Side Bar: Food Deserts

By Katharine Sherrett

BATON ROUGE, La.

To fill a need, volunteer food pantries have popped up in this

capital city where 14 percent or 64,000 people do not have regular access to food.

Last fall, the LSU Food Recovery Network partnered with African American Cultural

Center, Ogden Honors College, LSU Facilities Services and Baton Rouge Community Fridge to donate over 3,000 pounds of food, according to its website.

According to feedingamerica.org, one USDA-approved meal is 1.2 pounds of food, so 3,000 pounds serve about 2,500 people. Depending on the size of the community, 3,000 pounds of food could last between one day and one week.

“Over the span of two years I have spent volunteering at the pantry, I was able to see first hand how many people use the pantry and rely on it for meals and ingredients." said Niyah Strother, a volunteer with LSU Food Pantry and Food Recovery Network.“

However, for students in so-called food desert communities, especially those attending Southern University in North Baton Rouge, access to fresh food is difficult,” Strother. Not all students have cars. Public transit is unreliable. Groceries are miles away. One SU student, Jared Barbarin described the campus’ food pantry as a helpful resource, but it also has limits in quality and variety.

“I would say it’s medium quality compared to what I’m used to” said Barbarin “ It’s a lot

of off-brand items. There’s a lot of canned food — tuna, canned chicken, rice and beans — basically things you can cook yourself if you live off campus.”

“A lot of low-cost foods aren’t very healthy, which can lead to issues like stomach

problems and other health concerns,” he said. “It can also affect academics. I know people who got food poisoning and couldn’t go to class or take tests. That impacts their grades.”

“Personally, I shop at Family Dollar because I stay at Cadence Apartments on campus, so

it’s right next door. If not, I’ll drive to Walmart, which is a little farther,” he said. “If I want

healthier food, I’ll go to Rouses” on Florida Blvd. in the center of the city.

However, transportation can make healthier options harder to reach. While Family Dollaris only a three-minute walk from campus, if Barbarin wants to go to a grocery store — like Rouses — he must ask someone for a ride, he said. The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank also sees the effects of food deserts on college students, mainly the transportation issue for SU.

“When I think about Southern – and I mean, I know that's a really big place of where it is a food desert – if they are from out-of-town, if they're coming to college, not from here and they don't have a vehicle or anything, how are they going to get food?” said Jordyn Mancuso, the Vice President of Impact at GBR Food Bank. Not only can transportation be an issue but so is affordability. “There are a lot of them that are struggling to find food. 
They maybe can't afford what's in the cafeteria…It honestly was really surprising to me,” said Mancuso. “There's lots of non- traditional college students too, that may have families and things like that. It's kind of unexpected that they're kind of struggling to make ends meet too.”

The GBR Food Bank is an important resource to help combat food insecurity in Baton Rouge. While food insecurity is simply not being able to afford enough food for one’s family, a food desert refers to not having access to fresh food or grocery stores in your community, she said. With 141 partner agencies in the 11 parishes, GBR Food Bank ensures that individuals all get equal amounts of different food items, she said.

One of GBR Food Bank’s partner agencies is Louisiana Organization for Refugees and Immigrants. However, policies from the current administration are not making it easy. A combination of less federal funding and a crack down on ICE raids make it difficult to feed poor immigrant families.

“With everything that is going on around the negative narrative about immigrants and the

ICE reinforcement, we knew it was going to affect our community,” said Patience Nji Mugah, program and activity manager for LORI. Immigrants face the same problems as others in food deserts – little transportation, limited access and high food costs — and issues are exacerbated by the setbacks on public assistance programs.

““Because I am a refugee, I know what it means for someone to give you a box of food,

especially when you don't know what to do,” Mugah said, “That's very personal. I see moms coming here with their children. You will see the smile. You look at their faces, you see how happy they are, relieved. Like, ‘oh, at least we'll have something to eat.’”