Pasadena’s ‘food desert’ island

Gripping plastic bags filled with milk, eggs and a two-liter bottle of orange soda, Itzel Hernandez made her way down Orange Grove Avenue one recent evening, keeping a brisk pace and wearing a gray hoodie to keep away the fall chill.

Hernandez, 18, said she expected her trip home from Latino Market to take 25 minutes. The convenience store is the closest market to Hernandez’s home.

“Supermarkets aren’t that far if you have a car, but I don’t, so I have to walk,” Hernandez said. “We do have a McDonald’s and a Jack in the Box nearby, though.”

Hernandez’s shopping trip is common among Northwest Pasadena residents, many of whom do not have cars and do not live close to supermarkets but are close to fast-food restaurants and convenience stores.

Northwest Pasadena has the traits of what nutrition experts call a “food desert,” defined by Congress passed in 2008 as a lower-income neighborhood or community “with limited access to affordable and nutritious food.”

Northwest Pasadena has just three supermarkets — a Vons at Fair Oaks Avenue at Orange Grove Boulevard, Food 4 Less at Lake Avenue and Washington Boulevard, and a Smart & Final on Fair Oaks and Maple Street — serving an area with 66,000 people. Overall, Pasadena has 19 supermarkets serving its 137,000 residents.

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The lack of options leaves Northwest Pasadena residents more vulnerable than others to obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes, according to health experts. A 2008 Pasadena Health Department study showed that the neighborhoods near Northwest Pasadena schools offer little but fast food.

“There is a food desert issue up here,” said Mary Urtecho-Garcia, a nutrition and physical activity program coordinator for the Pasadena Health Department. Speaking from the agency’s Northwest Pasadena office, she said, “The food establishments that are here are not catering to a healthy person. They’re catering to someone who wants more fast food.”

Urtecho-Garcia would like to see the gap filled with farmers markets and stores that offer healthier choices.

But for now, the void is filled by convenience stores, small markets, liquor stores and fast-food restaurants. Of the 27 fast-food establishments in the city, 12 are in Northwest Pasadena, according to fastfoodmaps.com.

“There’s food out there; there’s just not many healthful foods,” said Joyce Ann Gilbert, a professor of nutrition and food science at Cal State Northridge. “There’s a relationship between the kinds of stores available and obesity.”

One in four Pasadena residents is obese, according to the city’s health department, roughly the same as the statewide rate. About one-third of U.S. adults and 17% of children and adolescents are overweight, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In a study released last month, the state Department of Education found that teens in Pasadena have higher levels of obesity and score worse on physical agility tests than the average California teen.

“The obesity rate is throughout the city,” Urtecho-Garcia said. “But the concentration is here. The Latino population has less access to things.”

Nowhere to go

At Latino Market last month, a gallon of milk cost 60 cents to 80 cents more than it did at a Pasadena supermarket. The bananas at Latino Market were 49 cents a pound, less expensive than at larger stores, but the fruit was not ripe.

Sonny Jo’s convenience store near the border of Altadena and Pasadena carries fresh fruits and vegetables, unlike many of the liquor stores that offer a small supply of sundries, snacks and canned goods. But the produce isn’t as fresh and is more expensive than at supermarkets across town.

Jo said his prices are higher because he doesn’t have the bulk buying power that supermarkets have.

“We’re just a small mom-and-pop store,” Jo said. “Most people come for little things and are out in a minute.”

Urtecho-Garcia and Gilbert say transportation is a problem, especially for senior citizens and parents taking the bus with children.

School-age children have few healthy options, according to a 2008 Pasadena Health Department study of neighborhoods around three Northwest Pasadena schools: Madison Elementary, Washington Middle School and John Muir High School.

The state-funded study found that half of the residents in those areas live below the poverty line — about $39,000 for a family of four. Most are Latino, and many rely on public transportation.

The area surrounding Washington Middle School fared the worst, with zero healthy food sources — but seven fast-food joints — nearby. Just 15% of the more than 10,000 residents who live close to the school live within half a mile of a large grocery store.

All of the 5,600 residents near Madison Elementary live within half a mile of a large grocery store, but transit options aren’t convenient for shopping, and there are 18 fast-food outlets close to campus.

A quarter of the 7,000 residents living around John Muir High School live within half a mile of a supermarket.

Sugar shock

Personal choice also plays a huge role in placing healthy food on the table, Urtecho-Garcia said. Even if a natural-foods store were to open in Northwest Pasadena, offering an array of organic and healthy choices, it doesn’t mean residents would buy those products.

A 2009 Department of Agriculture study found that while proximity to healthy options helps to lower obesity rates, increased consumption of vegetables and fruits doesn’t automatically lead to a lower body fat percentage. Consumers who eat healthy food may also continue to eat junk food.

Maria Puncino, a mother of five who lives in Northwest Pasadena, said she goes to a fast-food restaurant twice a week, not because she wants to but because her kids demand it.

“They say, ‘If you don’t take me, I’m not going to eat,” Puncino said.

Urtecho-Garcia said the health department makes an effort to reach people, doing studies such as the 2008 schools report and offering nutrition information in classrooms and at community meetings. In October, the City Council voted to ban unhealthy foods and drinks from vending machines on city property. But it is a challenge to get the message across.

She recounted a nutrition education class at Blair High School where presenters sugar-shocked students by showing them how much fattening, nutrition-free sugar goes into a can of soda.

“They had a break, and all of a sudden the kids start walking in with chips and soda,” Urtecho-Garcia said. “We’re trying to make it less accessible and less acceptable.”

Next year the health department is aiming to find a vendor to run a farmers market in Northwest Pasadena in 2012. The department may also ask transportation officials to reroute public bus lines to better serve Northwest Pasadena residents seeking healthier options.

“We’re bringing in a farmers market, continuously doing nutrition education, and if we need to advocate for a different bus line, then we’ll do it,” Urtecho-Garcia said. “At the end of the day it’s about giving them the resources and the tools to make better decisions.”