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Texans need way to escape 'food desert'

State Representative Eddie Rodriguez
  • BY REP. EDDIE RODRIGUEZ
  • Originally published June 9, 2012 at 2:45 p.m., updated June 9, 2012 at 2:45 p.m.

It is official: Texas is "foodie haven." Simply flip on your cable box and flip between Food, Cooking and Travel Channels and you will see Texas chefs, home cooks, restaurateurs, food artisans and growers all over the menu. Our natural variety of ingredients, stories, landscapes and colorful personalities are the recipe for successful TV and great cuisine.

What you won't see on TV though is that although Texas has abundant natural and agricultural resources, Texas ranks near the top in both childhood hunger and obesity. Almost 20 percent of Texas households experience food insecurity, among the highest in the country. While most children have access to substantive meals during the year through the national school lunch program, participation in summer nutrition programs is drastically low.

Although Texans are no strangers to the concept of deserts, many would be surprised to know that there exists such a thing as a "food desert." The odds are high that if you are reading this you or someone you know lives in one. Food deserts are areas (rural or urban) where there is limited access to fresh, affordable and healthy food. As we well know, there are areas where the only food in walking distance is a hot dog on a roller.

These are just a few of the food challenges facing our state over the next decade. But unlike Top Chef, there are no "quick-fire" solutions.

There is good news, though. Texans are taking advantage of our burgeoning urban farms and small ranches, the rise of the "local food" at restaurants, and the Texas Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Program. All of which are improving Texans access to healthier food.

This is why I founded the Texas House Farm-to-Table Caucus. Our Vice Chair and co-founder is Representative Lois Kolkhorst of Brenham. We may seem like an odd couple, but the fact is that there is no other issue I am aware that so closely ties our urban and rural areas of the state. This non-partisan effort will work to educate lawmakers about successful programs underway and how we can get out of the way of as well as encourage success in small family farms and the distribution of their goods around the state.

Food security issues represent a huge opportunity for the sorts of public/private partnerships that have worked so well for Texas in the past. Recently I helped dedicate Austin's first Good Food Garden at the River City Youth Foundation in Dove Springs. The neighborhood kids had their hands in the dirt, planting vegetables and herbs in the raised beds of their very own garden. What they grow, they will eat.

The Good Food Gardens program was created by Food Network in partnership with Share Our Strength, part of a national organization committed to end childhood hunger. Each of the Good Food Gardens nationwide is developed from the ground up. Planting, harvesting and preparing meals from the fruits, vegetables and herbs grown there teaches children the importance of eating fresh, local foods to live healthier. The results are tangible, too. The folks at Food Network provide a five-year annual grant to help the cost of sustaining each garden.

The House Farm-to-Table Caucus will be active in the next legislative session promoting good ideas like these and seeking ways we can help increase all Texans' access to healthy and fresh foods. Whether you are a "foodie" or not, encourage your state representative to join today.

Representative Eddie Rodriguez was first elected to the State Legislature in 2002. He was re-elected in November 2010 to his fifth term as the Representative from District 51, serving East and South Austin, and Southeast Travis County. Currently Representative Rodriguez serves on the House Committees on Calendars, Transportation and Criminal Jurisprudence. He founded the Texas Farm-to-Table Caucus in 2012 to educate members of the Texas House of Representatives on issues relating to the growing, harvesting and consumption of Texas foods.