A lack of access to fresh, healthy foods can contribute to poor diets and higher levels of obesity and other diet-related illnesses, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Food access is about more than whether a family has a grocery store near them. It also has to do with whether households can afford to purchase food.
In Louisiana, 683,110 people live with food insecurity, according to Feeding Louisiana, the Louisiana Food Bank Association.
Tensas Parish had 2,043 people (of the total population of 4,319 in 2019) with limited access to healthy foods in 2019 — that's 39% of the population.
Vernon, East Carroll, Concordia and Beauregard parishes all reported over 20% of the population in 2019 having limited access to healthy foods.
Although the percent of people with limited access to healthy foods is smaller in parishes with large cities, there are still many who struggle from food insecurity. For example, in Caddo Parish, in 2019 there were 40,898 people (16% of total population) with limited access to healthy foods. In East Baton Rouge Parish, there were 51,591 people (12% of total population) and in Orleans Parish, there were 30,198 people (9% of total population) with limited access to healthy foods.