Introduction
“35 million people in the U.S. are hungry or don’t know where their next meal is coming from, and 13 million of them are children”.[1] Children in Washington, DC experience food insecurity and chronic disease risk in ways that are deeply shaped by where they live in the District, with stark contrasts emerging across wards that reflect longstanding inequities in access to resources, food, and healthcare.
As both a DC resident who has lived in Wards 1 and 7 and someone who has personally experienced childhood food insecurity, I have seen firsthand how access to nutritious food is not evenly distributed and how these disparities can shape daily decisions, stress levels, and long-term health outcomes for young people and communities at large.
In Ward 1, I was able to walk a few blocks in most directions and find abundant grocery stores and healthy food options, but as a current Ward 7 resident, there is only one grocery store for the entire area. That grocery store is not in a walkable area for the majority of Ward 7 residents and requires passing an abundance of liquor stores, junk food stores, and tobacco shops lining the street leading to it. This sharp contrast in proximity and accessibility to grocery stores and fresh food options causes difficulty in making healthy choices, contributing to higher rates of diet-related chronic disease, particularly for the most vulnerable communities.
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