Access Denied: Pinching Pennies Won’t Solve This Problem

Some of my clients tell me they can’t afford to eat healthy foods.

As we talk, I often discover they aren’t willing to meal plan, cook in bulk, seek out seasonal and local foods, or grow their own – all ways to save a buck. Most are short on time, but only some are short on money. (Food prices continue to increase, but we spend a smaller share of our income on food than in years past.)

I can work with this.

Other clients rent their homes, live paycheck to paycheck and bike to work or use public transportation. 

Affording nutritious food is more challenging for them, but I can work with this, too. I can help.

However, fresh and wholesome foods are out of reach for millions of Americans. Besides financial factors, our country has a huge access problem. Many low-income urban neighborhoods (especially those populated by people of color) are food deserts — areas without a supermarket and where residents often lack safe, affordable transportation to a supermarket. In many rural areas, larger grocery chains have moved out. What’s more, low-income communities have 30 percent more convenience stores than middle-income areas, according to The Food Trust. Most of these stores lack nutritious options.

In food deserts, residents often rely on fast food or piece together meals from convenience stores.

Consider:

• 19 million people, or 6.2 percent of Americans, live in low-income areas where the nearest supermarket is more than a mile away.

• One in 6 Denver households live in low-income areas that lack access to fresh food.

• More than 37 million Americans struggle with hunger, including more than 11 million children.

• More than 38 million Americans are living in poverty. Most of them earned less than $25,750 in 2019.

• The seasonally adjusted U.S. unemployment rate skyrocketed to 14.7 percent in April due to the economic hit of the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s forecast to keep rising, and with it economic hardship.

The problem of access isn’t a new one, and many private and public entities are working on it.  Many would argue not fast enough. The problem is complex, with many layers and contributing factors. I don’t offer a solution here, but I am sharing some resources — for those who lack access and others moved to volunteer.

The organizations that follow are filled with people who work hard to facilitate food donations from groceries and restaurants, who rescue “ugly” produce for those in need, who teach people how to grow and cook nutritious foods and provide safe spaces in the community to plant a garden. 

This list (Colorado-based) is by no means complete. Please message me to add an organization you know that helps more people access nutritious foods.

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Colorado SNAP

Denver Food Rescue

Denver Urban Gardens

Feeding America

Food Bank of the Rockies

Food Pantries

Food Rescue Alliance

Foraged Feast

Grow Local Colorado

Harvest of Hope Pantry

Hunger Free Colorado

Metro Caring

Produce for Pantries

The GrowHaus

The Growing Project

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