Tuesday, March 19, 2024

16,000 people in New Hanover County have limited access to affordable, healthy food

Food deserts 'leave members of the community in a void of healthy food'

Author’s note: Statistics show that several neighborhoods across the city of Wilmington are suffering from a lack of access to affordable, healthy food. Known as “food deserts,” the residents of these areas do not fit one stereotype, but are often a combination of several factors including age, location and socioeconomic background.

This series seeks to understand the origins of food deserts, define who suffers from this issue and what experts say can be done about it.

WILMINGTON — The city of Wilmington often brings to mind images of idyllic beaches, historic homes and local restaurants and shops.

Instead of making recreational plans, many Wilmington residents are fighting an uphill battle to get access to fresh, healthy food.

According to New Hanover county manager Chris Coudriet, approximately 16,000 Wilmington residents live in a food desert. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines these food deserts as census tracts—or neighborhoods—that are low-income and low-access.

  • A low-access census tract has at least 500 people in the area living one mile from a grocery store for urban areas, or 10 miles away for rural communities.
  • A low-income census tract has either 20 percent or more of the population living in poverty or their median family income is less than 80 percent of the median income for their area.

New Hanover County has six food deserts. One is located along Market Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway towards Wilmington International Airport, two surround the campus of UNCW, one is along the Carolina Beach Road corridor down to Snow’s Cut and two are between Greenfield and Bryan Road in the downtown area.

Brunswick County has one food desert, stretching from the Cape Fear River into Leland.

The USDA identifies six food deserts in New Hanover County, one in Brunswick and none in Pender. (Port City Daily photo/ Courtesy USDA Economic Research Service)
The USDA identifies six food deserts in New Hanover County, one in Brunswick and none in Pender. (Port City Daily photo/ Courtesy USDA Economic Research Service)

Poverty and food insecurity

Jill Waity is with the University North Carolina Wilmington’s Department of Sociology and Criminology, specializing in studying poverty and food insecurity.

According to Feeding America, poverty is one of many factors associated with food insecurity, along with employment status, demographic characteristics and lower household assets.

Waity notes that food insecurity reflects a person’s lack of access to enough food for an active and healthy life or a household’s need to make trade-offs between important basic needs, such as housing and purchasing nutritionally adequate foods.

North Carolina’s poverty rate of 15.4 percent is well above of the nation’s 12.7 percent; the rate is even higher in New Hanover County, where 17.3 percent of residents live in poverty.

As of 2016, 17.3 percent of the New Hanover County population lives in poverty. (Port City Daily/Courtesy of USDA Economic Research Service)
As of 2016, 17.3 percent of the New Hanover County population lives in poverty. (Port City Daily/Courtesy of USDA Economic Research Service)

“It’s important to know that if you live in a wealthy area with no grocery stores, they’re not going to classify you as a food desert because presumably you have other sources or methods of getting food,” said Waity.

Giving birth to a food desert

A lack of consumer demand drives the prevalence of food deserts in low-income communities as residents have less money to spend on fresh and healthy food, which is often more expensive.

“For cities, often times the grocery stores might not have located there if it’s a historically low income place, because they are businesses who want to try and make a profit,” said Waity. “It’s also possible that a grocery store may have left because the neighborhood transitioned to a low-income area or if we see people moving out of the city to the suburbs.”

Food retailers may be discouraged from opening chains in low-income communities because of crime rates, transportation costs and low return of investment.

“Grocery store chains are looking at median income and quality of life indicators to try and predict what kind of customer they are going to have walking in their doors,” Sarah Daniels, executive director of Feast Down East, said. “But when these stores decide a certain area isn’t suitable, they leave members of the community in a void of healthy food.”

The effect on public health

The major concern associated with food deserts and food insecurity is the effect on public health.

According to Daniels, “the negative public health implications are both hunger and chronic diet-related diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure.”

The American Psychological Association explains how chronic poverty-related stress leads to a higher resting heart rate and high blood pressure. Adults living in poverty are far more likely to suffer from heart attacks and strokes.

Children who live in households that are food insecure are likely to be sick more often, recover from illness more slowly and be hospitalized more frequently, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

When residents do not have convenient access to a supermarket and are experiencing other barriers such as public transportation, paying for child care or juggling multiple jobs, it becomes less stressful and cheaper to purchase fast food or visit non-grocery store options like gas stations and convenience stores.

In non-grocery store options, more expensive foods like low-fat milk, whole grains and fresh fruit and vegetables are often next to inexpensive, calorie-dense and high fat products like candy and chips. (Port City Daily photo/FILE PHOTO)
In non-grocery store options, more expensive foods like low-fat milk, whole grains and fresh fruit and vegetables are often next to inexpensive, calorie-dense and high fat products like candy and chips. (Port City Daily photo/FILE PHOTO)

Those residing in food deserts are also less likely to buy healthy options from non-grocery store options because the more expensive foods, like low-fat milk, whole grains and fresh fruit and vegetables, are sitting next to inexpensive, highly processed and calorie-dense products like candy, chips and microwaveable meals.

As a result, the healthy options look overpriced and unappealing.

“In the end, these people end up shopping at dollar stores, convenience stores and gas stations where prices are much higher and most often don’t sell healthy produce,” said Steve McCrossan, executive director of NourishNC, “If you have to shop at a convenience store you’re paying almost two times what I pay at Harris Teeter.”

Food deserts: an appendix for readers


Come back Monday for part two: Why it takes more than a supermarket to eliminate a food desert

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