Food Deserts

Life has had more than its share of surprises for 81-year-old Fort Worthian Mary, who asked to remain anonymous to protect her privacy. She left small-town life in Snyder, Texas, 45 years ago with her husband. After decades of work as a caretaker, she is now retired and focuses on her two children and seven grandchildren.

The experience in nursing homes taught her the challenges of aging, but she never imagined something as simple as cooking or making regular trips to a supermarket for herself and husband would become onerous.

Physically, she said, cooking became exhausting. Standing in the kitchen for several minutes now causes her knees to ache. And she has chronic back problems. Driving at night is not an option because of poor vision. Outside her small one-story home, a freshly constructed ramp attests to her limited mobility. After falling down three front steps, Mary found that she qualified for a no-cost ramp, provided by Texas Department of Aging and Disability.

Mary also lives in a food desert. The nearest grocery store is several miles away. Only blocks away from her home is a gas station, but the sugary foods stocked there could endanger her life.

“I’m a diabetic and have high blood pressure and problems with my kidneys,” she said.

Since eating gas station food would make her blood sugar numbers skyrocket, she avoids it.

Five days a week, Mary and her husband are visited by Meals on Wheels of Tarrant County, a nonprofit group whose volunteers deliver produce-heavy meals directly to residents with severe mobility problems

The donations, she said, make all the difference to her health.

Sherry Simon, Meals on Wheels’ vice-president of nutrition and health programs, said that every morning, her group packages and delivers more than 3,000 lunches across the county.

Her case managers are well aware of which clients live in areas with low food access, she said.

The nonprofit lacks the resources to provide every meal clients may need, so the managers work with clients like Mary and her husband to make sure they understand how to make the most out of less-than-ideal convenience stores and dollar shops, often by stocking up on items like canned tuna and canned or frozen vegetables. If those items are even offered.

At a convenience store near Mary’s home, an experiment of sorts is in the works. It has been identified by Blue Zones as a possible participant in the Healthy Corner Store pilot program. In return for adding fresh produce and other healthy food options, corner store owners receive seed money for supplies such as signage, refrigeration equipment, and other materials to support the sale of fresh produce and other healthy food options through a grant.

The nation’s largest advocate for senior citizens, AARP, is collaborating with Blue Zones to ensure that Fort Worthians and city officials know how food deserts impact many people over 50.

In 2014, three million households with seniors experienced food insecurity, AARP says.

“Even if they have the resources to buy food, many can’t access fresh foods due to lack of transportation, functional limitations, or health problems,” said AARP director Carmel Snyder.

Snyder is working with city officials to draft an age-friendly action plan that will address walkability, public transportation, and the creation of community spaces like inner-city parks where the elderly can interact and meet other people in the community.

Last month, AARP held a training program to teach people over 50 how to access public transportation.

“We talked about how to ride the bus, the train, and everything from buying a ticket to how to get on and off the train,” Snyder said. “We also had the bike share people out there showing people alternative transportation.”

Encouraging usage of the city’s public transportation network may have a long-term payout: “Just because our public transportation isn’t perfect doesn’t mean we shouldn’t use it. There’s more incentive for the city to improve it if it’s used.”

While the proposals begin the slow process of becoming law, programs to address food deserts are already being tested. And proving popular.

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