JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Often referred to as a food desert, Jacksonville’s Northside has long struggled with a lack of healthy food options.
Residents have voiced their concerns about the scarcity of fresh, affordable food.
Standing at the intersection of Lem Turner Road and Soutel Drive, you can see why Northside residents are concerned. The area has different food marts with fried foods, processed and packaged snacks, as well as alcohol.
But no options for fresh produce or healthy foods are available.
The nearest Publix and Walmart are about a 9-minute drive each. The closest Fresh Market is about a 20-minute drive.
“It’s very frustrating, very disappointing,” said City Councilman Reggie Gaffney Jr., who represents the Northside as part of District 8. “You work all day. ... You want to be able to go to a grocery store and then go straight home.”
According to a recent study of Duval County’s Community-Identified Health Challenges, access to healthy food was ranked as the No. 1 concern, surpassing even gun violence.
Northside residents News4JAX spoke with expressed their frustration.
“It’s a food desert, and we are exhausted to have to keep talking about this,” said Aundrea Waugh, who’s lived on the Northside for more than four years. “The impression, I guess, is that we don’t want to be healthy on the Northside, which is totally untrue. We do want to be healthy. We want to eat fresh food.”
Waugh’s sentiment is echoed by many in the community who have been fighting for better access to healthy food for years.
Craig Stevns, who faced a health scare years ago and was once overweight, shared his experience.
“It is time-consuming being that I do have to travel to eat healthy,” Stevns said. “We are used to the same things: fried chicken, hamburgers and Chinese food.”
Stevns questions if his health issues were due to limited food options.
Gaffney acknowledged the correlation between lack of fresh food options and health problems.
“It’s disappointing because it’s consequences when you don’t have healthy food options in any district, and it leads to obesity, high blood pressure,” Gaffney said.
Residents are eager for change, and Gaffney said he is working to address the issue.
“It’s my priority and it’s a passion of mine to get this tackled sooner than later because individuals are passing away daily because of the health issues, and I don’t want that to be on my watch,” Gaffney said.
He said he reached out to grocery chains like Trader Joe’s and Fresh Market but has faced challenges.
The stores claim the “numbers are not there,” meaning the population isn’t dense enough to warrant placing a store in the area, Gaffney said.
But the councilman disagrees with those claims, saying there are 100,000 people in District 8.
Waugh said the grocery chains should be considering the average income and home values of the area.
“Show the receipts,” she said. “If they’re saying that (they’re not coming because of population density), let them elaborate.”
News4JAX’s Briana Brownlee requested to see the study Trader Joe’s and Fresh Market say supports their decision that the customer ratio on the Northside does not meet the criteria. She is still waiting for a response.
Despite these challenges, a new grocery store called Nature Fresh Market is set to open on Dunn Avenue, bringing hope to the community.
Gaffney expressed his excitement upon learning the news as he watched a social media video about the new grocery store with Brownlee.
“Wow, how exciting—a fresh market coming to the Northside, which we have very few of. I am so excited, Gaffney said.
Residents like Stevns and Waugh are optimistic about the new market’s potential to provide much-needed healthy options.
“I know they are going to offer some amazing things, and I don’t have to travel so far,” Stevns said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what they have to offer to the community, and I hope they stay around a while.”
Waugh said she knows whether the grocery store can last will depend on the support of the community.
“I am excited to see the Nature Fresh Market that is here. I am looking forward to seeing what they hold,” Waugh added. “That is the biggest thing is to make sure we patronize so it can stay here for a long period of time.”
