Healthy food retailers—grocery stores; farmers’
markets; cooperatives; mobile markets; and other
vendors of fresh, affordable, nutritious food—are
critical components of healthy, thriving communities.
As the country inches its way out of the Great Recession
and seeks to grow a more sustainable and
equitable economy, ensuring that healthy food is
accessible to all is crucial. Without access to healthy
foods, a nutritious diet and good health are out of
reach. And without grocery stores and other fresh
food retailers, communities are also missing the
commercial vitality that makes neighborhoods
livable and helps local economies thrive.
Moreover, the challenge of access to healthy food
has been a persistent one for communities of
color. Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, white,
middle-class and working-class families left urban
centers for homes in the suburbs, and supermarket
chains went with them, leaving many innercity
neighborhoods with few or no full-service
markets—often for decades. Limited access to
healthy food also plagues many rural communities
and small towns, where population losses and
economic changes have diminished food retail
options. Even in agricultural centers where fruits
and vegetables are being grown, residents may not
have a retail outlet nearby. Many of the communities
that lack healthy food retailers are also oversaturated
with fast-food restaurants, liquor stores, and other
sources of inexpensive, processed food with little
to no nutritional value. For decades, community
activists have organized around the lack of access
to healthy foods as an economic, health, and social
justice issue.