A new Nashville-based organization says part of the reason the U-S has such soaring rates of obesity and its related diseases, is because many Americans don’t have access to fresh food.
Food Security Partners of Middle Tennessee kicked off its efforts today at the Country Music Hall of Fame in downtown Nashville. The group aims to facilitate coordination of the more than 40 organizations that deal with food production and hunger elimination in Middle Tennessee.
One of the founders of the group, Del Ketchum, says many people living at or below the poverty level don’t have a grocery store with fresh food within walking distance.
“Now one of the dynamics in a poor neighborhood is that a person will go into a convenience store and spend all sorts of money on lousy food and they could spend the same amount of money if they had the availability of a produce stand.”
The group, run in conjunction with Vanderbilt University, put produce stands in two Nashville neighborhoods last summer. The group says they sold about 80-percent of the fruits and vegetables.
Food Security Partners says it wants to help groups involved in nutrition education to emphasize the values of locally farmed produce.
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM