Access to Healthy Foods

The Problem:
In Jackson, MS Food Deserts are a real problem for many families in the capital city.

A Food Desert is defined from a urban perspective as the ability to find and have access to real food within a mile, or from a rural perspective, having access to real food, such as fresh produce, within ten miles between a house and a grocery store.

Many of our health problems can be solved if we work to expand access to real food into these areas that lack access to REAL food. The USDA map below details the food deserts in the Jackson Metro Area. As you can see, there are plenty of them.

The image below represents the current USDA Food Deserts in the metro area. Green represents a 1-mile radius to a grocery store food desert and Orange represents a 1/2 mile radius. 


The Solution:

One of the solutions to the Food Desert Problem is for the expansion of Mobile Farmer’s Markets to bring fresh, real food to these deserts. Foot Print Farms, LLC wants to do just that but we need your help.  

Currently, Foot Print Farms, a farmers market itself, has only one bright pink bus to distribute food to farmers markets throughout the metro area. This allows the farm to create mobile farmers markets wherever the mobile farmers market (the bus) is parked. As an added bonus, Foot Print Farms has partnered with AARP Foundation and it’s Fresh Savings program which means when you spend up to $20 on SNAP-eligible food you are eligible to get up to $20 more FREE to spend on fresh produce.

Imagine if we could double our reach and double their access to fresh fruit and vegetables! A second mobile unit will expand the farm’s ability to reach families who reside in these food deserts in the metro area.  We are seeding this Fund for the 2018 Spring!

For more information please go to:http://www.footprintfarmsms.com