Perspectives of Program Officers and Grantees

Access to food is an urgent issue which families in all five regions face. The primary barriers to food access are the cost and lack of transportation infrastructure.
Many families live far from grocery stores and rely on public transportation to access food. This creates heightened challenges during the pandemic as many families opt out of riding public transit in fear of getting Covid.
Many food banks and agencies recognized the high need for food and set up distribution centers during the beginning of the pandemic. However, it is not easy for families to obtain reliable information about newly available food resources.. This forces many service providers, program officers, and Regional Network Grantees to operate as coordinators of information to ensure families are connected to services closest to them.

Policy Opportunities

Systems Change

Incentivize community food production. Include community gardens and green space in proposals relating to healthy food and community-owned land; ensure the right to grow food in places where youth live. Implement urban agriculture incentive zones.
Work with local produce providers to make healthy food accessible. Legalize street food vending and create streamlined processes to ensure conducting business stays affordable and accessible to low-income entrepreneurs. Work with institutions like cities, hospitals, school districts, and universities to implement good food purchasing policies.

Infrastructure to Support Children & Families

Develop mechanisms to ensure quality nutrition is not dependent on school-based infrastructure for delivery. Meals should be made available for eligible young children similar to the access created for K-12 students. Provide funding and incentives to support a mix of different food business ownership structures including community-owned and worker cooperatives. Invest in programs that implement corner store conversions with existing small businesses in communities of color.

Direct Services & Technical Support

Provide food access to essential worker families from communities of color that are connected to and appropriate for their culture. This can be achieved by partnering with local food vendors within each Best Start geography, or by creating vouchers or money cards similar to SNAP, so community members can purchase groceries and food reflective of their culture. Provide cash assistance programs for undocumented residents and their families by expanding eligibility for the Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI).

Data

WIC Families Who Experience Food Insecurity in Best Start Regions

Best Start Region Data

Best Start Geography Data

Barriers to Food Security in Best Start Regions

Racial Disparities in Food Insecurity in Los Angeles County

Among families who are at or below 300% of the federal poverty level, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Latinx, and Black families are most likely to report food insecurity. For more information, the Los Angeles Food Policy Council 2020 Food System Dashboard paints a comprehensive picture of food systems in Los Angeles and the landscape of food access and distribution using a racial equity lens.

Why this matters: Significant racial disparities exist among families who experience food insecurity in Los Angeles County. Among families who are at or below 300% of the federal poverty level, American Indian/Alaskan Native families are most likely to experience food insecurity, with over 40% of AIAN families reporting it.

Grocery Store Availability

Important disparities exist between West L.A. and South L.A. food retail environments. South L.A. has a much lower rate of grocery stores per person and has more liquor stores than grocery stores.

Why this matters: The pandemic has shed a harsher light on the food insecurity that exists across communities, especially in South and East Los Angeles, where many of the Best Start geographies are located. A lack of grocery stores makes it difficult for families to safely obtain healthy food, especially during a pandemic when traveling long distances increases the likelihood of exposure to Covid.

	2013	2017	2020	Trend
Grocery Stores
Grocery Stores in L.A. County	2,011	2,056	2,637	>10% Change
Grocery Stores in South L.A.	86	88	91	1.0-9.9% Change
Grocery Stores in East L.A.	20	19	22	>10% Change
Grocery Stores in West L.A.	48	54	47	-1.0-9.9% Change
Convenience Stores
Convenience Stores in L.A. County	621	648	657	1.0-9.9% Change
Liquor Stores
Liquor Stores in L.A. County	1,135	1,172	1,198	1.0-9.9% Change
Liquor Stores in South L.A.	106	114	119	>10% Change
Liquor Stores in East L.A.	19	13	13	>-10% Change
Liquor Stores in West L.A.	34	29	32	-1.0-9.9% Change
Ratio of Grocery Stores
South L.A. Ratio of Grocery Stores to People	NA	NA	9,025	NA
East L.A. Ratio of Grocery Stores to People	NA	NA	7,647	NA
West L.A. Ratio of Grocery Stores to People	NA	NA	7,784	NA

Data Source: Los Angeles Food Policy Council, Food System Dashboard

Families Experience with Food Security

Out of all the respondents of the Child Care Resource Center (CCRC) Family Needs Assessment conducted in 2018, 4,829 families, or 52% of the families, indicated they either meet their basic needs with some help, through a food bank or SNAP, or often do not have enough food or a way to cook or prepare it, or a combination of these responses.

Response	Value
We meet our basic food needs without any help	4,257
We meet our basic food needs with some help	1,689
We get most of our food from a bank or SNAP (CalFresh)	2,964
We often do not have enough food or a way to cook or prepare it	65
Multiple Response	111
Unknown	201
Total	9,287

Data Source: Child Care Resource Center (CCRC), Family Needs Assessment 2018

SNAP Enrollment

In Los Angeles County, over 9,000 families are enrolled in SNAP.

Response	Value
Yes	4,390
No	491
Multiple Response	35
Unknown	4,371
Total	9,287