No Fresh Foods Here (Food Desert)

ROB MCCLENDON: WELL ITS CALLED A FOOD DESERT; AN AREA, WHETHER RURAL OR
URBAN, WHERE FRESH FOOD IS SIMPLY UNAVAILABLE.
AND WHILE INCONVENIENT FOR SOME, FOR OTHERS FOOD DESERTS CAN CONTRIBUTE TO
EVERYTHING FROM A NEIGHBORHOOD'S DECLINE TO MALNUTRITION AND OBESITY.
TODAY, WE RE-EXAMINE AN ISSUE WE FIRST DISCOVERED IN 2009, BUT STILL REMAINS
A PROBLEM TODAY.
IT'S THE END OF THE GROWING SEASON IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD GARDEN.
RUSSEL VAN PRAGG: IT TASTES REAL GOOD, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY'RE
FRESH PICKED RADISHES, THEY'RE REAL HOT.
ROB: RUSSEL AND HIS BROTHER RUEBEN HAVE SPENT MUCH OF THEIR SUMMER
PICKING VEGETABLES THEY PLANTED THEMSELVES.
RUSSEL: INSTEAD OF GOING TO THE STORE AND BUYING THE GROCERIES, YOU CAN
COME OUT HERE AND GET IT FRESHLY PICKED.
ROB: MADE POSSIBLE BY A PROGRAM CALLED FOOD FOR LIFE.
STEPHEN EBERLE: SO WE'RE DOING THIS ALL OVER TULSA AREA, ITS BEHIND SCHOOLS,
ITS BEHIND CHURCHES, ITS IN COMMUNITIES, NEIGHBORHOODS.
ROB: STEPHEN EBERLE IS THE PROJECT COORDINATOR.
EBERLE: FOOD FOR LIFE, ITS A PROGRAM THAT INDIAN HEALTHCARE APPLIED FOR
THROUGH A GRANT, THREE GRANTS ACTUALLY, ITS CALLED FOOD FOR LIFE.
WE'RE USING USDA MONEY, CDC MONEY, AND TOBACCO SETTLEMENT MONEY; COMBINED
TOGETHER FOR A 3-YEAR PROGRAM, WHICH WE'RE ENDING FOOD DESERTS IN
MANY NEIGHBORHOODS AND ALSO PROVIDING FOOD SECURITY FOR MANY
INDIVIDUALS.
ROB: BY HELPING FAMILIES GROW FOR THEIR OWN TABLE.
YOLANDA VON PRAGG IS RUSSEL AND RUEBEN'S MOTHER.
YOLANDA VAN PRAGG: IT'S LESS EXPENSIVE AND, FRESH FRUITS, VEGETABLES ARE
ALWAYS BETTER FOR YOU.
ROB: AND FOR MANY LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS, HARD TO FIND THESE GARDENS
ARE LOCATED IN A FOOD DESERT; AN AREA THAT LACKS CONVENIENT ACCESS TO
NUTRITIOUS FOOD.
EBERLE: A FOOD DESERT IS A NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE THERE IS LITERALLY NO PLACE TO
FIND REAL FOOD, OR WHOLE FOOD; THERE ARE ONLY CONVENIENCE STORES AND
FAST-FOOD CHAINS.
THERE WAS NO PLACE TO BUY A LOAF OF BREAD, MILK, CHEESE, MEATS, DAIRY, AND
FRESH VEGETABLES; THEY LITERALLY DON'T EXIST.
ROB: NOW FOR MANY NEIGHBORHOODS HERE IN TULSA, FINDING A LOCAL
GROCERY STORE CAN BE ABOUT A 10-MILE TRIP; NOT A HUGE PROBLEM IF YOU HAVE YOUR
OWN CAR, BUT IF YOU'RE DEPENDENT UPON PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION OR ON FOOT,
IT MAKES FINDING FRESH FOOD VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE.
HERE IN WEST TULSA WHERE WINDOWS ARE REPLACED WITH WOOD AND GROCERY STORES
ARE ALL BUT NON-EXISTENT, THE BLUE JACKELOPE SERVES AS SORT OF A FOOD OASIS IN
WHAT WAS A FOOD DESERT.
SCOTT SMITH: I STARTED OBSERVING PEOPLE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD WHO DIDN'T
HAVE ACCESS TO A SUPERMARKET.
WE LOST TWO MAJOR-SIZED SUPERMARKETS WITHIN A 10-MINUTE WALK FROM HERE,
OVER THE, OVER THE COURSE OF A COUPLE OF YEARS.
ROB: SO SCOTT SPARKED HIS ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT AND STARTED THE BLUE
JACKELOPE, A NEIGHBORHOOD MARKET THAT'S AN OASIS OF FRESH FOOD AND WARM
FELLOWSHIP.
SCOTT: WHEN I FOUND OUT THAT A LOT OF MY NEIGHBORS ON FOOD STAMPS EXISTED OFF
OF GOING TO CONVENIENCE STORES FOR THEIR FOOD SOURCE, IT REALLY KIND OF
HIT HOME.
ROB: SCOTT'S MANAGED TO TURN HIS STORE INTO A ONE-STOP SHOP FOR THIS
COMMUNITY; IN ADDITION TO PROVIDING AN ARRAY OF ESSENTIAL GROCERIES AND
LOCAL PRODUCE, IT'S ALSO A DELI, A COFFEE BAR, AND PERHAPS BEST OF ALL, A
CENTRAL HUB OF SOCIAL ACTIVITY.
SCOTT: THEY'LL SIT DOWN AT THE TABLE, IT'S A COMMUNAL TABLE, AND THEY'LL START
CONVERSATIONS WITH PEOPLE.
AND THEN THEY WILL DO INFORMAL NETWORKING, AND THAT HAS GOTTEN PEOPLE WHO
ARE UNDER-EMPLOYED OR UNEMPLOYED IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, DAY-LABOR
JOBS.
MORE THAN ANYTHING IT'S JUST BECOME A PLACE WHERE NEIGHBORS ARE MEETING
NEIGHBORS, WHETHER WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY OR ACROSS A BROADER SCOPE OF THE CITY
THAT WE LIVE IN.
ROB: AND FOOD DESERTS ARE NOT JUST CONFINED TO THE INNER CITY; OF OKLAHOMA'S
77 COUNTIES, ALMOST HALF ARE CONSIDERED FOOD DESERTS, ALL OF THESE
HERE, IN RURAL OKLAHOMA.
AND OF THESE COUNTIES, 9 ARE CONSIDERED SEVERE FOOD DESERTS; WHICH MEANS IT
TAKES ABOUT A 10-MILE TRIP TO GET TO THE LOCAL GROCERY STORE.
DOUG WALTON: AND MANY OF OUR RURAL RESIDENTS ARE ELDERLY AND ALSO LOWER
INCOME; AND, WE HAVE HIGHER POVERTY IN RURAL POPULATIONS.
ROB: DOUG WALTON IS AN ADVOCATE FOR THE LOCAL FOOD MOVEMENT AND SAYS
DESPITE THE FARMS THAT DOT OUR COUNTRYSIDE, IN MANY WAYS IT'S OUR RURAL AREAS
THAT HAVE BEEN HIT THE HARDEST.
WALTON: AND TRANSPORTATION BECOMES A HUGE ISSUE IN RURAL COUNTIES AS THE
DISTANCE FROM THE STORE INCREASES; AND SO, THE OPTIONS THAT ARE LEFT ARE
OFTEN CONVENIENCE STORES OR VERY SMALL GROCER-TYPE STORES THAT LACK THE
SELECTION AND ALSO TEND TO HAVE HIGHER PRICES.
ROB: AND WHILE LONG STRETCHES OF ROAD ARE OFTEN TO BLAME IN RURAL
AREAS, IT'S THE SIMPLE LACK OF TRANSPORTATION THAT LIMITS OTHERS IN
OKLAHOMA CITY.
WITHIN THE SHADOW OF THE STATE CAPITOL, KEVIN JOHNSON WALKS BLOCKS, PAST
CLOSED FOOD STORES, TO JUST PICK UP A BAG OF GROCERIES.
KEVIN JOHNSON: WHEN YOU LIVE WHERE THEY'RE KIND OF SPREAD OUT AROUND HERE,
THERE AIN'T TOO MANY AROUND HERE; SO, IT'S NOT VERY EASY, YOU DON'T JUST
HAVE TO GO A LITTLE WAYS OR WHATEVER.
ROB: AND WHEN ON FOOT, THAT'S NOT SO EASY.
AT THE INTERSECTION OF MLK AND 23RD, YOU CAN HEAR THE VIBRANCE OF THE
NEIGHBORHOOD.
[RAP MUSIC] HOMETOWN MARKET IS ONE OF THE LAST GROCERY STORES IN THIS
AREA.
INSIDE THE ISLES ARE BRIGHT, AND THE FOOD IS FRESH; SOMETHING STORE
MANAGER CHRIS CARTER SAYS HAS HELPED THEM SUCCEED WHERE OTHERS HAVE NOT.
CHRIS CARTER: WE STRUGGLE HARD AND TRY HARD TO PROVIDE EVERYTHING WE CAN
FOR A CONSUMER THAT'S LOOKING FOR WHATEVER PRODUCT THEY MAY BE
LOOKING FOR.
YES, I THINK WE HAVE A GREAT PRODUCE DEPARTMENT; I THINK WE HAVE THE
FRESHEST PRODUCE THAT ANY MONEY CAN BUY.
SO, AND WE WORK HARD TO DO THAT, VERY HARD.
ROB: CARTER SAYS WHILE HE'S PROUD OF THE FRESH PRODUCE HIS STORE OFFERS,
HE UNDERSTANDS WHY SOME SMALLER RETAILERS HAVE ABANDONED THE HEALTHIER
FARE.
WALTON: ULTIMATELY IT'S A CUSTOMERS CHOICE; YOU COULD PROVIDE THEM NOTHING
BUT HEALTHY FOODS AND THAT STILL DOESN'T MEAN THEY'RE GONNA BUY IT.
EBERLE: WE'RE KILLING OURSELVES IN OKLAHOMA ON THE DOLLAR MENU; THAT'S
WHERE WE'RE EATING, RICH OR POOR, FOOD STAMPS OR NOT, WE'RE EATING
PROCESSED FOOD AND IT'S KILLING US.
WE SEE CHILDREN WITH TYPE II DIABETES THAT SHOULDN'T HAVE IT AT ALL, BUT
THEY'RE OBESE, THEY'RE EATING NOTHING BUT PROCESSED FOODS FULL OF
SUGARS AND SALTS.
AND, AND THAT'S THE DILEMMA.
ROB: A DILEMMA THAT EBERLE AND OTHERS BELIEVE CAN BE SOLVED BY ONE HEALTHY
CORNER STORE AT A TIME.
NOW SINCE WE FINISHED THAT STORY, THE OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE PASSED
LEGISLATION TO ALLOW FOR LOW-INTEREST LOANS TO ENTREPRENEURS WHO WANT TO
OPEN HEALTHY NEIGHBORHOOD GROCERY'S IN AREAS WITHOUT A CORNER STORE.