Hey, Check This Out! - Emily Wilburn

Emily Wilburn

12 October 2020

Food Security During COVID 

    This week I read the article, ‘500K+ Houstonians live in ’food deserts’ with little to no access to healthy food and the problem has worsened due to COVID-19.' It looked at how the majority of Houston is struggling to access fresh and healthy foods right now.


    I first want to talk about the term food desert because this is a term the author uses to describe the situation and I found it to be super interesting. The author defines a food desert as an area where stores with healthy food options don’t exist. I (and I assume many others) use the term food desert pretty regularly when referring to places like the suburbs where there are dozens of chain restaurants but there are still grocery stores and markets. I have never heard of the term used to describe an area with no access to any sort of food store because I guess it is something that many of us take for granted. 


    The article goes into detail about how there are some parts of Houston that are flooded with supermarkets and you’ll find one on every block. But then there are also areas where it is a bit of a drive to find a store. For many, the only close and affordable sources of food are gas stations or chains such as McDonald's. The article also strongly expresses the importance of access to healthy foods as it really affects the quality of your life, your health, and your community. 


    Rice University recently conducted a study where they found that there are an estimated 724,750 people who are food insecure live in the Greater Houston area. To be food insecure refers to not having money for regular nutritious meals. The study found that Houston has a food insecurity rate of 16.6%, which puts us four percentage points above the national average. 


Here are some graphs from the article that demonstrate the severity of this issue:







    With the pandemic, the issue has worsened tremendously. Many families lost income and more people found themselves needing support. 


    It is so unbelievably heartbreaking to hear how many people are being affected right now. It is a known fact that not everyone has access to food but the amount that is has increased during the pandemic is awful. It is truly crazy to think about, we have these organizations like the Houston Food Bank and dozens of shelters and other organizations that provide food to those in need but it just is not enough. And not even everyone can access it or make their way there. There is no other way to describe this situation other than heartbreaking. 


After reading this article I did some research on some other ways for us to get involved and do our part within our communities. Here are some of the links:


Kids Meals Inc - End Childhood Hunger Today

Houston Food Bank: Home


Houston TX Food Pantries | Houston Texas


HERE 2 HELP: These are the best items to donate to Houston food pantries


Work Cited:


500K+ Houstonians live in ’food deserts’ with little to no access to healthy food and the problem has worsened due to COVID-19

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