Food security is a household’s ability to access nutritious foods, which contributes to an active and healthy life through physical, social, and economic means. Nearly 15-percent of Mecklenburg County’s households are considered food insecure, which means they have a reduced quality and variety of diet, may eat less, and eating patterns are disrupted due to lack of money and resources.
The goal of our programs is to increase and improve healthy food environments and consumption of water, and address food deserts—low-income areas without a supermarket or large grocery store. Food deserts lead to poor diets, which can contribute to obesity, Type-2 diabetes, and heart disease. Low-income individuals are also more likely to be exposed to advertising for unhealthy food products. Even when access to food is improved, healthy foods tend to cost more.
Nearly 15 percent of Mecklenburg County’s population lives in what the U.S. Department of Agriculture calls food deserts — low-income communities where most residents don’t have access to a full-service grocery store or supermarket carrying nutritious food. That figure exceeds the national average of 11 percent and North Carolina’s statewide average of 13 percent.
Read more from the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute.
County services are operating at a limited capacity. Questions about COVID-19? Call Public Health Hotline: 980-314-9400