“More than 70,000 East Baton Rouge Parish residents live in food deserts, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture website.”[1] A food desert is any area with at least 20% of its residents making a relatively low average income (below 80% of the area median income) and at least 33% of its residents residing one mile or more from a store that sells fresh fruit and vegetables.[2] Mid City houses at least two of these areas according to a study done by the LSU Ag Center last year. In addition, Mid City is home to a high concentration of the homeless as well as homeless services such as shelters, cafeterias and counseling. St. Vincent de Paul is at the center of much of the city’s efforts to work with homelessness. How might architecture help to bring these two issues together? The program for this project was developed through research in three specific areas: food systems, homelessness and housing. Student teams were tasked with assessing community needs, studying precedents and developing a viable program for each of these key components to the project. [ Precedent Studies and Graphic Standards ][1] Roberts III, Faimon A. “EBR Officials Tackle ‘Food Desert’ Problem.” The Advocate [Baton Rouge] 15 February 2013. Theadvocate.com. Web. 09 September 2013.
[2] Ibid.