Did you know that more than 1 in 3 Louisiana residents now live in a food-insecure community due to COVID-19? This number represents an increase of more than 500,000 people, totaling more than 1.6 million people in our state. This alarming increase in food insecurity throughout the state has emerged as one of the most pressing issues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to job losses and other sources of economic stress, vulnerability to food insecurity is exacerbated by community design features such as access to transit and proximity of grocery stores and other sources of healthy foods.
CPEX has partnered with UrbanFootprint to develop and deploy the COVID-19 Insights Platform -- a multi-layer dynamic data source that provides up-to-the-minute insights that can help service providers, nonprofits, and state and local governments get help to those who need it most as quickly and efficiently as possible. CPEX and UrbanFootprint are working with Feeding Louisiana and the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, using the Insights Platform to identify areas of rapidly growing need and shift strategies and resources to meet those needs as they arise.
More than 1 in 3 Louisiana residents now live in food insecure communities due to COVID-19
The number of Louisiana residents living in food insecure communities has increased by over 500,000, now totaling more than 1.6 million people
Nearly half of newly food insecure communities are small towns and unincorporated rural areas
Food insecurity has increased dramatically in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, where approximately 65% of residents live in food insecure communities.
The top five food insecure cities in Louisiana are Monroe, New Orleans, Shreveport, Baton Rouge and Alexandria
To see how Louisiana compares to the rest of the nation, you can read more coverage from Axios.
“Our vision for recovery should be that every Louisianan lives in a place where their basic needs are met. The coronavirus has made clear that many of our residents live in places where they cannot access healthy food; safe, affordable housing and transportation; broadband internet service; and appropriate medical care. Deploying data and information that provides a nuanced, place-based understanding of how our built environment is serving our residents is essential to expediting recovery, aligning resources with the most effective interventions, tracking impacts, and building the resilience our state needs to thrive in the future. ”
Join us for a discussion with Joe DiStefano of UrbanFootprint, Korey Patty of Feeding Louisiana, and Dr. Candice Myers of Pennington Biomedical Research Center about developing a novel approach to addressing vulnerability, economic stress, and food insecurity in response to the COVID-19 crisis. We'll cover the intersections of food insecurity, social determinants of health and the built environment as well as opportunities to use dynamic data to create geo-targeted strategies for immediate response and long-term recovery.
