DEPARTMENT: Health
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Jennifer Herriott, MPH
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
A briefing on food deserts and urban farming in San Antonio as well as an update on the Healthy Corner Stores Initiative
SUMMARY:
Members of the Food Policy Council of San Antonio will provide a presentation on food deserts and how San Antonio can utilize urban agriculture strategies to improve a healthy food environment for residents. They will also provide an update on the Healthy Corner Stores Initiative.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Food Policy Council of San Antonio (FPCSA) was formed by the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, under the Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services in 2010. The FPCSA was designated a 501(c)(3) in 2013 and is dedicated to addressing the root causes of an unhealthy food system. It currently serves as a stakeholder forum to support a healthy, sustainable and just local food system; gathers and disseminates information for all who work toward that goal in the San Antonio area; and advocates for policy improvements relating to food.
Obesity is an epidemic in Bexar County with 36% of adults classified as obese and an additional 35% classified as overweight, making a combined total of 71% of adults classified as either overweight or obese. In addition, 11% of adults in San Antonio/Bexar County have been diagnosed with diabetes. (2015 Texas Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey) One of the contributing factors to chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity is poverty in part due to food insecurity. In Bexar County, food insecurity is often a result of residents living in a food desert, an urban area in which it is difficult to buy affordable or good-quality fresh fruits, vegetables, and other healthful whole foods.
The FPCSA will discuss the comprehensive view of food deserts an...
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