WVU in the News: USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service sponsors Food Desert Summit
The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service sponsored the 2019 West Virginia Food Desert Summit held Tuesday in Bridgeport. The meeting was the third installment of an ongoing project to find solutions to the state’s food deserts — parts of the state with no or limited access to fresh food and groceries.
The summit’s vision statement suggested a full retail experience that accommodates the preferences of everyone in West Virginia, especially its low-wealth communities, with healthy food options that are accommodating, affordable, available, acceptable and accessible.
Lauri Andress, PhD, with the WVU School of Public Health, said that the one conversation we need to have involves retail opportunities: “How do we solve the problems surrounding the fact that our families have no place to shop? It’s important that people participate in that conversation.”
Photo credit: NCWV Media