Blogging Social Difference in LA: Week 6

This past weekend I walked over to the farmers market in West Los Angeles to stock up on fresh fruit and vegetables that are sometimes hard to find at nearby grocery stores. The farmers market had about 40 or so stalls with a great variety of fruit, vegetables, organic coffee, hummus, freshly baked bread, freshly made enchiladas, etc. After this trip to the farmers market I felt lucky to have this weekly source of fresh food at my fingertips.  I saw a mixture of ethnicities, and ages, some were with families, and some by themselves. I observed more than one customer who was obviously a loyal customer of a stand and had friendly relationships with the stand operators. Farmers markets have many logistical benefits - the food is usually locally sourced, everything is sold by the producers themselves, and almost everything is organic. Farmers markets also benefit the local community and local economy by stimulating social interaction between residents of the area but also encouraging interaction between rural and urban communities. 

When discussing access to resources in an urban environment, the first things that come to mind are often physical access to transportation or urban mobilities, access to financial resources such as loans or insurance, or social access to neighborhoods or places of consumption. So, how about access to food? This trip got me thinking about how the resource of food affects residents of different neighborhoods and if we can observe social difference through the lens of access to food. 

An article on KCET claims that access to healthy foods in low income areas of Los Angeles is compromised. Karen Lincoln, associate director of the USC Roybal Institute says, "if you know someone's zip code, you know their health. It's very clear when you look at Los Angeles County." The assumption that affluent neighborhoods have more access to healthy foods and poorer neighborhoods don't is maybe a little too simple. An article in the LA Times claims that proximity to supermarkets doesn't mean that people consume a higher amount of fruits and vegetables. "Instead, income - and proximity to fast-food restaurants - were the strongest factors in food choice." 

The LA Times has a great interactive map of all of the farmers markets in the Los Angeles area along with the hours and days they operate. There has been a lot of attention on the amount of fast-food in South Los Angeles, one of the poorest parts of the city. In the screenshot of the map you can see that there are far fewer farmers markets in south LA than in other areas. In 2008 there was a one year moratorium that banned any new fast-food chains from opening in the area, which has now become a permanent law and has been called one of the nation's most radical food policies. The New York Times states that the motivations for the ban came from the fact that 45% of the area's restaurants are fast-food chains along with heightened rates of obesity and health problems among residents of the area. 

Map of the farmers markets in the Los Angeles area

This high concentration of fast-food restaurants in a relatively low-income neighborhood is not particularly surprising because people often claim that fast-food is cheaper than food from grocery stores (real food?). However, Mark Bittman, food journalist and author claims that this is a misconception. He states "You can serve a roasted chicken with vegetables along with a simple salad and milk for about $14, and feed four or even six people. If that's too much money, substitute a meal of rice and canned beans with bacon, green peppers and onions; it's easily enough for four people and costs about $9." Although fast-food may not be technically cheaper, it is an easy solution that requires little to no work.