New commission to tackle ‘food deserts’ in the B.R. area

Today, Together Baton Rouge and Mayor Kip Holden are laying out plans for a new 13-member commission created to address food access issues in East Baton Rouge Parish. The Food Access Policy Commission will work over the next 10 months to examine the causes of “food deserts”—that is, vast stretches of residential neighborhoods lacking nearby grocery stores. The commission will also determine best practices for addressing food deserts and develop a concrete set of policies and practice recommendations for the city-parish to remedy food access issues. The Food Access Commission is being funded through the Fresh Beginnings project of the Mayor’s Healthy City Initiative.