In other places, organizations are redirecting extra food from farms and stores to local people in need. Such food is often of good quality, but it gets discarded because it’s misshapen or close to the expiration date.
Cities and towns are also starting farmers’ markets to bring fresh options to food deserts. And in many communities, like Alex’s neighborhood, mobile markets are selling fruits and vegetables from carts and trucks at reduced prices to ease the problem.
“It seems like the places that are having the most successes are where people in the community have come together and worked on a solution together,” Kenney says.
Young people are playing an important role in these efforts. Giovanni and his classmate, Angel Sanchez-Martinez, 16, have begun working with a nonprofit organization called Teens for Food Justice, growing vegetables and other healthy produce for their school cafeteria and community in Denver.
“Usually when I leave school, I see a long line of families trying to get food and . . . leaving with the vegetables we grow here,” Angel says. “That helps us see that we’re actually [making] a difference for our community.”
The urban gardens Alex helped grow in New York City are also continuing to fill the fresh-food gap in his area. Learning Gardens, a City Parks Foundation program, teaches thousands of students to grow kale, tomatoes, cantaloupe, and more.