A Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital pediatrician is sounding the alarm on food access inequality in the Inland Empire, warning that policies, pricing, and geography are working in tandem to trap low-income families in a cycle of poor nutrition and worsening health outcomes.
“There are 32 food deserts in San Bernardino County alone,” said Dr. Gabrielle Pina on Inland Insight, the Inland Empire Community News podcast. “Twenty-seven of them are majority Latino. And in places like Victorville, the nearest grocery store might be four miles away—not far by car, but a major obstacle if you’re a one-car household relying on public transportation or walking.”
Pina, a pediatric hospitalist at Loma Linda University Children’s Health and lifelong Inland Empire resident, defines food deserts using the USDA standard: low-income communities where residents live more than one mile from access to affordable, fresh fruits and vegetables…