According to the Los Angeles County Food Equity Roundtable report, low-income communities of color, including Black, Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and Native American communities, experience up to three times the rates of food insecurity in LA County. These marginalized communities face barriers in accessing healthy food, further increasing their risk of developing diet-related chronic diseases.¹ The barriers include systemic oppression such as racism and low-income status. Most often, the food is just inaccessible—it is too far away or too expensive, creating food deserts.

According to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, a food desert is a geographical region where one-third of the population lacks access to affordable and nutritious food. One study conducted by The Food Trust organization found that Black Americans are nearly 400% more likely than White Americans to live in a neighborhood or community that lacks a full-service supermarket.² In the South Los Angeles Area, a historically Black and Brown community, there were merely seven supermarkets in the entire region compared to a surplus of liquor stores and fast-food restaurants. Additionally, low-income status further deepens food deserts in these communities; people are unable to afford transportation to the limited supermarkets and may rely on smaller convenience stores that may not carry healthy foods or only offer them at higher prices.³

After volunteering at produce distributions in LA, I saw the demand for healthy food in these communities. Ironically, although California produces nearly half of the nation’s fruits and vegetables, an estimated one in four of our neighbors face food insecurity, which can increase their risk of diet-related chronic diseases.⁴

This issue is something very close to my heart. When I was diagnosed with high blood pressure in high school, it was difficult to meet my nutritional needs and reduce my salt intake without consistent financial support. As a UC Global Health Institute student ambassador, I have worked to establish partnerships between the state health department and food justice organizations like ours to bridge the gaps between healthcare and our nutrition. At the end of the day, food is literally medicine, which is why I am excited to write about Assembly Bill 1975, a groundbreaking piece of California legislation that will require Medi-Cal to cover medically supportive food and nutrition interventions for eligible Medi-Cal patients.

The UCLA Disparities Elimination through Coordinated Interventions to Prevent and Control Heart and Lung Disease Risk (DECIPHeR) Project⁵ is an NIH/NHLBI funded research project aimed at improving blood pressure management and reducing related health disparities across all service planning areas in the Los Angeles County safety net health system. The study is led by UCLA Drs. Arleen Brown and Alejandra Casillas of the CTSI's Community Engagement and Research Program. DECIPHeR has partnered with the Los Angeles County Food Rx Collaborative (Collaborative), a network co-led by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Department of Health Services (DHS). This network of safety-net health clinics works towards increasing access to healthy foods and improving food and nutrition security by conducting free produce distributions, coordinating nutrition education activities, and implementing food insecurity screening and referrals at County-operated health centers. The produce distributions or gleaned fruits and vegetables that is redistributed to communities in need are one of the main local resources DPH and DHS clinic staff offer to food insecure patients. Patients are deemed food insecure if they screened “positive” using the validated, 2-item Hunger Vital Sign^TM tool. Data collected by DPH and DHS healthcare sites from January 2022 to May 2024 shows that over 2.5 million pounds of produce have been distributed to 120,380 households or 468,444 people.

The Collaborative plans to conduct participant surveys to evaluate the impact of produce distributions on household food security, collect demographic information, fruit and vegetable intake, and clinic referrals to local food resources. UCLA Family Medicine physician and research fellow, Dr. Frederick Ferguson has formed a community action board that brings together academic researchers and community members. This will allow individuals to receive nutrition information including recipes and how to access community food pantries. Despite the wide reach of the Collaborative’s produce distributions and the academic goals of DECIPHeR, they only provide a temporary solution to the increasingly complex problem of food insecurity.

Recently, Assembly Bill 1975 can provide a more permanent solution to food deserts. Medi-Cal is the state’s health insurance plan for low-income residents and covers nearly one-third of Californians. A central role in addressing the root causes and complex health needs is creating spaces of healing, trust, and resilience for historically marginalized communities, not just productive food activities. This bill will make services such as food pharmacies and produce prescriptions a reality and support various generations, identities, and socioeconomic distinctions.

Representation and connection to the earth are often overlooked as opportunities to promote wellness and education, but we can help drive state-level policy change by continuing to spread awareness about Assembly Bill 1975. We are working closely with households experiencing food insecurity as well as historically marginalized communities. This initiative can substantially save in billions of healthcare cost for Medi-Cal recipients and hopefully in the future this could be expanded to Medicare beneficiaries. This is something I wish I had for me and my family, but now nutritional foods can be an accessible reality for all.

What Can You Do?

• Help to maintain your campus food pantry
• Start a community garden
• Organize meal prep workshops to teach students how to cook nutritious meals on a budget
• Partner with local food banks or shelters to recover surplus food from dining halls
• Advocate for policy changes like Assembly Bill 1975

References:

1. Ziso, Dea, et al. “Increasing access to healthy foods through improving food environment: A review of mixed methods intervention studies with residents of low-income communities.” Nutrients, vol. 14, no. 11, 29 May 2022, p. 2278, https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14112278.
2. “Access to Affordable, Nutritious Food Is Limited in ‘Food Deserts.’” USDA ERS - Access to Affordable, Nutritious Food Is Limited in “Food Deserts,” www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2010/march/access-to-affordable-nutritious-food-is-limited-in-food-deserts/. Accessed 21 June 2024.
3. Dominic Borrelli, Ryan Gunn. “Food Deserts in South L.A.” ArcGIS StoryMaps, Esri, 19 Nov. 2020, storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/4ef7d78c52ec4b29a6073ffdc6809e83.
4. Jetha, Rya. “How Hungry Is California? Millions Struggle to Eat Well in an Abundant State.” Jefferson Public Radio, CalMatters, 10 Nov. 2023, www.ijpr.org/poverty-and-homelessness/2023-08-08/how-hungry-is-california-millions-struggle-to-eat-well-in-an-abundant-state.
5. “Decipher at UCLA CTSI.” UCLA CTSI, 30 Apr. 2024, ctsi.ucla.edu/community-engagement/los-angeles-county-lac-projects/decipher.