According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, at least half of Cleveland residents live in areas known as “food deserts” – neighborhoods without access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food. Experts say lack of access to healthy food plays a huge role in Cleveland’s high obesity rate, which in some neighborhoods hovers over 40%. In our continuing series “Healthy People, Healthy Places,” producer Kay Colby introduces us to one local mother who is determined to pass on healthy habits to her children and her community.
![](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b7c58ca/2147483647/strip/true/crop/600x307+0+7/resize/180x92!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F29%2F59%2F4b7451c6401e87dbd0e690bd4863%2Fipm-series.png)
News
To contact us with news tips, story ideas or other related information, e-mail newsstaff@ideastream.org.
A Local Mother's Fight to Promote Healthy Eating
![](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9a695e0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1000x563+0+0/resize/880x495!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fimages%2Fnews%2F2016%2F02%2FFeeding%20Family_0.jpg)