During natural disasters and in this case the COVID-19 pandemic the most vulnerable of our populations are at the greatest risk of adverse health outcomes. One of the primary drivers of poverty that contribute to these poor health outcomes is food insecurity, which occurs when households struggle to both afford nutritious food and to meet their other necessary obligations, like paying rent, paying for transportation, and keeping the lights on at home. In East Baton Rouge 17.8% of the people in the parish simply do not have enough food to eat on a daily basis (national average is only 8%). Still, nearly 40% of these food insecure individuals are not eligible for federal nutrition programs like SNAP and WIC.
Six zip code areas in East Baton Rouge parish do not have adequate access to food and higher crime rates. To address this disparity and mitigate potential disruption in the food supply chain the pandemic Baton Roots Community Farm is scaling operations to provide fresh food access for individuals and families living in 70805, 70807, 70811, 70812 and 70802 as part of Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome's Geaux Get Healthy coalition.