Summer 1994 (v6n3)


Seeds of change: Strategies for food security for the inner city.

Linda Ashman, Jaime de la Vega, Marc Dohan, Andy fisher, Rosa Hippler and Bill Romain Southern California Interfaith Hunger Coalition, Los Angeles, CA. 1993

Food security in the inner city is a serious problem. The premise of this report is that the lack of food security in inner cities is due not just to inadequate resources, but also to inadequate planning. This report advocates new mechanisms for food security planning that integrate disparate actions and policies into a comprehensive food policy. The authors start with two basic assumptions: 1) food is a basic human right; and 2) food security is a crucial community concern. Building on these, effective food policy requires an integrated, whole systems approach (grower to consumer) coordinated at the municipal level.

This research project was supervised by Robert Gottlieb and Peter Sinsheimer of the UCLA Graduate School of Urban Planning. The project team had five objectives: 1) to evaluate the problems of food security in the inner city from national and local contexts, 2) to assess the adequacy of the federal response to these problems, 3) to analyze how the structure of the food industry has contributed to food insecurity, 4) to identify and evaluate community-based strategies for change, and 5) to propose a framework for food security planning that is equitable, economically efficient and environmentally sound.

Methodology

This project integrated a number of disciplines, including nutrition education, public health, hunger advocacy, economics and community development, food retailing, agriculture, urban ecology and public policy. The study was organized into four phases: focus, research, publicity and advocacy. In phase one (summer/fall 1992), a series of meetings was held with community people to clarify food access issues and to sketch out the dimensions of the study and the complexity of the food network.

In phase two, extensive research and analysis of the food system was done with an emphasis on the local level. More than 1,000 policy, industry and academic documents were reviewed and more than 200 interviews were conducted. The research involved assessments of the food system at the local, the regional and the state/national levels. At the local level, a comprehensive case study was done of a 2-square mile area in South Central Los Angeles. At the regional level, studies were done of the location of supermarkets over time, of consumers and growers at farmers' markets in the county, of low-income community gardeners, and of the structure of the food retailing industry from the grower to the store. The study also evaluated urban agriculture programs, land use in the region, policy and local government activities and transportation routes. At the state and national level, the project reviewed food support programs, analyzed eight Food Policy Council initiatives in the U.S. and Canada, examined the public health literature on nutrition and food security issues, did an analysis of the supermarket industry over the past decades, and reviewed community development initiatives with regard to new supermarket investments.

In the third phase, all of the research was synthesized and the report was written. The fourth phase will include dissemination of the report and the development of an implementation strategy based on the reports recommendations.

Key Findings

The report summarizes its findings in five key areas: hunger and nutrition, the food retail industry, transportation, alternative food strategies and policy.

Hunger and nutrition. Hunger and nutrition are substantial problems in the inner city. The project's survey found that 27 percent of residents of a South Central L.A. neighborhood did not have enough money to buy food. The emergency food network was overwhelmed, with the amount of food distributed increasing from 25 million pounds in 1979 to over 450 million pounds in 1990.

Food retail industry. The food retail industry has abandoned the inner city. Recent supermarket investments are driven by the market and not community needs. The industry has not adequately examined creative solutions to improve communities.

Transportation. There is a lack of adequate transportation in the inner city. Thirty-eight percent of the households surveyed in the case study area do not have cars and three out of ten people surveyed have problems bringing home large amounts of groceries.

Alternative food strategies. There is much interest among consumers in urban agriculture programs. Sixty-eight percent of those surveyed in the case study area reported interest in participating in a community gardening program in their neighborhood. Urban agriculture provides significant economic and community development possibilities but receives very little municipal support. A 64-square-foot plot can save a family up to $600 in food purchases per year. Farmers' markets can also provide tangible social and economic benefits to communities; 83 percent of the farmers' market growers surveyed reported economic benefits from participating in farmers' markets.

Policy. There is no overall food policy in Los Angeles City ox County. This situation has hindered the development of an adequate food delivery system, and created inefficiencies and inequities in the food distribution system.

Recommendations

The report concludes with a range of new initiatives and strategies based on its findings. They include both substantive and procedural actions to provide a basis for planning for food security.

  1. One of the project's primary recommendations is for Los Angeles to establish a Food Policy and Planning Council with the vision to develop and integrate food policies at the municipal, regional and state levels. At the national level, the report suggests that the USDA integrate food policy councils and urban food system initiatives across the country.
  2. Increased funding should be directed to federal and state food assistance and nutrition education programs.
  3. The supermarket industry should establish joint ventures for community participation in inner city markets. The Food Policy Council could create incentives for supermarkets to participate in these ventures.
  4. Transportation planning should be part of planning for the food needs of the community. The Food Policy Council should develop a transportation plan that integrates transportation routes with food distribution outlets.
  5. More local and state support should be directed toward farmers' markets, the WIC Farmers' Market Program, a statewide direct marketing program, and urban agriculture. The Food Policy Council could help coordinate urban agriculture and farmers market programs. They could also provide technical support for urban agriculture projects.

The report ends with a "Call to Action." The authors suggest that with the Clinton administration, Los Angeles and the nation are politically ripe for a new food policy. In addition, economic forces are pushing supermarkets to reinvest in the inner city. This influx of political and economic capital could provide the encouragement needed to address the urgent food security needs of urban areas.

For more information write to: Southern California Interfaith Hunger Coalition, 2449 Hyperion #100, Los Angeles, CA 90027.

(GWF.015 5) Contributed by Gail Feenstra
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