The scene is summer in the colonias of South Texas. Young children kick a soccer ball across the hot pavement. A mother walks along a dusty road, shielding her face from the sun. She is on her way to work in the fields of a nearby cilantro farm. Despite her daily role in the nation’s food system, she may face barriers to accessing healthy food for herself and her family, as 51 to 80 percent of colonia residents are food insecure, according to tmc.edu.
The colonias are residential areas along the Texas-Mexico border that lack basic services such as drinking water, electricity, secure housing, sewage treatment, and paved roads, according to texasattorneygeneral.gov. There are about 2200 colonias in Texas, and 96 percent of residents identify as Hispanic, according to tmc.edu.
The majority of adults and children living in colonias struggle with healthy food consumption, particularly a lack of fresh produce. A Harvard Medical School analysis recommends eating five servings of fruits or vegetables a day in order to stay healthy and prevent illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, and lung disease, according to health.harvard.edu. However, about half of colonia residents only consume produce once a day, according to tmc.edu.
Respondents to a 2019 survey cited affordability as the primary reason for their lack of produce consumption. In the colonias, 42 percent of residents fall below the national poverty line, according to dallasfed.org. While it is true that some fruits and vegetables are more expensive than processed foods, the cost of a healthy, balanced diet does not have to differ significantly from an unhealthy one, according to ask.usda.gov. Indeed, there are more factors to the region’s food insecurity than the price of groceries.
Colonia residents face a geographical disadvantage in procuring nutritious food. In Hidalgo County, which contains nearly 1000 colonias, a survey indicated that the median distance to a grocery store is 8.7 miles, according to tmc.edu. Although most families in these regions have access to a car or another vehicle, there are particularly impoverished areas where about 15 percent of residents do not. Because there is little to no public transportation in the colonias, this restricts accessibility to supermarket inventory, according to data.ers.usda.gov.
Instead of purchasing food from a grocery store, some residents seek nutrition from places such as dollar stores, flea markets, and gas stations. These options can be more abundant and convenient for busy individuals, but their products often lack vital nutrients to support the health of consumers. In fact, 21 percent of all food service sites in Hidalgo County sell exclusively fast food, according to data.ers.usda.gov. Additional barriers to healthy food consumption include an inability or lack of time to prepare or cook meals.
The food insecurity that the majority of colonia residents face has widespread impacts on their health and can have cascading effects on their social, economic, and community interactions. Inadequate diet can lead to obesity, from which 53.8 percent of people in the Texas-Mexico border regions suffer, according to nih.gov. Poor nutrition also increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer, as well as augmenting medical expenses, according to cdc.gov.
The ramifications of food insecurity are particularly pronounced for children, who can suffer developmental complications and increased risk of disease. South Texas is one of the only places in the United States (US) where children have shorter projected lifespans than their parents, according to riograndeguardian.com.
For the past two summers, students from Sacred Heart Greenwich have traveled to Colonia Muñiz along the Texas-Mexico border. In addition to learning from lawyers and government officers about the technical process of immigration, the Sacred Heart girls built personal relationships with local residents by helping to manage a summer camp at the ARISE Adelante community organization. Senior Emma Marvin was one of seven students on the trip last summer. She reflected on her time with the children of Colonia Muñiz and expressed the need for adequate nutrition.
“The children were just filled with complete love, kindness, and joy, making it so easy to love and bond with them,” Emma said. “The food insecurity they may face is extremely difficult to hear about because when we went, you would have never guessed they had to experience such a detrimental hardship because they never complained. […] It is also so hard to accept because the children were beyond smart, respectful, and intelligent. I know that hunger can cause issues in development, so if a lack of nutrition may be the reason some of these kids may fall behind in the future, […] it’s extremely disappointing that we may let something like this continue without taking action.”
While 40 percent of colonia residents are enrolled in public assistance programs such as food stamps, some individuals are afraid of government aid due to the uncertain legal landscape for immigrants. Studies suggest an association between food insecurity and fear of immigration enforcement, according to tmc.edu.
Nutrition education can help improve the health of colonia residents, particularly for those individuals who can access food stamps. The ability to read and understand food labels would help consumers take a “quality over quantity” approach to food shopping; instead of caffeinated or sugary energy drinks, consumers can choose high-nutrient foods, according to riograndeguardian.com. In light of her experience with the community of Colonia Muñiz, Emma spoke about the importance of proper access to healthy food.
“I believe it is beyond important for the residents of the colonias to have access to healthy and nutritious food,” Emma said. “Many of their living and working conditions are already extremely difficult to succeed in, putting them at a disadvantage. Access to healthy food should be a universal human right, especially in children’s lives, as their bodies are still growing and developing. […] The people and children that I met living in the colonias were beyond hardworking and compassionate, and despite all that they have been through, none of them ever complained about their living situation. Healthy food should not be something they need to be worrying about, but instead should be something they are confident they have access to.”
Featured Image by Avery Kim ’24
