In the midst of many harvest feasts this week, I read an alarming article in Chicago magazine that focused on the 609,034 Chicagoans that live in food deserts, defined as areas short on access to fresh meat and produce but ripe with convenience stores and fast food outlets. Of these households, 64,000 of them don't have a car to travel the average .59 miles to the nearest grocery store. Add to that the fact that 109,000 of the residents in food deserts are single mothers and you've got a recipe for food choices that are largely dependent on convenience.

The solutions suggested by many community leaders is three-fold: Access to better foods through new grocery stores, Education on eating healthfully, and Innovation, in the form of garden and nutrition education programs like Growing Home that host a weekly farm stand to grow the goods from their urban garden, and God's Gang's Planting Dreams program, that provides training in urban agriculture.

Thankfully, there are innovators all across the country working towards universal access to better food every day. Some of these innovators were recently awarded a Healthy Sprouts Award by KidGardening.org, and we applaud them for leading the way!

We're proud that the Good Food Gardens are playing a small role of the effort to feed America better, and we recognize that it takes every one of these innovating organizations working side by side to end childhood hunger and malnutrition. Every hungry mouth needs a willing hand to feed it. We welcome you to the conversation.  

-Sarah Copeland, Good Food Gardens