USDA: FSP-47

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September18-19,

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ConferenceonAccess

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oFoodSep

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ember18and19,1995Repor

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heProceedings

TheConferenceonAccesstoFood

,

heldinWashi

n

gton,D.C

.

,

onSeptember18and19,1995,

wassponsoredbytheU.S.DepartmentofAgriculture(USDA)FoodandConsumerService(FCS).TheconferencewasheldtobringtogetherfoodaccessexpertstosharetheirknowledgeandhelpUSDAbuildanagendatoincreaseaccesstofoodforlow-incomeAmericans.

TheHonorableDanGlickman,Secretary,USDA,openedtheconferenceandstatedthat

"restrictedorlimited[food]accessundermines[USDA

'

s]abilitytopromotehealththrough

nutritionbecauseifpricesaretoohigh,thereisnotenoughbangforthebuckforFoodStamps

andWlCbenefits,orifchoicesarelimited...[Americans]can'tmakethechoicesthat

nutritioneducationeffortsencouragethemtomake."EllenHaas,UnderSecretary,Food,Nutrition,andConsumerServices,saidthataccesstofoodisakeycomponentofUSDA's

comprehensivefoodpolicy.Thethreecomponentsareasfollows:

NutritionAssistancePrograms--ChildNutritionPrograms,theSpecial

SupplementalNutritionProgramforWomen,Infants,andChildren(WlC),the

FoodStampProgram,andothersformanetworkoffoodandnutritionassistancetoensureaccesstonutritiousdiets.

NutritionEducation--Thepolicyprovidesknowledgeandskillsallowing

Americanstomakehealthyfoodchoices.AccesstoFood--Thepolicyensuresindividualstheopportunitytopurchasefoods

forahealthydietthroughaccesstofull-linefoodstores.

Althoughaccesstofoodh_asbeentheleastvisiblecomponentofUSDA'scomprehensivefood

policy,itisanimportantone.UnderSecretaryHaassaidthat"withoutaccesstohighquality,

affordablefoodtheeffectivenessofournutritionassistanceprogramsandnutritioneducationinitiativesarelessened.

'

USDAisfocusingitseffortsontheproblemoffoodaccessthroughseveralinitiatives.Currenteffortsincludeastudyofautho_foodstampretailers.Thisnearlycompletedstudygatheredinformationinanumberofareas,includingaccesstofood.Asecondstudy,anationalsurveyoffoodstamphouseholds,isinitsinitialstagesandasksrecipientsabouttheiraccesstofood.

USDAisconductinganotherstudythatwillidentifystrategiesthatcommunitieshave

implementedtoimproveaccessto'food.Thisstudywillprovidetechnicalassistanceto

communitiesthatwanttoimproveaccessbutdonothavetheexperienceorresources.

Title Page

Theconferenceaddressedissuesofaccesstofoodinurbanandruralunderservedareasandprovidedaforumfordiscussingsuccessfulstrategiesforincreasingaccesstofoodthroughthe

developmentoffull-line,affordablefoodstoresandalternativemeanssuchasfarmers'markets

andtransportationoptions.Italsoprovidedadiscussionforumforexpertsinsupermarketand

foodstoredevelopment,economicdevelopment,andfoodpolicy.Mr.PaulPrydeoftheCapitalAccessGroup,LLCdiscussedthelinkbetweenfoodandeconomicdevelopment.Supermarkets,orotherfooddistributionbusinesses,canaffectinnercitydevelopmentinfourways:byserving

asananchorforcommercialpropertyinvestments;byprovidingjobstocommunityresidents;

byimprovingresidentialpropertyvalues;andby"providinglife"tonearbybusinesses.Severaleffortstolinkimprovedfoodaccesstolocaleconomicdevelopmentwerealsoidentifiedduring

theconference.

Ms.SheryllCashin,StaffDirectoroftheCommunityEmpowermentBoardattheWhiteHouse,

furtherunderscoredtheimportanceoftheconnectionbetweenfoodaccessandeconomic

development,especiallywithregardtotheEmpowermentZoneandEnterpriseCommunity

(EZ

/

EC)Program.Shesaidthatthisprogramprovidesacontextthatcanhelpreducethe

timeframerequiredtogetfoodaccessinitiatives--likesupermarketdevelopment--implemented.EZsandECsareworkingwithinacomprehensivestrategicplanwithinputfromresidents,state

andlocalgovernments,andbusinessleaders.Thesearethesamegroupsneededtoimplement

foodaccessinitiatives.

The2-dayconferenceincludedthreeplenarysessionscoveringissuessuchasfoodaccessand

communityandeconomicdevelopment.Aseriesofconcurrentworkshopsallowed

t

br

presentationsandopendiscussionamongconferenceattendeesonavarietyoftopics.Presenters

includedretailersrepresentingsmallandmoderatefoodstoresaswellassupermarkets;

wholesalers:communityandeconomicdevelopmentspecialists;

r

oodaccessadvocates:

representativesfromfinancialinstitutions;academicians;communityresidents;andothers.The

conferenceattractedmorethan150participantsrepresentingEmpowermentZonesand

EnterpriseCommunities;nonprofits;privateindustry;financialinstitutions;advocacygroups;academia;foundations;andFederal,State,andlocalgovernments.Severalfoodaccessalternativeswerediscussedduringtheconference,rangingfromsupermarket

developmenttoimprovedtransportationoptions.Whenaddressingimprovedaccesstofood,

supermarketdevelopmentisoftenthefirstoptionconsidered.However,insomecommunities,supermarketdevelopmentmaynotbepossibleintheimmediatefuture.Intheseinstances,otheroptionsmaybeconsidered.Forexample,improvedtransportationmayallowresidentstoreach