Institute for Local Self-Reliance.<\/a><\/p>\nLocal representatives are trying to do something about that. They point out that the problem does seem to be compounding.<\/p>\n
A press conference Tuesday was held outside one of seven grocery stores in Western New York that have closed their doors since 2019. When you\u2019re talking about communities that rely on walking, or public transit, every one of those makes a huge difference. That\u2019s why there\u2019s a push to pass legislation in Washington to help with that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe shelves are empty, doors are locked, and this neighborhood has lost a grocery store \u2014 one that was easy to get to by car, by bus or by foot,\u201d said Rep. Tim Kennedy.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a single closure that helps create a food desert. Healthy food, including fresh fruits and vegetables, are now a hike to get to. One that many in the neighborhood might not be able to take.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen families lose their grocery stores and [have] to rely on corner stores instead, they’re paying more for less at the worst possible time,\u201d Kennedy explained.<\/p>\n
According to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, congressional districts in upstate and Western New York are seeing anywhere from 7 to 15% of people living in food deserts.<\/p>\n
“Every community across the state in the nation is impacted by food deserts,\u201d noted Kennedy.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not just a concern for what\u2019s going on their plate, but also for the long-term impacts of potential malnutrition.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are more at risk for chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension, and obesity. Food insecurity can impact our mental health,” explained Catherine Shick, the chief communications officer for Feedmore WNY. “Food insecure children may experience developmental differences and poor academic performances.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why officials were pushing for a trio of bills to be passed:<\/p>\n
The Food Deserts Act \u2014 to support loans for grocery stores in underserved communities.
\nThe Health Food Access for All Americans Act \u2014 for tax credits and grants for those markets operating in food deserts.
\nThe Healthy Food Financing Initiative Reauthorization Act \u2014 to help fund a public-private partnership bringing grocery stores to underserved neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe work that co-ops are doing in the community \u2014 it\u2019s valuable,” said Tandy Harvey, the CEO for National Co-op Grocers. “This is a need that\u2019s being met.\u201d<\/p>\n
For places like the Lexington Co-Op, being in the community is key.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see lots of homes and rooftops around here,” Harvey said. “It’s very walkable for the community and [has] a ton of local products.\u201d<\/p>\n
Accessibility and affordability are at the forefront for legislators too.<\/p>\n
\u201cFood is a basic necessity for people to live. It is not a luxury and it is not a privilege,\u201d said Deputy Erie County Executive Lisa Chimera.<\/p>\n
That trio of bills has not yet come to a vote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BUFFALO, N.Y. \u2014 Everybody needs to eat, but that\u2019s sometimes easier said than done. Each Congressional district in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":313748,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[113,9,11,10,49,51,50,12,112,87,33018,200],"class_list":["post-313747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-buffalo","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-new-york-state","tag-new-york-state-headlines","tag-new-york-state-news","tag-news","tag-ny-state-of-politics","tag-politics","tag-viktoria-hallikaar","tag-vod"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=313747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313747\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/313748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=313747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=313747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=313747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}