Abstract

Excerpted From: Sara St. Juste, Are Healthy Foods “White People Food”:  A Legal Analysis of Disparities in Healthy Food Accessibility and Affordability at Grocery Stores and Restaurants in Low-income Neighborhoods, 14 U. University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review 139 (Spring, 2024) (154 Footnotes) (Full Document)

It was eight o'clock in the evening, and my sisters and I were called to the dining room table for dinner. As I approached the dining table, my nose was immediately filled with the aroma of deep-fried chicken, freshly baked cornbread, candied yams, macaroni and cheese, black-eyed peas, and of course, sweet potato pie. My mother had just thrown down in the kitchen, using all the spices in her kitchen cabinets. Although I would normally be astounded by the rich and mouthwatering meal my mother had just made, I found myself sitting at the table with a face of dismay. A week ago, my mother had been told by her doctor that she had both Type-2 diabetes and high blood pressure, and that eating a healthy diet would aid in reducing her blood sugar and lowering her blood pressure. My mother's doctor also provided her with a list of healthy foods, including non-starchy vegetables, natural fats, fruits, nuts, and whole-grain, higher-fiber foods to help reduce the likelihood of possible heart failure or stroke.

I glared at my mother in disbelief that she went right back to eating soul food after the doctor provided her with specific recommendations for a better, healthier diet. Before my little sister could say grace over the food, I asked my mother, “Didn't the doctor tell you last week that you should be eating a healthier diet?” Without a moment of hesitation, my mother turned to me and responded, “Everyone knows that that healthy food diet list is nothing more than 'White people food.”’ This was not the first time that I had heard the saying “White people food” since communities of color have often associated healthy foods with White people. Many believe this connection stems from the perception that healthy foods are not marketed towards low-income families, nor are they tailored to the cultural food choices found in communities of color.

In reality, “White people food” suggests something beyond healthy food in America being a race issue. Healthy food options, both in their inaccessibility and unaffordability, exhibit a socioeconomic class issue that implicates race. Statistics have shown that low-income and minority communities, tend to have fewer supermarkets available, but more convenience stores and fast-food restaurants. Convenience stores and fast-food restaurants predominantly sell low-cost, highly processed, and energy-dense foods with minimal fresh produce, increasing access to unhealthy food choices. These food options are often referred to as “junk food” since the nutritional value of these food products is relatively low, with high levels of fat, sugar, sodium, and low-density cholesterol. The lack of quality supermarkets, which carry a greater variety of healthy and nutritious food that is affordable, encourages reliance on convenience stores and fast-food restaurants often seen in low-income and minority communities.

Although residents in low-income communities may see healthy food options on the shelves of grocery stores and convenience stores, the high costs of many of these products are outside of their budget. For example, a package of hot dogs tends to range from a dollar or two, while fresh beef, chicken, or pork, costs several dollars a pound. Foods that are high in calories and low in nutritional density, like fatty processed foods and sweets, are cheaper than fresh foods like fruits and vegetables.

The phrase “White people food” serves as my Mother's rebuttal to healthy food options. This phrase has been adopted by communities of color and reveals how structural racism and socioeconomic inequalities have shaped the perception of minority residents in low-income communities regarding food insecurity. This premise lies in the reality that members of low-income communities, specifically people of color in inner cities, confront two problems in acquiring healthy food options: (1) that there are no quality grocery stores or healthy food choice restaurants in their neighborhoods, and (2) that inner-city stores charge higher prices for healthy food options than stores in suburban white communities. In examining the origins and rationale of “White people food” and its inherent link to healthy foods in low-income communities of color, this article will focus on these two dilemmas and how these disparities have contributed to inaccessible and unaffordable healthy food in these communities.

Specifically, healthy food options have been less accessible and affordable to minorities, including Black people in America. This article will examine why people of color and residents in low-income communities equate eating healthy with eating like White people, and the underlying issues, including the accessibility and affordability of healthy food, that have made this connection. This article will also argue the inequities found in food distribution through the placements of supermarkets, convenience stores, and fast-food restaurants in inner-city neighborhoods, and how seeking change in these disparities may shift the “White people food” perception associated with eating healthy.

This article will be divided into four parts. Part I will discuss the cultural significance of food in minority communities and how the history of inaccessible and unaffordable healthy foods in communities of color has created an association between healthy food as “White people food”. Part II will demonstrate how chain grocery stores, convenience stores, and restaurants rarely make healthy food available, that is affordable or of high quality. Part III will explain how communities of color and low-income communities face these disparities through legislation. Part IV will propose possible solutions, including approaches that state and federal legislatures can take, to address these disparities. Part V will summarize both the conclusions and recommendations.

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Without access to a variety of food choices, individuals cannot meet recommended nutrition needs. Public policies should look to implementing successful strategies tackling urban food environments that foster the consumption of more balanced diets. Merely seeking to improve dietary intake without tackling the issues involving the proximity, price, and quality of more nutrient-dense foods will only continue to frustrate the likelihood for residents in low-income communities to eventually consume healthier foods.

Absent both initiatives and developments in legislation to encompass discriminatory practices in food distribution, racial and socioeconomic disparities will likely persist in low-income communities. This, in turn, will likely leave vulnerable and powerless residents with no means of holding the government accountable. Unless our communities work to increase the accessibility and affordability of healthy food options in grocery stores and restaurants, low-income communities will continue to have disparities in critical health outcomes, and America's social structure will further enforce and equate healthy food options to “White people” food.

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