By Nadra Nittle, Civil Eats
Fertile Ground, which was funded in part by a grant from the Bloomberg Foundation, shows how historic redlining—a practice in which banks prevented people of color from buying mortgages in white neighborhoods—resulted in the mostly Black and impoverished neighborhood of South Jackson having few grocery stores but several convenience stores with low-quality food. The city’s car culture and lack of sidewalks and bicycle lanes add to the problem, making it a herculean task for residents without vehicles to obtain nutrient-rich food. And children in Jackson’s most economically disadvantaged areas rely on school cafeterias to get balanced meals. In Mississippi, 1 in 4 children experiences hunger, compared to 1 in 5 adults.