Improving Access to Healthy Food and Food Security through Community-Driven Grocery Store Attraction Strategies

Years of inequitable distribution of public resources and divestment of large food retailers have left South LA communities with limited access to affordable nutritious food, which creates significant barriers to healthful eating that are too high for many individuals and families to overcome. Beginning in 2007, Community Health Councils brought together stakeholders to dialogue regarding the barriers to grocery store development in South LA and to develop effective strategies for attracting new retailers. Community-based organizations, neighborhood advisory councils, grocery representatives, and public officials formed a coalition to work towards opening two new midsize grocery stores offering healthy food options. The coalition provided a vehicle for the identification, cultivation and development of the necessary working relationships to address more than two decades of inertia and continuous divestment. The process led to a policy recommendation for the establishment of Fresh and Healthy Food Enterprise Zones as a tool to provide financial and regulatory incentives for the development of full-service grocery stores in high-need areas. The development of the policy recommendation not only served to provide a blueprint for store development but also a process for bridging the historical divide between the various stakeholders and resource agents. Grocery store development is part of a sustainable, long-term strategy to improve healthy living and the vitality of South LA. This effort represents a significant advancement in the translation and use of planning and land use tools coupled with public policy and financing to address the social determinants of health.