Food insecurity a growing issue in Weber County, heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic | Local News
OGDEN — A new report from the Ogden Civic Action Network says tens of thousands of Weber County residents don’t have consistent access to quality food — and the COVID-19 pandemic has made the situation worse.
OgdenCan’s “Community Food Security Assessment of Weber County” was published earlier this year and aims to provide recommendations on how to best address food security concerns in the county, with a heightened focus on residents of Ogden’s east-central neighborhood.
An alliance of several anchor institutions, OgdenCan was founded by Weber State University and involves stakeholders and partner organizations committed to aligning resources for improving health, housing and education among the 15,000 residents of the east-central area. Ogden City defines the geographical boundaries of the neighborhood as the area directly east of downtown and west of Harrison Boulevard, generally between 30th Street and the Ogden River. The area has long been one of the city’s most economically distressed and has been a target for redevelopment for years.
Drafted with input from several local partners with expertise in food security, nutrition and public health, and through collaboration with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Leadership Academy for the Public’s Health, the OgdenCan report says 12% of Weber County’s population (and nearly 15% of Weber County children) were “food insecure” in 2018. And since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, those numbers have increased increased to 15% for the county’s general population and 20% for children.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Weber County’s population hovers somewhere near 260,000, which means nearly 40,000 people in the region face food insecurity issues. Compounding the problem is the fact that from 2011 to 2018, the average meal cost for a family in the county has risen by 23%, according to the report.
According to the nonprofit Feeding America, which is a nationwide network of food banks, food insecurity is defined as a “lack of consistent access to enough food for every person in a household to live an active, healthy life.” Feeding America says food insecurity is often temporary, but in many cases it can last for extended periods of time. Feeding America says that due to the pandemic, 42 million people may experience food insecurity in 2021.
The OgdenCAN report also says there are 11 “food deserts” in Weber County, 10 of which are in Ogden. According to the U.S Department of Agriculture, a food desert is an area where people have limited access to a variety of healthy foods, which can be caused by a variety of reasons, from having a limited income or living far away from sources of healthy and affordable food.
The report includes a host of recommendations, including a “healthy corner store” initiative and the creation of a local “food policy council” that would research and develop programs and policies that improve local and regional food systems. OgdenCAN Communications Director Rachel Trotter said the findings in the report represent the initial phase of research to provide a general understanding of the county’s food system. More recommendations specific to the east-central area will be developed over time.
“Intersecting everything — housing, transportation, food security, financial security, health outcomes — is vital,” said Katharine-French Fuller, research director for WSU’s Center for Community Engaged Learning and one of the report’s researchers. “Nothing can be addressed in isolation.”
