Sophia Lenarz-Coy

And so what's been really interesting kind of as things have evolved in the past decade is we no longer really have to make that case to funders or to healthcare partners. There's a real understanding that if you can get people really consistent, reliable access to nutritious foods, health outcomes improve.

And so what's been really interesting kind of as things have evolved in the past decade is we no longer really have to make that case to funders or to healthcare partners. There's a real understanding that if you can get people really consistent, reliable access to nutritious foods, health outcomes improve.

So there's, there's not even a sense of, oh my gosh, we need to study it or we need to look at the dietary outcomes. It really is kind of almost now commonly accepted that access will lead to better health results.

So there's, there's not even a sense of, oh my gosh, we need to study it or we need to look at the dietary outcomes. It really is kind of almost now commonly accepted that access will lead to better health results.

Yeah, absolutely. So as I mentioned, certainly there are demographic differences in food insecurity. So one of the groups with the highest rates of food insecurity are Native American folks, Indigenous. There's a really long, super complicated history of how the US government has used food as a tool to really kind of oppress Native communities.

Yeah, absolutely. So as I mentioned, certainly there are demographic differences in food insecurity. So one of the groups with the highest rates of food insecurity are Native American folks, Indigenous. There's a really long, super complicated history of how the US government has used food as a tool to really kind of oppress Native communities.

and really tore away many of their natural kind of food sovereignty ways of producing foods that were good for their community and replaced that all with commodity foods. So rates of diet-related disease, rates of food insecurity, they are off the charts for many indigenous communities. There's, you know, different kind of pockets of places to, again, certain

and really tore away many of their natural kind of food sovereignty ways of producing foods that were good for their community and replaced that all with commodity foods. So rates of diet-related disease, rates of food insecurity, they are off the charts for many indigenous communities. There's, you know, different kind of pockets of places to, again, certain

Urban areas without reliable access to grocery stores are going to have higher rates of food insecurity. And then plenty of families with children. That is a group that has high rates. But then the growing group is seniors as well. So there are many, many seniors who are not always sure where their next meal is coming from.

Urban areas without reliable access to grocery stores are going to have higher rates of food insecurity. And then plenty of families with children. That is a group that has high rates. But then the growing group is seniors as well. So there are many, many seniors who are not always sure where their next meal is coming from.

And when you couple that with the fact that many of them are probably taking medication regularly, if you don't have the proper food to have that medication, do what it's supposed to do, you're going to have even worse health outcomes.

And when you couple that with the fact that many of them are probably taking medication regularly, if you don't have the proper food to have that medication, do what it's supposed to do, you're going to have even worse health outcomes.

Yeah, so I'm really glad that you brought that up. So it's really interesting. So generally, when people refer to a food desert, they're speaking about a neighborhood that does not have access to affordable, healthy groceries. So it might have corner stores. It might have fast food restaurants, right?

Yeah, so I'm really glad that you brought that up. So it's really interesting. So generally, when people refer to a food desert, they're speaking about a neighborhood that does not have access to affordable, healthy groceries. So it might have corner stores. It might have fast food restaurants, right?

There might be places you can get food, but not a quality, nutritious grocery store that's affordable to residents, right? But one thing that's really interesting is there's been some talk around maybe food desert isn't the best way to describe that. So the Sioux chef, Sean Sherman, who is a local indigenous chef, he talks a lot about actually deserts are naturally occurring ecosystems.

There might be places you can get food, but not a quality, nutritious grocery store that's affordable to residents, right? But one thing that's really interesting is there's been some talk around maybe food desert isn't the best way to describe that. So the Sioux chef, Sean Sherman, who is a local indigenous chef, he talks a lot about actually deserts are naturally occurring ecosystems.

That they're beautiful. And if you know where to look for food or water, you can find them in a desert where actually the situation we find ourselves in is really one of political investment decisions. And so when we think about kind of how grocery stores are located, sometimes we talk about a little bit more as supermarket redlining.

That they're beautiful. And if you know where to look for food or water, you can find them in a desert where actually the situation we find ourselves in is really one of political investment decisions. And so when we think about kind of how grocery stores are located, sometimes we talk about a little bit more as supermarket redlining.

So if you're familiar with like redlining and housing where certain neighborhoods are got less access or only white folks were allowed to move into certain neighborhoods. When you look at grocery store access, if you look at communities with equal per capita income, black neighborhoods are less likely to have a grocery store than white neighborhoods.

So if you're familiar with like redlining and housing where certain neighborhoods are got less access or only white folks were allowed to move into certain neighborhoods. When you look at grocery store access, if you look at communities with equal per capita income, black neighborhoods are less likely to have a grocery store than white neighborhoods.