Working For More Healthy Choices In South L.A.
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On Figueroa St. in South Los Angeles, fast food restaurants dominate the landscape.
(© Ashley Ragovin)
Seven months after the Los Angeles City Council passed a ban on new fast food restaurant construction in South L.A., the community has yet to see a decrease in fast food consumption. Residents, however, are working to renew their neighborhood in other ways.
District 15 Councilwoman Jan Perry, whose district includes much of South L.A., led the campaign to pass the initiative. Perry's communication director Eva Kandarpa said the construction ban was an effort to create a greater variety of shops and food options for community members.Â
"The ordinance is to create a more balanced community that meet everyone's needs," Kandarpa said.Â
According to a [Los Angeles Times survey] (http://articles.latimes.com/2007/sep/10/local/me-fastfood10) of all the restaurants in Los Angeles, 45 percent of 900 restaurants in South L.A. are fast-food outlets.Â
The ordinance banned new fast food restaurants from a 32-square-mile area that includes West Adams, Baldwin Village and Leimert Park, but does not limit mall outlets.Â
According to the ordinance, a fast food restaurant means a restaurant with "a limited menu, items prepared in advance or prepared or heated quickly, no table orders and food served in disposable wrapping or containers."Â
These criteria exclude other chain restaurants such as Subway and El Pollo Loco.Â
Even though the ban can be seen to be targeting the health issue of the community, Kandarpa said that problems like obesity are of a secondary concern.Â
"The idea is to compress the neighborhood into different zones, so that there is a place for everything," Kandarpa said. "Grocery stores and real sit-down restaurants that offer fresh and healthier foods are not readily available in the area."Â
Daniel Conway, the spokesperson of the California Restaurant Association, said that the ban is a "very narrow approach" in creating healthier lifestyle.Â
"There aren't a lot of places for the kids to go out and do physical activities in the area," Conway said. "If you want to combat obesity, you should combat it from other areas too."Â
The bad economy is also contributing to the fast food eating lifestyle.Â
"With the state of the economy, it's very hard to see the negative impact of the ordinance on the fast food industry," Conway said. "People are cutting back on their expenses as it is."Â
McDonald's reported a 7.1 percent increase worldwide in same-store sales for January, compared to 2008 sales numbers.Â
Members of Healthy Eating Active Communities (HEAC) at The Accelerated School in South L.A. also agree that they have yet to see the number of fast food consumers decreases.Â
"[Fast food restaurants] are still accessible and are still cheap," said Sharlene Gozalians, HEAC youth coordinator.Â
Gozalians, along with 10 other youth ambassadors from The Accelerated School, are working together to approach the health concerns from another aspect.Â
"We are doing 'market makeovers' on the corner stores around the area," Gozalians said.Â
The market makeovers teach store owners tips like how to change the layout of their stores by placing healthier options up front, where to buy healthy products and when to throw them away.Â
According to Gozalians, the market makeovers effort in the corner stores around the school has been successful.Â
"The health has improved a lot, especially in the school and the area directly around it," Gozalians said.Â
"We have brought what we learned from this program to our own personal lives," said Britanni Dighero, 17, one of the youth ambassadors.Â
It is possible the one-year construction ban could be extended, but Kandarpa said that she couldn't "say for sure" when the City Council will make a decision.Â
"It all depends on what we see after we reevaluate the situation after the one year ends," she said.Â
Nevertheless, Gozalians and other community members have about five more months to change the face of South L.A. before the current fast food ban ends.
