In the late 1800s and early 1900s, most low-income, black and Hispanic people were segregated to the east side of what is now IH-35 in Austin. Now, the same people who’ve lived in the area for decades are being pushed out. Old houses are torn down to make way for new ones and property taxes are rising rapidly.
Allen Washington runs a program aimed at getting fresh food to the affected low-income families.
“Gentrification always changes the landscape, and so as the fancy restaurants are established, people in the area who have been here for years – some of them aren’t able to deal with the new changes,” Washington says. “A lot of them are moving further out and further south, or further east, to accommodate these new changes. And as they move further out they’re moving to what’s known as food deserts.”
About twenty percent of Texas is considered a food desert. That includes rural areas in west Texas and along the border – but also areas inside some of the state’s largest cities.
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