A report out of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement shows food deserts are common here in Arkansas.Food deserts are areas where it’s hard to get access to healthy foods. That can lead to obesity and other health problems.President and CEO of ‘ACHI’ Joe Thompson says one reason behind the food deserts in Arkansas is a lot of local grocery stores closed.”The emergence of less healthy kind of gas station options for food, fast food restaurants,” he said. “There’s many more of those across our state than there are supermarkets with healthy options. I think some of the economic influences, healthy options are a little more expensive.”He says people on a tight budget may not be able to afford to drive to get fresh produce, so Thompson wants to find ways to get the food to them.“One of the big issues is the food distribution network,” he said. “We’re down to having you know a smaller number of food distributors. We may need to look at new models for rural parts of Arkansas and America to say what is a reliable and affordable way to get good food distributed across our state.”He calls food a necessity to leading a healthy and productive life. That’s why he wants to make sure people are not only eating non-notorious foods. “That leads to obesity,” he said. “Which then leads to type 2 diabetes, which then leads to amputation, heart attack and stroke.” Thompson serves on Governor Hutchinson’s Governor’s Food Desert Working Group. They hope to present some new strategies to the state by the end of this year.
A report out of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement shows food deserts are common here in Arkansas.
Food deserts are areas where it’s hard to get access to healthy foods. That can lead to obesity and other health problems.
President and CEO of ‘ACHI’ Joe Thompson says one reason behind the food deserts in Arkansas is a lot of local grocery stores closed.
“The emergence of less healthy kind of gas station options for food, fast food restaurants,” he said. “There’s many more of those across our state than there are supermarkets with healthy options. I think some of the economic influences, healthy options are a little more expensive.”
He says people on a tight budget may not be able to afford to drive to get fresh produce, so Thompson wants to find ways to get the food to them.
“One of the big issues is the food distribution network,” he said. “We’re down to having you know a smaller number of food distributors. We may need to look at new models for rural parts of Arkansas and America to say what is a reliable and affordable way to get good food distributed across our state.”
He calls food a necessity to leading a healthy and productive life. That’s why he wants to make sure people are not only eating non-notorious foods.
“That leads to obesity,” he said. “Which then leads to type 2 diabetes, which then leads to amputation, heart attack and stroke.”
Thompson serves on Governor Hutchinson’s Governor’s Food Desert Working Group. They hope to present some new strategies to the state by the end of this year.
