Mainstream Media Talks About Food Access
Food Deserts in Chicago. Chicago Tribute, July 2006.The issue of access to healthy foods and limited food retail locations in low-income communities seems to be gaining some interest among larger mainstream media corporations. I was in an interview recently with a reporter from People Magazine, which is not a media outlet you would normally associate as caring much about this type of issue. The reporter said they were interested in the “human story” in our work. Since our work is about food for humans, I guess it’s not hard to find compelling human stories. Hopefully those stories will compel other humans to take action and spread the word.
A surprising piece of coverage on the subject came from CNN, which produced a video news piece entitled “Urban Food Deserts”. The subline says “CNN’s Keith Oppenheim looks at the dearth of quality food choices in some American urban areas.” The piece is actually quite good and is based on a 2006 study conduct by LaSalle Bank. It also features Ladonna Redmond, who is CEO of the Institute for Community Resource Development (ICRD) in Chicago and a great champion and leader for food justice at a national level.
Go to this link to see the video.
I’ve also attached a July 2006 article from the Chicago Tribune about the study commissioned by LaSalle Bank.
Food Deserts in Chicago. Chicago Tribute, July 2006.
