The Food Desert: at Atlas Market with Nichole

"Eating healthy has to be a daily habit; like brushing your teeth."

The Food Desert: Atlas Market

Location
Atlas Market, 2645 W. Davison Detroit, MI 48238

[Streetview]

Prices
Apples: $1.69/pound | Bananas: $.39/pound | Oranges: $1.99/pound


Community Profile for Zip Code 48238

Population	Educational Attainment for persons older than 25-years: Percent High School Graduate or Higher	Median Household Income	Unemployment Rate for persons age 16-years and older.	Percentage of Population Below Poverty Level
31,743	75.7% [19 percent lower than national rate of 93.0%]	$29,264 [45 percent lower than national Median Household Income of $52,762]	16.0% [66 percent higher than the national rate of 9.6%]	39.4% [163 percent higher than the national rate of 15.0%]

Source: American Fact Finder courtesy of the U.S. Census Bureau: http://1.usa.gov/1aPDUbF

Interview: Nichole

Excerpts
[0:43]
What does healthy food mean to you?
Fruits, vegetables, dairy, protein, grains...

It sounds like you've heard of the Food Pyramid
[Laughs] I deal with it all the time. I deal with children; I have [a child of my own]. I have to go by a nutritional listing for the kids so I can make sure they stay healthy, and not always candy, candy, candy and fast food.

[1:17]

So, You take an active role in educating your children about healthy food?

Everyday

[1:28]
People make the argument that people don't know what healthy food is, that's why its the first question I start with. 
I won't say they don't know what healthy food is, they just may not know that it has to be a routine, just like brushing your teeth everyday.

[0:31]
If it hard for you to find healthy food in the city of Detroit?
You can just go to your simple grocery store and get something healthy for the day. Everyday


The Complete Interview


[To see this interview through  WDIV's lens, and to watch me make Nichole's portrait, click here]


Noah's Thoughts

Nichole not only understands the relationship between health and diet, she actively makes an effort to ensure her children do too. She is the exact kind of person I want to give voice to through The Food Desert project.

The more we tell the story of people like Nichole, the more we empowered people to make decisions that improve their health and the health of their children. 

You may notice a camera in the background of Nichole's portrait. Detroit's NBC affiliate WDIV followed me during the first leg of the Food Desert project. To view the Food Desert segment, click here.

Nichole's son.

[View more of the Food Desert series]

 

- Noah -

Noah Stephens  founded The People of Detroit Photodocumentary in April 2010 as a counterpoint to media fixated on despair and disrepair in the storied birthplace of American auto manufacturing. Since, TPOD has received national and international attention. Portraits from the project have appeared in Bloomberg BusinessWeek and other national publications.