For over a decade, Environmental Health Coalition (EHC) has worked with residents in Old Town National City to address food insecurity. Responding to an EHC community survey in 2005, residents were already voicing their concerns about the lack of affordable healthy food in OTNC and its impact on their daily lives. Their struggle for food access has been acknowledged at the federal level by the United States Department of Agriculture that designated Old Town National City as a “food desert”; defined as a part of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthy whole foods1. Residents of National City are suffering and dying from preventable diseases that are a result of poor nutrition and lack of access to healthy food. Within National City, there are approximately twice as many fast food and convenience stores as there are general grocery and fruit and vegetable markets2. Over 50% of children in the National School District are overweight or obese3, and National City residents have the highest rate of heart attacks in all San Diego County4.
In response to this severe community health crisis, residents have been working with city officials to find community driven solutions. Community members have identified the inclusion of a community garden in the Paradise Creek Park plan design as a solution to help increase physical activity and food access.
EHC will continue to work diligently to ensure that National City residents remain in the planning process and that their neighborhood transitions from a toxic to a healthy one . Follow EHC on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates on the Paradise Creek Park community garden and contact Sandy Naranjo, National City Policy Advocate, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for ways to get involved.
1 American Nutrition Association. USDA Defines Food Deserts. http://americannutritionassociation.org/newsletter/usda-defines-food-deserts
2 National City, National City General Plan (2011), 227. http://www.nationalcityca.gov/home/showdocument?id=5217
3 San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative, State of Childhood Obesity in San Diego County (2016), 7. https://sdcoi.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/stateofchildhoodobesity-sdcountyfinal1.pdf
4 Schroeder, Lauryn “Coronado has Good Hearth Health, National City Much Less So. Find Your Community on Interactive Map. http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/data-watch/sd-me-cardiovascular-rate-20180209-story.html. July 23, 2018.