Dominique Gray lost his safety net at 17. He was sleeping outside of the Ralph Ellison Library in Oklahoma City. Beneath the book drop. For a full year, he experienced homelessness until a librarian connected him to a pathway home. How had things gotten so severe? Bouts of depression, constant bullying and fights at school […]
food desert
Posted inNews
Food inequality
The biggest health risk affecting certain communities is inequality. That’s what experts said last week during a symposium on northeast Oklahoma City’s lack of food security. Ward 7 councilwoman Nikki Nice, along with a panel of three experts, discussed the various components that play into food insecurity at the event hosted by Urban Land Institute […]
Posted inNews
Feeding Oklahomans
Northeast Oklahoma City has dealt with food insecurity for years, but a new grocery store and a potential rezoning could significantly improve access to fresh, quality food. Since 1993, Ward 7 council representatives have tried to bring a full-service grocery store to northeast Oklahoma City. Those efforts, started by Willa Johnson and now primarily carried […]
Posted inNews
Chicken-Fried News: Food desert drama
Local grocery chain Buy For Less gave a textbook example in how not to handle public relations correctly last week, after it announced the closing of its Smart Saver store at 23rd Street and Martin Luther King Avenue, which was the only full-service grocery option in the city’s unhealthiest zip code, 73111. Step 1 in […]
Posted inNews
Food emergency
Oklahoma City Council passed a 180-day moratorium on “small box discount stores” in the 73111 ZIP code. Ward 7 councilwoman Nikki Nice proposed the measure, which was signed May 8, because she was concerned about the area’s lack of access to fresh, healthy foods. She was also alarmed with the proliferation of dollar and discount […]
Posted inNews
In Oklahoma City’s urban core, the question is where to grocery shop
In Oklahoma City’s urban core, the question is where to grocery shop. Two new projects provide an answer.
Posted inNews
Oklahoma Legislature passes bill to help eliminate food deserts
The Healthy Food Financing Act takes effect Nov. 1.