Healthy Food Access
Local Food Systems and Policy Changes Drive Healthier Eating and Fight Chronic Disease
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Ultra-processed foods — packaged snacks, sugary drinks, and ready-to-eat meals loaded with additives — now make up nearly 58% of daily calories for Americans, according to The Guardian. A landmark study published in The BMJ linked these foods to 32 harmful health outcomes, including a 50% higher risk of dying from heart disease. Researchers are calling the crisis an "urgent public health threat."
Poor access to fresh food makes the problem worse. The USDA says limited food access drives higher obesity rates and diet-related diseases across the country, according to KAIT8. But a Nebraska nonprofit is showing that local solutions — like garden classes and farm partnerships — can help communities eat better.
BMJ Study Links Ultra-Processed Foods to Dozens of Diseases
The 2024 BMJ umbrella review analyzed 45 studies involving nearly 10 million people. It found that eating lots of ultra-processed foods raised the risk of anxiety by up to 53% and increased cardiovascular death risk by 50%. Lead author Dr. Melissa Lane of Deakin University called for urgent measures to cut people's exposure to these foods.
The Lancet followed up with a three-part series in late 2025, calling deteriorating global diets a public health emergency and pushing for worldwide regulation of ultra-processed foods. Some public health experts now compare the need for UPF regulation to the global treaty that tackled tobacco, according to WBTV.
Food Industry Pushes Back Against Processing Restrictions
Not everyone agrees that processing itself is the enemy. Sarah Gallo of the Consumer Brands Association says that "food processing plays a critical role in delivering nutritious, affordable, and safe food." She warns that targeting processed foods could hurt low-income families who rely on affordable staples like canned beans and frozen vegetables, according to KMVT.
Industry groups argue the NOVA classification system — which ranks food by level of processing — is "ideologically biased." But the economic stakes are enormous. Chronic diet-related diseases are projected to cost the U.S. health system $47 trillion over the next 15 years, according to WSMV. And 13.7% of U.S. households — about 18.3 million — faced food insecurity in 2024, per the USDA.
Omaha Nonprofit Connects 40 Farms to Pantries and Schools
No More Empty Pots (NMEP), founded in Omaha in 2010, is taking a grassroots approach. The nonprofit partners with 40 local producers within a 400-mile radius of Omaha to move fresh food directly to pantries, schools, and businesses, according to KLTV. It also teaches gardening and cooking classes to make fresh food preparation less intimidating.
In April 2024, NMEP opened a small organic grocery store — called the Micro Market — in North Omaha, a recognized food desert. The organization produces 51,000 meals a year and serves 48 regional zip codes. Co-founder Nancy Williams summed up the mission simply: "There should be no more empty pots in our community," according to WAFF.
Policy Push Grows Amid Bipartisan Health Concerns
The federal government is starting to act. The White House released new Dietary Guidelines for 2025–2030 in January 2026, explicitly telling Americans to avoid highly processed carbohydrates and prioritize whole foods, according to WLFI. The USDA and FDA also launched a joint effort in late 2025 to define "ultra-processed foods" under federal law for the first time.
A growing bipartisan "Make America Healthy Again" movement is pushing to remove artificial dyes and reform food safety rules. Black households face food insecurity at more than double the rate of white households — 24.4% versus 10.1% — making diet reform a racial equity issue as much as a health one, according to WABI.
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