Resolution 020133

..Title Authorizing the City Council Committee on Public Health & Human Services to hold hearings regarding access to proper nutrition for low-income children and families in Philadelphia as well as to investigate potential solutions to this health threat. ..Body WHEREAS, In the City of Philadelphia findings indicate that communities with the least access to affordable healthy foods also suffer the highest rates of death related to poor nutrition; and WHEREAS, Of major metropolitan areas in the United States, Philadelphia is second only to Boston in the lowest number of supermarkets per capita, and according to the Food Trust, the number of supermarkets in the lowest-income neighborhoods was 156 percent less than in the highest-income neighborhoods; and WHEREAS, The resulting shortage of supermarkets means that many residents are regularly forced to shop at more expensive corner and convenience stores with less selection and poorer quality food, or to travel out of their communities and the city to purchase food; and WHEREAS, The lack of affordable, nutritious food choices strains the families' ability to provide for their children, exacerbates health problems, and increases mortality rates resulting from diet related diseases; and WHEREAS, Inadequate access to food imposes a significant toll on lower income neighborhoods of Philadelphia, affecting their revitalization, the education of children, and the development of healthy youth and families; and WHEREAS, Poor nutrition among children can lead to a host of physical, behavioral, and developmental risks that can affect their long-term health, cognitive ability, academic performance, and in turn their future; and WHEREAS, In Philadelphia, the incidence of diet-related diseases is disproportionately high in lower-income neighborhoods; and WHEREAS, Proper nutrition has proven to be an effective strategy in building healthy families and assuring greater success in education and employment; and WHEREAS, There is a critical need to increase access to nutritional foods for low-income children and families of Philadelphia; now therefore RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That the City Council Committee on Public Health & Human Services is authorized to hold hearings regarding access to proper nutrition for low-income children and families in Philadelphia as well as to investigate potential solutions to this health threat. ..End