Updated 6/30
DEFINING NEWARK AS A FOOD DESERT
Green Power’s goal is to highlight the efforts of Newark community residents and volunteers who put valuable time and effort into establishing and maintaining these greenspaces. We aim to better define food deserts and investigate why Newark may classify as one according to the NJEDA’s 2022 list.
The USDA’s definition of food deserts serves as a reliable starting point for reexamining the term. However, the USDA refrains from using the term “food desert” alone because this term only highlights food presence rather than considering accessibility and economic status. Since 2013, the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) uses the term “low-income and low-access” to best define access to healthy food. This new term includes some criteria that first must be met before a region can be considered “low-income and low-access.” For an area to be considered “low-income” the neighborhood’s census data must either display a poverty rate of 20 percent or greater, a medium family income that is less than or equal to 80 percent of the State-wide medium family income, or the region must be in a metropolitan area and have a median family income less than or equal to 80 percent of the metropolitan area’s median family income (“Definitions”).
A 2021 dataset from the US Census Bureau outlines some information on Newark’s poverty status. According to the table, Poverty Status in the Past 12 Months, the “population for whom poverty status is determined” in Newark is 293,753 in total, with 74,066 people living below the poverty line, or 25.2%. This percentage meets the USDA’s criteria for areas that can be considered “low-income and low-access” because approximately a quarter of the city’s population lives under the poverty line. The data continues to distinguish between demographics. 73,650 of the 293,753 total population (~25%) is under 18 years of age – one of the most vulnerable and impressionable demographics in the city. 33,754 of the 293,753 residents are 65 years or older, another vulnerable demographic that may have further hindered access to food. Additionally, people of Hispanic or Latino origin and Black or African Americans are the largest percentage of people on or below the poverty line according to the table as categorized by race. The Black Community, Communities of Color, and the young and the elderly are suffering economically and may have to consider tighter budgets when accounting for food costs. This may mean settling for the least healthy option, especially if that option is within walking distance.
The data proves that a good portion of Newark’s population is what the USDA would define as “low-income,” but the data alone does not examine how the city’s population is also “low-access.” The USDA defines the following as criteria for an area to be defined as “low-access”: “accessibility to sources of healthy food, as measured by distance to a store or by the number of stores in an area; individual-level resources that may affect accessibility, such as family income or vehicle availability; and neighborhood-level indicators of resources, such as the average income of the neighborhood and the availability of public transportation” (“Definitions”). The StoryMap created in conjunction with this written analysis helps to illustrate the distance between fast food, bodegas, grocers, greenspaces, and public transit stops. More direct analysis of the map is included on that page. Sources of fresh produce throughout the city are spread out wide enough to be inaccessible unless the person traveling has access to a car or can comfortably ride on the bus with minimal walking between stops. It may not be realistic for every individual to travel by foot to grocery stores or greenspaces whenever fresh ingredients are needed, but fast-food locations are always close by, or often right on top of each other as shown on the StoryMap. These locations offer convenience by way of location and price but are detrimental to “low-income and low-access” communities because of the food’s lack of nutritional value.
It is reasonable to assume that the people who make up the 25.2% of people living below the poverty level may spend most of their day working. This means less time, energy, or even resources to prepare nutritious meals at home. The number of fast-food franchises within walking distance throughout Newark present themselves as quick solutions for hungry customers, despite customers knowing that fast food is rarely the healthiest option. Those who choose to do their shopping after work are presumably either traveling across the city to the nearest grocer that serves produce or deciding to travel a few blocks to local bodegas for quick, boxed ingredients or ready-made meaty meals if their local bodega offers deli services. However, these less-nutritional options are unhealthy for customers, the community, and the environment in the long term.
The City of Newark’s local government, especially the Office of Sustainability, is already hard at work to create nutritional food programs for community members. Moreover, the NJEDA has created a Food Desert Relief Program that “[provides] up to $40 million per year in tax credits, loans, grants, and/or technical assistance to increase access to nutritious foods and develop new approaches to alleviate food deserts.” If you or someone you know owns a grocery store that sells fresh produce and may benefit from this program, please consult the eligibility guidelines on the website and contact the Newark office at (609) 858-6700 or CustomerCare@njeda.com. Community organizations are also working to provide Newark residents with sustainable sources of food and food education. You can check out some of our featured greenspaces here, or reach out to some of the gardens featured on our StoryMap.