ll get into organizations and companies to support, so we can all do our part. 

Food Insecurity & Disparities Affecting POC

Hunger, lack of nutritious food, and their consequences affect people of color (POC) more than white communities.

Let’s quickly define some important terms here: “food insecurity” and “food deserts”. Food security is a measure of the availability of food and individuals’ ability to access it. So food insecurity, is the lack of this ability. Food deserts, as defined by the USDA, are “areas with limited access to affordable nutritious food”.

Let’s look at some disparities among POC.

• 24% of African Americans, 17% of Latinos, and 13% of Asian Americans do not own cars, making grocery shopping more time-consuming. Low proximity to supermarkets correlates with high rates of obesity, diabetes, and diet-related diseases.

• Households of color experience hunger at rates of up to 21.5% (vs. 10% of white households).

• POC are disproportionately surrounded by food deserts. Food stores in communities of color are often further away and have fewer healthy high quality options.

• Schools with majority African American and Latino students are less able to provide fresh fruit and low-fat milk options than majority white schools.

• Schools with majority students of color are half as likely to adopt and enforce health standards on vendor foods (vs majority white schools).