I know that all of you have heard the term Desert a region that receives very little rainfall,

, less than enough to support the growth of most plants. But, the kind of desert that I would like to tell you about today is called a Food Desert. If you havent already heard this term, a food desert is a district in an urban setting that has little to no access to grocery stores that offer fresh foods that are needed to maintain a healthy diet. It may be surprising, but there is a sector of our own community that suffers from this problem. Where Garza High School is located, in Central East Austin (aka 78702), there is a food desert. There are two main reasons why East Austin is and continues to be a food desert, the first being lack of access to healthy, affordable foods. Currently there are no large grocery stores in the zip code of 78702. The closest HEB is in the 78701 zip code and the closest Fiesta Mart is on the corner of IH-35 and 38th street. Without large grocery stores nearby, there is little access to fresh produce and other fresh foods. Unless willing or able to travel long distances, East Austin residents are forced to buy much of their food from small convenient stores, gas stations, or fast food restaurants. In addition, there are very few health food stores that exist in this area, and of the places that do sell organic and local foods, many of their prices are far too much for some east Austin residents to afford. That brings me to the second component of access; economics. Its not necessarily that eating healthy is overpriced, but that the latter choice is far less expensive. According to City of Austin in 2010, the average income of residents in 78702 is approximately $22,000 annually and about %32 percent of residents are under the poverty level. Lets say this is your salary and youre at the HEB on E. 7th street where organic tomatoes run around $3/lb. vs. $0.50/lb. for conventional, which one would you choose? The second reason why East Austin continues to be a food desert is because of the lack of information and community outreach towards addressing this problem. Currently there are several organizations that are key allies in combating this very issue, including..The problem is that there is little information circulating throughout the community to get people involved. According to Sustainable Food Center, there are currently eight community gardens in East Austin, but many of those are not wholly accessibly to every member of the community. Several of those listed as community gardens are actually established through churches or small organizations that dont advertise their garden to the public. Many of the gardens also have rules, regulations and fees to go along with them. Lets take Festival Beach Community gardens for instance, which is right in the heart of the 78702 zip code. To be able to garden there, you must pay a $35 fee, plus put 2 hours of maintenance towards your bed every month, with the stipulation that if you dont work those 2 hours, you must also pay another $10 fee. If youre on a tight budget, or dont have enough time to meet these requirements, participating in a community garden may not be viable. All of these factors combined bring me to our conclusion: the implications of the food desert. As a result of the limited access to fresh food, the health of both our people and the environment is affected.

According to Michael Pollan in Bill Moyers presents Distance from fresh produce is an indicator of health. In an article by Rebecca Flournoy from the National Institute of Health, A diet poor in fruits and vegetables increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other illnesses that disproportionately affect people of color. Poor dietary behaviors also contribute to the obesity epidemic, which is increasing at an alarming rate nationwide. It is also said that Food deserts often go hand in hand with food insecurity. Food insecurity means people aren't sure where their food will come from. In addition, they have little-to-no access to nutritious food and are likely to have unbalanced diets and skip meals. Aside from the health of the people in our community, the environment is also a factor. The production of processed foods can be detrimental to the environment, but according to Jane Chiao in response to a New York Times article about the link between red meat and heart disease, sustainable food production does not provide a negative impact on the environment. Sustainable food production operations dont produce toxic, they dont drain our fresh water supply, and they dont destroy biodiversity. So, how can we solve all these problems? First, we must engage the community and spread information about the food desert, because there truly is power in numbers. Just as Margaret Myad once said, never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world.