DGAP Diet, Geography, Access and Plannning 12-13, 2010 Amanda Behrens, Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, Baltimore MD Joanne Burke, Nutrition Program, Univ. of New Hampshire, Durham NH Jennifer Wilkins, Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell Univ. Ithaca, NY

Our Participatory Workshop Plan Introductions and Inventory 12-13, 2010 Our Participatory Workshop Plan Introductions and Inventory - Current DGAP initiatives/interests Brief background on diet, geography, access & planning/policy Planning and Research - What do we need to consider in the design of a regional food system that addresses DGAP. -What are the DGAP vision, goals and objectives -Designing future strategies -What do we need to consider in the design of a regional food system that addresses diet, geography and access? - What

Inventory

Why Food and Diet Matters ? Major driver of Public Health, Social and Environmental Well Being

Income Matters: In the United States Americans’ diets, particularly those of low-income households, Fall short of government recommendations in the quantity of fruits and vegetables consumed. UNH Voices in the Field: Designed to capture the challenge of those directly experiencing food insecurity

Poverty Matters: In the United States in 2009 Nearly 43.6 million Americans or 14.3 % in poverty 25.8 % of blacks 25.3 % of Hispanics were poor, 12.5 % of Asians 9.4 % of non-Hispanic whites and In 2009, households experiencing poverty 30 % headed by single women 17 % headed by single men 6 % headed by married-couples Some 43.6 million people were living in poverty last year – the highest number since 1959, five years before President Lyndon Johnson declared his War on Poverty. The poverty rate was 14.3 percent, up from 13.2 percent in 2008 and the highest level since 1994. Hispanic households took the hardest hit: Their poverty rate rose 2.1 percent from 2008's level, compared with a 1.1 percent jump in the rate for blacks and whites. (The US government considers an annual income of $21,756 to be the poverty line for a family of four.) 2) A record number of Americans, 50.7 million, were not covered by health-care insurance in 2009. At the same time the survey was being taken, Congress passed President Obama’s contentious health-care reform law. 3) The median household income was $49,800 last year, about the same as in 2008. This "hold steady" figure for income may reflect the fact that many people were helped by the government safety net, such as unemployment insurance, which Congress repeatedly extended and which kept some 3.3 million people out of poverty, according to the Census data. /November 2010 Poverty level family of four=

Food Insecurity Matters: % Increase in SNAP Participation from 2005 to 2009 USDA SNSP Data, accessed November 2010

Health Matters: Escalating Obesity Rates Photo: Sergey Kashkin, Health Foods, Healthy Families 2007 Bread for the World Institute

Obesity Trends* Among U.S. Adults BRFSS, 1989 (*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs. overweight for 5’ 4” person) No Data <10% 10%–14% http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html

2009 Obesity Trends Among U.S. Adults

Social Justice Matters:

Planning, Innovation and Research Matters Recommends that the USDA, universities and state agricultural agencies, increase research and development for proven approaches to boost crop yields. Approaches include Modern conventional plant breeding methods Sustainable farming Organic Farming Other sophisticated farming practices that do not require farmers to pay significant up front costs. The report also recommends that U.S. food aid organizations make these more promising and affordable alternatives available to farmers in developing countries http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/science_and_impacts/science/failure-to-yield.html

Access Matters In the United States, 2.3 million households, or 2.2 percent, live more than a mile from a supermarket and don’t have access to a vehicle. An additional 3.4 million households, or (3.2 percent) live between one-half to 1 mile and do not have access to a vehicle.