Program on the Environment

The existence of food deserts is an environmental justice issue that compromises the health of the communities residing in these areas. They have limited access to affordable, nutritious food from the lack of available nearby supermarkets, and food available to them are typically prepackaged meals; this makes them more vulnerable to conditions like malnutrition, diabetes and obesity. The main purpose of this research is to identify how communities in food deserts can access nutritious food sources from local sustainable farms. To accomplish this, I interned with Barn2Door, where I researched and learned all about the different local farms and farmers markets. Accompanying this, I also conducted independent research which included a literature review of different topics revolving around direct farm marketing and food insecurity in the U.S., and conducted surveys with West Seattle residents to identify the different factors that go into their food decision-making process. I found that geographical and economic constraints are the two biggest issues that food deserts face when it comes to food, and that more food insecure individuals would buy directly from farms if they delivered locally, but only if their products weren’t too costly. With this information, I realized that bridging the distance between food deserts and nutritious food sources through direct farm marketing, and alleviating their financial burdens by encouraging more farms/farmers markets to accept EBT payments, help improve their health as they gain increased access to more nutritious food.