Poor Neighborhoods Lack Access to Fresh Produce

OAKLAND, Calif.--For the almost 45 years they have been living in West Oakland, James Bell's grandparents have been driving two miles to the Pak'nSave in Emeryville to buy fresh produce.

But these days the 80-year-old Robert Bell doesn't always feel well enough to drive, so he has James do the buying for him and his wife Christine.

There are times though when James's work schedule doesn't allow him enough time to make the trip, so the elderly couple is forced to go without fresh fruits and vegetables for days. That's not good for their health.

"This area has a lot of low-income seniors who find it difficult to get to Emeryville, so they manage without fresh produce, or they pick up whatever is available here," James Bell, 29, said.

In this down-at-the-heels neighborhood of 28,000, located between downtown Oakland and San Francisco Bay, the only grocery store is Eugene International Gateway Foods.

Eugene's goods are so geared toward the Asian community it is easier to find lemon grass than artichoke or asparagus, according to Kenna Stormogipson, a 26-year-old West Oakland resident who teaches at Oakland Tech High.

West Oakland is a neighborhood ringed by three freeways. Its proximity to the Port of Oakland makes it one of the most polluted places in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Besides these drawbacks, the fact that there's not a single grocery store that offers fresh produce popular among the black and Latino residents makes West Oakland one of the least desirable places to live in the Bay Area.

"People have left West Oakland because they see it as an unhealthy place," Stormogipson asserted.

Studies have shown that eating a rainbow of food colors provided by fruits and vegetables can decrease the risk of getting cancer.

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