Health problems that plague the urban poor such as diabetes and obesity have well-known causes but elusive cures. Public health professionals have known for a while that these disabilities are exacerbated by an abundance of inexpensive but fatty, high-calorie food in poorer communities. The latest issue of What Works, presented by JP Morgan Chase &Co., takes a look at the cities finding innovative ways to create healthier food ecosystems in those communities in ways that harness the power of the free market to help people make choices that improve their quality of life.
IN THIS ISSUE:
How Baltimore Is Experimenting Its Way Out of the Food Desert: In Baltimore, one non-profit bringing fresh produce to corner stores has teamed with Loyola University’s food service company to get better deals on fruits and vegetables, lowering the cost for retailers and consumers. FreshCrate is just one of several programs that Baltimore nonprofits, universities and city government have sponsored over the past 15 years to combat a national obesity and diabetes epidemic by bringing bring more healthy foods to low-income neighborhoods where diet-related illness is highest and healthy food choices are most scarce.
Why Atlantans Buy Their Produce on the Subway: Atlanta is known for transportation snarls that can make people’s blood pressure soar. but city officials have come up with a way to use the city’s transit system to solve a health problem. Since 2015, Atlanta commuters using some of the city’s metro stations have been able to buy fresh produce at pop-up markets located inside or just outside the station. The program, called Fresh MARTA Market, is the city’s innovative solution to a persistent food access problem in Atlanta’s poorer communities where fresh food is often scarce and the incidence of diet-related illnesses is high.
How Mike Bloomberg Got New York to Eat Its Veggies: In New York, “Green Cart” vendors dispatch their fruit and produce in the city’s lowest-income neighborhoods. Freed of overhead like rent and utilities, these modern pushcart vendors can find their customers where they live and offer food at prices that are often cheaper than corner stores and supermarkets. When “Green Cart” first began, the mayor’s office, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund partnered to launch the program. A decade later—and six years after the departure of its crusading implementer—the program seems to have plateaued.
What Happened After an Appalachian Town Got Shamed Nationally: Over a decade ago, Huntington, West Virginia endured a dose of civic fat shaming when the city was labeled the most obese in the nation. 45% of the almost 49,000 residents were considered overweight and 100% of the town was appalled at the title. A decade later, the community and different organizations have joined to address health from different angles, emphasizing eating local food, exercising and healthier school lunches. The obesity rate, 32%, is still above the national average of 29.5%, but the city was able to drop its obesity rate almost 15 percentage points in a decade.
