Jewish groups work to fight 'food deserts'

Why is this day unlike any other day?

As Jews worldwide prepare to celebrate next week their liberation from slavery, a group of Los Angeles Jews went to Boyle Heights on Sunday to ask that variation of their traditional Passover Seder question.

The answer, however, did not recount Jewish oppression in Egypt as is customary. Activists from major Jewish organizations instead focused on what they see as a modern injustice afflicting their fellow Angelenos, marking the day with a new push to bring quality grocery markets and healthful food to underserved neighborhoods such as East Los Angeles. Read more here:

Photo: Kinneret Klein, 7, eats an apple at a meeting of Jewish community groups at Breed Street Shul in Boyle Heights. They want to boost access to healthful food. Credit: Ringo H.W. Chiu / For The Times

Comments

[Belinda Gomez]

Where exactly on the Eastside are these food deserts? True, there's no Trader Joes or Whole Foods, but every corner has a bakery, a carceneria, or a small store. There's also Super-A, Smart and Final, and a bunch of food trucks, handcarts and other vendors. Beverly Hills is more of a "food desert" than Boyle Heights--there's only Whole Foods and fancy yogurt shops there.