Food Insecurity in Corvallis
A look into Corvallis food insecurity in relation to low income areas.
What's the issue?
In Corvallis, OR there is a lack of accessible, sustainable food options for low income citizens. This lack of equal opportunity for low income areas to but good food creates a food desert. A food desert is an area in which it is difficult to buy affordable or good quality fresh food.
Who is affected by this?
The people of Corvallis, wether year-long residents or Oregon State University students, are all affected. Because Corvallis is a college town there are many areas within town where household income qualifies many citizens to be below the poverty level. When looking at income inequality in Corvallis, areas with higher income seem to have more solutions rather than problems.
Low Income Census
Why is this happening?
The accessibility of healthy sources of food in Corvallis for low income citizens is a problem. Grocery stores and sources for fresh food are more prevalent in areas of higher income, and less accessible for lower income areas.
It is considered a food desert if a person has to walk more than 1 mile to get to a supermarket. In the map below the areas shaded with color represent how many supermarkets are within a 1 mile walking distance. The yellow S represents a supermarket, the red dots represent people with low access, and the green dots represent people with high income. The two solution dots are on the very edge of colored area and the problem area is far from the colored area.
Supermarket Access
In Conclusion...
In Corvallis, there are some just and sustainable food option for food insecure citizens if you go looking for them, but there need to be more easily accessible options. You shouldn't have to skip meals because you can't afford to go to the grocery store or it's too far for you to get there. Though the problem spot in this project is a dining hall, there are very few healthy food choices available and the fresh produce available is often expired or not ripe. Having healthy options for not only low income Corvallis citizens, but the students of Oregon State is something that needs to be addressed,