In North Carolina, more than 1.5 million people live in a food desert, which means they cannot easily access healthy, affordable food. Food deserts rob children of their health by severely limiting kids’ access to healthy foods. Horrifically, food deserts lead to high rates of nutrition-related, life-threatening illnesses like heart disease and type 2 diabetes, two of the top causes of death in North Carolina.
When communities gain access to healthy foods, choosing to eat healthier becomes easier.
Tell North Carolina leaders: “Please do everything you can to improve access to healthy foods in North Carolina!”
http://action.momsrising.org/sign/nc-improve-access-healthy-foods-2016/
Parents want to make healthy choices for our families, especially when it comes to food. And we need local and state leaders to do their part to make fresh fruits, vegetables, and other healthier foods more readily available to families in North Carolina. We’ll share your signatures to let lawmakers know that we want to partner with them to make healthy food more accessible throughout the state.
Luckily, change is possible! North Carolina has strong agricultural resources, which means that fresh food is here! We just need to get it to areas of the state where healthy, fresh foods are currently difficult to come by. Other states and communities have done this by increasing the number of farmer’s markets, distributing food through small, local stores, and by creating mobile fruit & vegetable delivery services.
Tell lawmakers that you want them to do their part to make fresh food more available to families! http://action.momsrising.org/sign/nc-improve-access-healthy-foods-2016/
With access to healthy foods dwindling in areas across the state, it is no wonder that our obesity rate has skyrocketed over the past 30 years. One in every three children in our communities is at risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes—diseases that used to affect only adults. This may be the first generation in history to live shorter lives than their parents due to a steady rise of obesity-related diseases.
And obesity-related health problems cost North Carolinians $54 billion each year. It’s up to us to make sure lawmakers know that we care about this problem. We can, and must do something to fix it, for the health of our children, our families, and our economy!
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