Environmental Racism and the Concept of Food Deserts

The lecture, “How Space Gets Raced” provoked my interest but, one aspect specifically was environmental racism. One example of environmental racism that was included was, “limited fresh fruit and vegetables,” (Wood, How Space Gets Raced Lecture). This example resinated, and the term “food desert” popped in my mind. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, a way to define food desert is, “neighborhoods that lack healthy food sources” (USDA). For the purpose of this paper, I want to explore the ways in which the process of space being raced and classed, specifically through residential segregation, effects low income urban neighborhoods in their access to healthy food (Wood, Space Gets Raced Lecture). Also, importantly this paper will be applying the Conflict Theory, in which, “says that groups in society are engaged in a power struggle for control over resources,” (Wood, Sociology and Theories lecture). This is a heavily researched phenomena in the world of social science, and there is a wealth of studies published.

Before diving into a discussion of food deserts, it is first important to review the ways in which neighborhoods across the United States have been “raced and classed” through the process of residential segregation (Wood, How Space Gets Raced lecture). This is a socially important subject, both in a historical and present context. Urban sociologists have found a common narrative for many old industrial cities in United States, that provides a causal chain of events that have been attributed to the residential segregation that we see in our cities today. A chapter, “The Short American Century” in the book, When America Became Suburban written by Robert A. Beauregard, provides a brief overview of these events. To paraphrase the discussion within this chapter, before the second World War, United States’ major cities were predominantly industrial, but post war a number of factors aided the decline of industrial cities (Beauregard, 2-3) Including, “massive loss of people and hemorrhaging of jobs and investment after the war,” (Beauregard, 2). Whites began fleeing from the cities to the very attractive suburban area and lifestyle, just on the periphery of the city (Beauregard, 4).

However, there was one catch, only white people were allowed to buy and sell within the up and coming suburban neighborhoods (Beauregard, 4-5). Leaving African Americans to purchase the abandoned housing in the cities, but African Americans were hardly in a position to go elsewhere (Beauregard,15-16). These are the processes that in a way laid a foundation for the practices discussed in our class literature, over residential segregation.

African Americans were forced to live in concentrated urban areas, primarily due to institutional level racism. The danger of this concentration is, “high levels of income inequality paired with high levels of racial or ethnic segregation result in geographically concentrated poverty,” (Wood, Lecture). This process creates an extensive list of social problems for many who live in urban areas with this level of poverty. Unfortunately, there are also institutional level discriminatory processes that ensure that these urban ghettos remain, as described within the assigned literature. Each source provides an analysis of different aspects of residential segregation. The first article, “Neighborhood Foreclosures, Racial/Ethnic Transitions, and Residential Segregation” states, “racial residential segregation has been a defining characteristic of U.S. cities for nearly a century and has played a prominent role in driving and maintaining racial/ethnic inequality,” (Hall, Crowder, and Spring 526).

This article discusses the trends within the, “U.S. housing crisis of the late 2000s was one of the most profound residential disasters of the past century,” (Hall, Crowder, and Spring 542). Although, the importance of this research lays within the patterns found within the rates of foreclosures (Hall, Crowder, and Spring 526). Hall found that, “white neighborhoods having an average rate of 2.3 percent, but mostly-black and mostly-Hipic neighborhoods having rates about three times as high (8.1 and 6.2 percent, receptively),” (534). Another important factor to examine, is physical boundaries and how they can contribute to residential segregation (Kramer, 82). This is explored within the article, “Defensible Spaces in Philadelphia: Exploring Neighborhood Boundaries Through Spatial Analysis” by Rory Kramer. The author conducts a study within Philadelphia that looks at, “how physical barriers affect racial segregation over time in an Urban Setting,” (Kramer, 82).

Several physical boundaries were discussed such as, highways, railroads, and rivers (Kramer, 86). Kramer’s findings were in a combination of different factors, such as, “physical geography of a given space and the collective efforts of residents to define neighborhoods as racially inclusive or exclusive,” (98). This leads to the next factor, African Americans’ not being granted loans within the article, “American Dream Denied: When the door is locked to buying a home,” by Ted Sickinger. This article reveals the institutional level of discriminatory acts that were occuring in Kansas City. Here are some of the specific patterns Sickinger uncovered, African Americans, “make up 13 percent of the area population, but received less than 5 percent of the mortgage money,” (1). However Banks will try and explain this trend as the areas that these applicants reside in are areas of concentrated poverty, which make it difficult to loan any money (Kramer, 2).

Kramer states, “lenders rejected 22 percent of high-income black mortgage applicants in the Kansas City area, almost three times the rejection rate for high-income whites,” (Kramer, 3). This reveals that there may be more than meets the eye on the decisions not to lend to African Americans. This literary review is important to include in this paper, because it reveals the ways in which African Americans and other minority groups have been systematically prevented from attaining upward mobility. According to the ‘How Spaced Gets Raced’ lecture, “these individuals are often kept segregated in areas that do not have adequate housing, jobs, health care, education, food,” (Wood). This is why I want to explore the phenomena of food deserts within urban areas, and specifically Kansas City.

To begin, I will refer to a report published by the Kansas City Grocery Access Task Force called, “Stimulating Supermarket Development in Bi-State Kansas City”. The report states, “too many residents of bi-state Kansas City lack sufficient access to healthy, affordable food. Despite being in the heart of one of the richest agricultural regions in the nation,” (Kim, Harries, Tucker, Karpyn, 3). This is a powerful statement, and a realization of many urban sociologist and social justice advocates. Another source, a non-profit, Cultivate KC, also mentions that, “the fact that some people have to drive more than 20 minutes away in order to get to a grocery store in a metropolitan area is not sustainable,” (Johnson). This growing attention over food deserts both in rural and urban areas, is provoking the call to action in policy changes.

An article, “Food Deserts and Real-Estate-Led Social Policy”, by Laura Wolf-Powers provides an interesting critique of current popular policy. Wolf-Powers states: “the idea that poor access to markets- in this case large food retail outlets-drives adverses health outcomes resonates with the broader idea that community development efforts can mitigate social distress not by redistributing wealth but by the reconstructing the choices available to consumers,” (416).

This is an interesting critique, because from personal experiences I have heard people assume that placing another grocery store in the area will automatically help the position of the residents of the local neighborhoods. This leads me to question the recent development of the Whole Food Market off of 51st street, near UMKC. Will this new grocery store help provide healthy food access to surrounding low-income neighborhoods in KC, or are the prices of the product still outside of the residents economic reach? This will be an interesting subject to study in the future. Wolf-Powers believes that just adding more stores in food deserts, is not enough (416). However, I have found some ways in which Kansas City is trying to combat food deserts in low income urban neighborhoods. One example can be found with the article “Trained Master Gardeners promoting vegetable production in urban households and schools,” by L.A. Kumer. This is great resource, discussing the changes being implemented in Kansas City through the Master Gardener of Greater Kansas City program. Kumer states the program provides, “suggested solutions to current or anticipated problems, demonstrations, and programs designed to educate the public about gardening topics,” (73).

This program is suggesting that the use of urban gardens will help provide more fresh food in these neighborhoods, (Kumer, 75). Ten gardens are mentioned that help provide fresh food, “‘18 Broadway’, ‘Atkins-Johnson Farm and Museum’, ‘Blue Springs Community Garden’, ‘Kansas City Community Gardens’, ‘Harvesters Demonstration Garden’, and so on, (Kumer, 75). Also according to Cultivate KC, non-profit webpage, they have started a wonderful program to also help provide fresh food called “Beans and Greens”. The non-profit states, “the program was modeled after an existing one called the Michigan Double Up Food Bucks that matches food assistance dollars with tokens to be spend at farmers markets,” (Harbstreet). These are some ways in which Kansas City is trying to combat the sparse access of fresh foods.

Discussing food deserts is socially interesting because there is a connection between access to healthy food and how ‘space gets raced and classed’, that can lead to environmental racism, as discussed in class (Wood, “How Space Gets Raced” lecture). An article by The Associated Press, discusses how a grocery store struggled to stay open in an low income neighborhood, and eventually closed, (2015). Just as residents who live in lower income urban neighborhoods, have difficulty being approved for loans, grocery store chains also have difficulty investing in these areas (The Associated Press, 2015). However, the store chains may be afraid to invest, there can be many economic opportunities according to The Food Trust in a report such as, “job opportunities, local tax revenues, revitalized neighborhood housing markets, asset-building, workforce training and development,” (23).

I think the processes of residential segregation is mind-blowing, and examining the causal chain of events that allows for a concentration of poverty within our urban cities is eye opening as well. To see how powerful institutional racism really can be, and the lasting and generational effect of those processes. I selected a very specific consequence of environmental racism, food deserts. I learned so much surrounding these processes, and even was able to learn more about the ways in which Kansas City is addressing this injustice. I think some of the programs mentioned are helping to provide fresh food to low income neighborhoods. However, Grocery store chains need to understand their worth to these communities, we need to try and cultivate a new perspective of these neighborhoods, not as a risk but as a necessary investment.