Taken from NPR.org
I do listen to NPR. I know, I know…but I do. I tend to listen to the news on the radio because most music on the radio is pre-playlisted boredom any how. It was to my surprise when I heard that NPR was to have a story on Ramona Gardens that was not based on gang violence or the like.
The story revolved around the absence of healthy food options in and near Ramona Gardens. This is something that I have seen covered in other working-class neighborhoods of Los Angeles, such as South (Central) Los Angeles. It is not uncommon at all. The few choices that are available from the local ‘convenience stores’ can be summed up in this quote from Olga Perez:
“I bought sour cream that was all green inside,” she says. “I bought a gallon of orange juice that was … as soon as I opened the lid, all green with fur. I’ve bought Rice-a-Roni, and when I opened the box, it was maggots in there.”
Thankfully residents like Olga Perez, some of her neighbors with LA Voice PICO are spearheading a campaign to raise awareness and to lobby local government to bring healthful, fresh options to a part of Los Angeles that is seriously being underserviced.
You can listen or read the story in its entirety here: http://www.npr.org/2011/02/08/133506101/l-a-community-starved-for-healthful-food-options
