Food Deserts In Colorado

Access to affordable and nutritious food has become an issue of interest to the residents of Colorado. According to the Nutrition Digest, ‘food deserts’ are “parts of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthful whole foods, usually found in impoverished areas” (Gallagher). Areas of Colorado such as this exist in largely rural and urban or low-income neighborhoods throughout the state. In these underserved communities, the issue lies with the ability to realistically travel to get fresh food and the, often, non-existent retail food presence. In an article published by International Health Geographics, authors Joseph Sharkey, et al. explain that “Individual and community concerns with food security, limited access to supermarkets,
One of the barriers for the food desert areas is the ability to easily locate and afford fresh food and the cost of travel to obtain it. To address the issue of limited access to fresh foods for underprivileged residents, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment published Facts For Action: Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Colorado, which acknowledges the adverse effects when individuals do not consume the appropriate amount of fruits and vegetables; and highlights that.relaying the adverse effects to one’s health from not meeting the appropriate consumption of produce, and that “Farmer’s markets can improve access to fruit and vegetable retail and support local agricultural production” (3). Farmers’ markets offer communities the ability to locate fruits and vegetables, often, at a lower price than big box store values. According to the article published by the Journal of Community Health, “Studies suggest that access to alternative sources of fresh produce such as famers’ markets might help to mitigate the impact of healthy food disparities by both lowering the cost of produce in these ‘food deserts’ and improving access to healthy food choices” (Valerie Ruelas, et al.
Quite a few policy recommendations for the State of Colorado have advised that increasing supermarkets is a chief concern for underserved communities. Colorado food deserts, that had experienced no way to obtain fresh food, are now seeing a rise in grocers because of financing and incentive based funding. A Live Well Colorado article explains the Colorado Fresh Food Financing Fund (CO4F) “As a public-private partnership fund,” and that this fund, “CO4F will make financing available for grocers that offer affordable and nutritious foods in areas where healthy options are scarce.” Governor Hickenlooper’s Health Plan and the various entities tasked with increasing notorious food options in the state have initiated awareness of the Colorado Fresh Food Financing Initiative. Which in turn, has provided a unique way to incentivize funding for opening new grocery stores, revamping existing stores to offer healthy food, and implement tools to succeed in selling healthy food options throughout