The Challenge of Eating Local

Supermarket Redlining Limits the Ability to "Eat Local"

For ten days last September, Georgia celebrated Eat Local Week. Along with people from all over the United States, we were encouraged to carefully consider where our food comes from, choose local products, and, when possible grow and produce our own food.

Restaurants offered special menus of Georgia-grown food. Local businesses held workshops to teach folks everything from how to grow their own vegetables to how to make their own beer. Farmer's markets, bookstores, and many other local businesses held events to promote eating local. I made a special effort to buy Georgia grown produce when I shopped for my family.

There are many personal and community benefits to eating local. Buying food close to home supports the regional economy. And because the food doesn't have to be transported very far, eating local decreases our dependence on oil and reduces air and water pollution. That's better for everyone. More importantly, food arrives on our plates fresher and tastier.

Eating local requires access to a good farmer's market or well-tended garden, though one can make do with a well-stocked grocery store. But what if you don't have a grocery store in your neighborhood? Then the challenge is not just getting locally produced healthy and fresh food, but getting any healthy and fresh food. Many people face this challenge every day. It is the result of food redlining and it can be seen in Atlanta and in cities all over the United States.

Redlining creates "food deserts" or "grocery gaps" in which there are few or no supermarkets. If residents, often of low income, do not have a car then they may be forced to do their 'grocery' shopping at high priced convenience stores or corner markets with limited selections and often, quality. These stores generally stock canned or processed foods and the few perishable items available are often high priced and not very fresh. This has a direct effect on the health of the people who regularly shop there for food.