Issues

Healthy Food

Although surrounded by farms, Trenton is considered a “food desert.”

The city (pop. 85,000) includes three grocery stores — and most Trenton residents do not live within half a mile of them. Residents must either find transportation–often requiring multiple bus routes–or shop at local corner stores lacking fresh produce and other nutritious options. Indeed, a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found only 2.4% of Trenton outlets offer healthy food.

To help Trenton households find emergency and free healthy food options, THT recently launched the new Mercer County Free Food Finder App to help community members find free food resources in Mercer County. The app lists food pantries and meal distribution sites serving children, families, seniors, and adults. The information in this directory is updated regularly. All food resources, locations, and times are subject to change.

Project Dulce participants receive healthy foods, recipes, cooking demonstrations, and tips for maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle. Classes are facilitated by trained THT staff. Contact Population Health Program Manager Aida Martinez or Peer Educator Judith Hamilton for more info.

THT also addresses systemic and policy issues related to hunger and food access. In March 2019, THT began convening the Trenton Food Stakeholders, including more than 50 organizations and agencies promoting food access, urban agriculture, and nutrition education.

We recognize that access to healthy food affects health and well-being in our community. And we understand that food access and insecurity result from systemic inequities.

According to a 2013 the University of California Berkeley report to the United Nations, “food insecurity in the U.S. is not a result of food shortages; rather, it is a result of persistent structural and racial inequalities that continue to limit communities of color to access better socio-economic opportunities… Moreover, access to safe and healthy food also reflects the wider racial, ethnic, and class disparities in the U.S. that are caused by structural inequality in health, social, economic, and
political domains.” See Structural Racialization and Food Insecurity in the United States

 

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