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A Call of Action to Give Meals to EveryTable

Jimena Carrasco
CMN 220
December 16, 2017
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Food Deserts – Final Paper

A huge problem that is going unnoticed is the lack of food or healthy options in certain

neighborhoods or areas of the country, these areas are known as food deserts. According to the

U.S. News, “Federal agencies define a food desert as a community that doesn’t have sufficient

access to fresh, healthy and affordable food – typically provided by a supermarket or grocery

store.” About 23.5 million people live in food deserts (Food Desert Statistics). People do not

have access to food because they live more than a mile away from supermarkets and don’t have

access to transportation. These deserts are commonly located in low-income neighborhoods,

where the people have access to more than 30% convenience stores which result in less healthier

options than other neighborhoods (Food Desert Statistics). This causes a lot of problems for the

people who live in these neighborhoods because they are not given the same opportunities and

equality that other people in middle or higher-income neighborhoods have. Eating healthy is vital

for the human body, and without it, the organism can have a lot of complications that can result

to illnesses or even death.

The main reasons as to why food deserts exist is because of geographical settings and the

selection of food that is offered to the people living in low-income neighborhoods. In the article

titled, “Disparities and access to healthy food in the United States: A review of food deserts

literature”, the researchers looked over 31 studies to find four major issues: access to

supermarkets, racial/ethnic disparities and socioeconomic status in food deserts, and differences

in chain versus non-chain stores are the effects of food deserts. People who live in low-income

neighborhoods do not have a lot of access to supermarkets because they do not have forms of

transportation or cannot afford it. Walking in unsafe neighborhoods, being a single parent, lack

of time due to work schedules or preparing a meal are also other factors that lead to parents to
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choose against supermarkets and instead, go to their local convenience store. Racial/ethnic

disparities is another factor as to why the number of food deserts has increased. It has been

reported that there are fewer supermarkets in predominantly Black neighborhoods than in White

neighborhoods. Approximately 52% of Black neighborhoods have access to chain supermarkets

(Walker, et al.). This reason is very important because to this day, we are still experiencing racial

segregation and this is one of the results. Socioeconomic status is another important aspect that

plays into the creation of food deserts. In the same study, it was found that food prices are higher

and the quality of food is lower in low-income neighborhoods. The last issue that creates food

deserts is the difference between chain and non-chain supermarkets. The article explains that

urban supermarket prices are higher than the suburban prices. An important piece of information

that sticks out is, “smaller grocery stores tend to stock leading brand items and smaller package

sizes, which can drive the cost of food prices up. Larger supermarkets are able to stock both

leading brand and generic items, both offered in larger and smaller packages.” The reason as to

why smaller grocery stores purchase stock leading brands and smaller package sizes is because

they do not have the connections that chain supermarkets do with the leading brands. They also

do not have the money to create their own store brands just like Target or Walmart. Some

convenience store owners may understand the struggle that it is for some people to purchase their

products, but the customers do not have a lot of options.

Food deserts are a problem that increases day by day. It may affect our country but it

affects the people who live in low-income neighborhoods and ethnic minorities the most. A lot of

Hispanic and African-American people live in these low-income neighborhoods, they are the

ones suffering from these circumstances. They are ones who can lead lives into obesity,

unhealthy diets, lack of academic performance in teens and children, and other bad decisions.
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With the help of the people in these communities and a strong policy that assures to bring

restaurants and supermarkets that are affordable to everyone; children, families living in low-

income neighborhoods, diabetics and people with obesity will get healthier food options and the

unemployment rates in these communities will increase as well.

To stop the increase of food deserts, the best idea is to bring healthy and nutritious

options into the areas affected by the lack of food administration. Healthy food options should be

available for everyone to purchase, and that should start with the citizens voicing their concerns

to the public in a way that will grab the attention of the federal government of the United States.

For this policy to make a change, the people should be able to afford the healthy food, and they

should also be educated about making and cooking healthy food options. To make sure that this

policy is successful, the people should approve of it first and show their support before voicing it

to the elected officials and Congress.

The policy that is hoping to create a change comes from a non-profit organization titled,

EveryTable. They started out as a grab-and-go restaurant located in South Los Angeles, which is

located in a food desert, and they serve the community with healthy food options that are priced

according to the neighborhood’s income. After receiving success and approval from their first

restaurant, the owners of EveryTable decided to expand and create more restaurants across the

city of Los Angeles. Since they charge according to the neighborhoods’ income, this means that

someone that lives in a low-income neighborhood can buy the same salad, at a reasonable price,

as someone who lives in a higher-income neighborhood. The restaurants make a profit because a

store front located in low-income neighborhoods will price customers between $3-$5 and in

higher-income neighborhoods, they will price customers between $7-$9 making a profit from

across the neighborhoods and selling healthy food choices for everyone. By bringing EveryTable
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into every city that are impacted by food deserts, it will ensure that everyone has something

healthy to eat and that there is no difference between the food options.

To bring this policy forward, there are some steps that need to happen. The first thing,

would be to get approval from the owners of EveryTable, their organization has grabbed the

attention of people who intend to create healthier food options into food uncertainty

communities, and they need their help. Picking up from there, to ensure that they are giving the

people what they need, it is good to survey the communities affected by food deserts and ask

them simple questions; what kind of food options do they have, what would benefit them, and

what would they wish to see. After receiving that information from the community, two trial

restaurants will be put in major cities that can show change, for example; Chicago, New York,

Philadelphia, New Orleans, Atlanta, San Francisco, etc. One store front will be in a

neighborhood affected by the deprivation of food, while the other will be in a high-income

neighborhood. Just like the owners’ original idea from EveryTable, the employees will be people

who live in the communities. This will create a bond between the people selling the food and the

people buying it, the workers will also help promote EveryTable’s mission and healthy eating.

The prices of these trial neighborhoods will correspond with the neighborhoods income, giving

everyone the opportunity to purchase these meals. After the year trial and a look at the reviews,

the policy will try to make some changes to accommodate the needs of the neighborhoods and

their responses. If there is success, the number of restaurants will expand and open in other cities

who suffer from the lack of healthy foods. In the future, there is hope to bring supermarkets who

will follow the same idea and rules implemented by EveryTable restaurants.

To make sure that the rules are followed, the people in charge of individual stores cannot

change the food prices without the consent of the federal government. It has to be affordable for
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everyone, and increasing the prices for a neighborhood that cannot afford the prices will result in

terrible consequences for the people in charge of the restaurants and it will create setbacks for the

communities that were improving. Besides keeping the prices affordable, it is also important to

make sure that the food being sold is healthy and unprocessed. The United States Department of

Agriculture (USDA) will provide tests to see how the food is being sold to the customers. Failure

to pass the review from the USDA will have negative effects on the restaurants. These two

consequences are very important to address because EveryTable works to make healthy food that

is affordable for everyone and this can ruin its credibility and the mission it stands for.

This idea was created as a non-profit, and to start its journey towards Congress, it must

stay as a non-profit. After EveryTable’s policy has gained support and entered Congress, it can

be taken up to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to review the policy and

help implement it across the nation. With the help of this policy, Philadelphia, who has the

second lowest number of supermarkets, will have a chance to provide healthier options for its

neighborhoods (Walker, et al.). This policy will take about three years to go into effect, the

founders of EveryTable did started their idea in 2013 and started selling food in 2014. For this

policy to be nationwide, it will take a few years to get everything settled. Every year, there will

be improvements to the restaurants and supermarkets. This will not only create healthier food

options for the people in low-income neighborhoods, but it will also create jobs for the people

who suffer unemployment. Every ten years the Census collects nationwide data to improve its

resources and know information about the current members of the population. The information

gathered of this census will help review this policy and to see if it is still valid. It will also help

make changes and to see if the economy has improved because of EveryTable. The amount of

money needed for this policy should start out as a non-profit, asking money from people who
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want to help create the change. With the help of two non-profit organizations who work to make

a change in the food system, Feeding America and Food Tank, EveryTable can receive donations

from the people around it. After this policy gets enough money from the public to start, there will

be a budget implemented in the policy for the government to help with the store fronts, the food

distribution and transportation. Even with the budget from the government, EveryTable will still

be eligible to receive donations. The donations can either help make improvements in the

restaurants and stores, or they can be given to the communities affected by food deserts to

improve the neighborhoods.

The USDA will make a great contribution to this policy by helping it improve its ideas.

The policy will also have to pass through Congress to get its approval from the House of

Representatives and the Senate. This is a policy that will affect all neighborhoods and therefore it

should be in the eyes of the citizens who it will impact. This policy hopes to bring supermarkets

and restaurants that are available for the people in the communities. This idea can be used across

the neighborhoods no matter the income.

In a study titled, Breakfast Habits, Nutritional Status, Body Weight, and Academic

Performance in Children and Adolescents, their findings show that, “Breakfast consumption by

children and adolescents in the United States has declined over time.” The numbers decrease

every year, and a way to improve those numbers would be to implement these restaurants and

supermarkets. In the same study, the results showed that, “Breakfast skipping is common in

children and adolescents, increases with age, may be more common among certain minority

ethnic or low socioeconomic groups, and seems to be associated with other lifestyle factors that

may be detrimental to health.” (Rampersaud et, al. 744). When children and adolescents are

learning, their brains resemble sponges that absorb everything. With the help of a nutritious
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breakfast, their performance will increase and they will be more focused in school. Children and

adolescents are one of the most important stakeholders who will benefit from implementing the

policy created by EveryTable. They will have access to healthy food options that help with their

school performance.

Another important stakeholder is the families in low-income neighborhoods. An article

titled, Role of expendable income and price in food choice by low income families, it describes

some reasons as to why low-income families purchase certain types of food. They purchase these

foods because they do not have access to healthy food, psychological stress, difficulty balancing

work demands with feeding a family, and poor nutrition knowledge (Burns et, al. 209). In low-

income neighborhoods, there is not just one type of family, there are multiple families who come

in different sizes, with different backgrounds and different stories. Getting by can be hard

enough, and not having the right kinds of food can impact a family as well. Low-income families

will influence tremendously from the policy of EveryTable. They will have healthier food

options closer to them and have the opportunity to get educated about the food they are

receiving, hopefully with the information and the products they are receiving, the worries and

stress of a parent will lower with the help of EveryTable.

Not only will families receive healthier options, but people living in low-income

neighborhoods who are diabetics, live with obesity or other diseases related to food

consumption, will be stakeholders of this policy and benefit from the good it will bring. There

was a study conducted in Lansing, Michigan to test out the perceptions of stigma coming from

food insecurity that was experienced by residents who live in a food desert. The study titled,

Fighting Back: Inner-City Community Responses to Food Insecurity, says that a lot of food

insecurity comes from people not having enough money to buy nutritious food options and
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instead, they must purchase food from convenience stores or from fast-food restaurants. Buying

food from these locations leads to poorer health (Xu et, al. 1307). Information coming from a

different source says that people who live in low-income neighborhoods are more likely to

develop Type 2 Diabetes compared to someone who doesn’t live in a low-income neighborhood.

Food consumption can impact a person’s organism in unhealthy ways and by having these

healthier options, people who are more likely to have diabetes will have a chance to eat healthier

options.

Another important stakeholder who will benefit from EveryTable is the people who live

in low-income neighborhoods that do not have jobs. In the study by Xu and colleagues a lot of

people living in Lansing, Michigan are unemployed. In fact, the unemployment rate was up to

6% in 2015, with high records of burglaries, property crimes, shootings, and assaults (Xu et, al.

1308). By opening store fronts in low-income neighborhoods, jobs will be created for people

who need an opportunity and know the community very well. This will decrease the

unemployment rates, but the people who are applying for a position still need to be credible and

hard workers. Little by little, the workers will gain more experience to help with their careers if

they wish to pursue other options.

Besides the people living in the food deserts, non-profit food organizations who helped

get this policy on its feet will also benefit from this policy. The organization, Food Tank wants,

“to educate, inspire, advocate and create change. We spotlight and support environmentally,

socially, and economically sustainable ways of alleviating hunger, obesity, and poverty and

create networks of people, organization, and content to push for food system change.” (Food

Tank Website, Their Mission). Food Tank is a big advocator of policies that will create a change

in the food system. They promote ideas and hold summits that brings activists, farmers, policy
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makers, researchers and many other people to speak about prevalent issues and find solutions.

Feeding America is somewhat similar to the characteristics of Food Tank. Feeding America is an

organization of 200 or more food banks nation-wide, they serve millions of people through soup

kitchens, shelters, and other agencies. Just like Food Tank, Feeding America wants to bring food

into millions of homes for people who cannot afford it themselves. Food Tank and Feeding

America would benefit immensely if they advocated for EveryTable’s policy. This would be

great propaganda, their popularity would increase, more people would be interested in their

mission, and the number of donors will rise.

In order to grab these stakeholders’ attention, the EveryTable team must go through some

steps to get the people’s attention. To begin, the best idea would be to get Feeding America’s and

Food Tank’s support. Having someone talk to one of the staff members of these non-profit

organizations, like a content manager, will be very helpful to expand EveryTable’s platform and

help cover some costs at the beginning of their policy journey. After getting the support from

Feeding America and Food Tank, the next step is to gain the support and approval from the other

stakeholders. The stakeholders: children and adolescents, families in low-income neighborhoods,

people who live with diabetes or obesity in low-income neighborhoods, and unemployed people

in this area will be similarly reached out to with some differences along the way.

To inform the children and adolescents who live in these neighborhoods, the best way to

educate them is to educate their parents. Children learn from their parents and the agents of

socialization. Informing the parents through flyers and door-to-door knocking will bring up the

topic and in child’s home. In the next step to get children involved is to promote flyers in their

schools. With the help of Feeding America and Food Tank, the flyers would go to the

headquarters of the public-school system to get approval and then get distributed to every child.
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There is a waving possibility that the flyers will be effective, and to ensure that EveryTable is

seen by most children and adolescents, the use of social media will also be implemented. Social

media is used more frequently in the younger generations, to put advertisements on YouTube,

Snapchat or Twitter will be very helpful to get the voice out there. For parents, people who are

diabetic or obese, or are unemployed who live in these low-income neighborhoods, this strategy

will be just as useful. For these adults, however, changing the message and the benefits for them

will get the people in the communities more interested in this public policy.

With all of the help of these organizations and the people who involve themselves, there

is hope for this policy to make a change. There might still be some setbacks because some

community members might not be 100% on board. Guaranteeing the approval of more people

would be to bring in a celebrity spokesperson to promote this policy. A good candidate for the

celebrity spokesperson would be 50 Cent. 50 Cent is a very popular hip-hop rapper who grew up

in Queens, New York City where the conditions were not the best. He experienced many

downfalls and after gaining a lot of success and profits, he decided to create an energy drink

titled, “Street King”, to donate the earnings to the World Food Program. The experience from 50

Cent will be very relatable for the people who are also experiencing similar situations that he had

and it will bring more people to side with EveryTable.

After all of the support has come from the community members and non-profit

organizations who are trying to help, the next steps will be go get this policy in Congress. Stating

this policy from the bottom-up, or in a grassroots movement, is a great way to ensure that the

demands of the people are met who will benefit from this policy. To start EveryTable’s way into

Congress, with the help of experienced policy makers, the people who live in these food deserts

must talk to their elected officials to get their interested sparked in this idea. Some of these
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politicians might not be on board, but as more people come, and more people fight for food

security, the elected officials will have no option, but to listen. Rallying, getting on the media

(newspapers, magazine articles, television, etc.), these image events will make this policy very

popular and it will gain the support of many. When it finally gets to its goal, the Congress floor,

there can be debate as to how this policy can change. If Congress wishes to change this policy a

lot, there will by many things to argue because this policy is aimed to make the lives better for

the people who live in food deserts, they are the main concern because the food they are

currently receiving is not fresh, healthy, and/or overpriced.

Although this policy might sound great, it is very unlikely that it will get passed.

Bringing this idea into the food business will put a lot of major fast-food and other chain stores

out of the market. Big corporations like McDonald’s and Walmart will try to find a way to stay

in the market and not get overthrown. They will try to make sales or offers that customers cannot

afford. Not only will big money makers opt out of this solution, but so will people who live in

middle or high-income neighborhoods. Because the same meal is charged differently on the other

side of the city, many people who make a decent amount of money will not support this

organization that wants to make a profit out of them. If there is no support from the middle or

high-income neighborhoods, then the store front in these neighborhoods will not succeed or

bring revenue. Since this policy was meant to start out as a non-profit, there is a lot of

uncertainty that it will succeed. If it does succeed and make it into Congress, the budget that this

policy is asking for may be unrealistic to the legislators. Over the past few years, the budget in

the United States has had many budget cuts and asking for a sufficient amount of money will not

be approved by Congress.
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In other critiques of this policy, the arrival to the Congress floor might also have some

setbacks. To begin, the younger generations are becoming less and less interested in politics.

Bringing this policy into social media might not get seen or ignored by the younger generations.

This will make the policy planners focus their propaganda on older generations who are harder to

persuade. Another critique that will affect the delay of this policy is the celebrity spokesperson

unwillingness to cooperate. Reaching the information to 50 Cent will be a very hard task, and

asking for his help will also create difficult problems. It is in the policy’s best interest that 50

Cent agrees to be an advocate without wanting any money in return. There is a limited amount of

income and paying a celebrity can have a downfall for this policy. Assuring 50 Cent that there is

a lot of good in this policy will bring a lot of aid to the communities affected by food deserts.

To conclude, over the years there has been an increase in communities who have

experienced food uncertainty. These areas are known as food deserts and the policy stemming

from restaurants created in Los Angeles titled, EveryTable, will combat these food deserts by

bringing fresh, healthy and affordable food for every community. The policy’s goal is to get into

Congress so that it can be implemented nationwide, but first it must receive the approval from

the people who it will affect, for example: children and adolescents, families and diabetics or

people who live with obesity in these low-income neighborhoods, and community members who

are currently unemployed. EveryTable will first and foremost ask for help of two non-profit

organizations who focus on the food system to promote this idea. This policy was created by the

people and it should be made by the people. Using the bottom-up approach, there will be image

events and a celebrity spokesperson to gain fame and support. Once it reaches the top, there can

be a debate to sharpen this policy. The policy proposal may still have some setbacks and not

receive full support of everyone, but unfortunately, this policy was created to better the health
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and lives of people who live in food deserts. This country is one big community, and to prosper

we must lift up our weakest neighbors.

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