GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. - An estimated 350,000 Minnesotans face distance or income barriers to accessing healthy foods.
Many people live 10 miles or more from a grocery store. Their nearest option is a gas station or corner store or fast food establishment that doesn't have much affordable fresh produce or fresh meat. The majority of these people (three out of five) are elderly and children.
The American Heart Association has led a coalition to get the Good Food Access Program established in the MN Dept of Agriculture so local businesses and groups can apply for grants to help bring fresh foods into their communities. One group that has been doing this right here in Minneapolis for a few years and just got one of those grants is Appetite for Change.
International Chef Daniel Green will be hosting the American Heart Association’s upcoming Heart & Stroke Gala on Sept. 29, where they will be exploring some of the AHA’s work in the community helping address things like healthy food access.