Fighting food deserts
Reducing food insecurity through delivery.
Article Author: Deborah Circelli
Article Date:
A specialized Clay County map highlights areas where low-income residents have no or limited access to nutritious food. In contrast to these so-called “food deserts,” the map also shows areas with an abundance of food opportunities.
A taskforce of Clay County nonprofits and leaders is working to address those inequities. The maps, which look at food insecurity and available resources by zip code, help them see where food banks need to deliver food and where resources are already adequate. Keystone Heights, for example, is one of the areas that need more attention.
“We can see where we have high populations of people who are food insecure, and where we may have seven or eight resources in another area that we can redistribute across Clay County and attempt to move the needle,” said Kathleen Spears, co-lead of the Clay County Food Insecurity Taskforce and executive director of Waste Not Want Not.
The Clay County Food Insecurity Taskforce maps out areas of food insecurity, food deserts and where food resources are located. Green shading represents food insecurity rates by census tract; lighter green indicates lower food insecurity (better access to food), while darker green indicates higher levels of food insecurity (less access to food). The blue-striped areas represent census tracts designated by the USDA as food deserts. A food desert is a low-income neighborhood where residents have limited access to supermarkets or large grocery stores.
A collaborative effort
The Clay County Food Insecurity Taskforce, founded in June 2025, includes more than a dozen people from organizations including faith-based, health care, social sectors, soup kitchens and more.
Baptist Health provided Waste Not Want Not with a strategic investment to support the taskforce initiative and help in other Northeast Florida areas of need, including Baker County.
Current studies have found, Spears said, that, “There is an oversaturation of food being pumped into parts of Clay County, but we still have people who are hungry.”
The taskforce, whose mission is to reduce hunger and improve community health, is working with food banks in the community to step up and cover areas of need, including distributing in the evening so low-income working individuals have access to food.
“We want to be more strategic about where the food goes and who we work with to make sure the food is accessible,” Spears said. “We wanted to be thoughtful and do some research rather than just throwing food at the problem. We determine where the problems are and how we can get the right food to the right places at the right time.”
Waste Not Want Not, for example, provides close to 2 million pounds of food to about 100 organizations in 14 counties, including churches, food pantries and soup kitchens. Approximately 700,000 pounds is used to feed Clay County residents.
A growing need
Yet the need is still growing, especially with increases in the prices of food and gas.
“There is not an unlimited amount of resources,” Spears said. “We struggle every day to get more people to donate food and other items. It’s not easy. We just want to make sure our efforts are going in the right direction.”
The taskforce has several subcommittees addressing root causes of food insecurity, identifying gaps in resources and promoting self-sufficiency by addressing underlying drivers of food insecurity through education, financial literacy, and resource connection.
In addition to identifying geographic service gaps, the Committee on Systemic Change, for example, is developing a process for more organizations to become enrollers of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and improving accessibility of summer meal programs for children.
Baptist Health leaders are also instrumental on the committees.
“Baptist Health remains steadfast in our commitment to improving the health and well-being of the communities we serve. At Baptist Medical Center Clay, we proudly collaborate with community organizations to help ensure residents in need have access to healthy, nutritious food,” said Ed Hubel, hospital president of Baptist Clay. “We believe every individual deserves equitable access to affordable, nourishing meals that support better dietary habits, improved health outcomes, and overall quality of life.”
He added, “Through strong collaboration, coordination and community partnerships, the Clay County Food Insecurity Taskforce works to develop meaningful solutions to reduce hunger and eliminate food insecurity throughout the county.”
Read more about how Baptist Health works with area nonprofits to improve the health and well-being of the community. Go to baptistjax.com/community.
