TESTIMONY
Testimony: Christopher Leon Johnson on Food Deserts and Health Disparities
1:20:52
·
4 min
Christopher Leon Johnson highlights the issue of food deserts and their impact on health disparities in impoverished districts, emphasizing the need for healthier food options. He criticizes the allocation of funding and calls for the redirection of resources to maternal health and cardiovascular initiatives, alongside suggesting a New York City waiver for distributing sugary soda under nutrition programs. His testimony includes critiques of nonprofit corruption and ineffective violence organizations.
Speaker 12
1:20:52
My name is Christopher Leon Johnson.
1:20:55
This is my person at a women's committee.
1:20:57
It's rare for me.
1:20:58
But when I saw that postcard over there to your right or your left on the screen, I was so disgusted of what I saw.
1:21:07
We see over here that majority of the disparities happens more in the impoverished district.
1:21:12
And the highlighted area shows, I believe that's my district.
1:21:16
That's my council district.
1:21:17
A little part of my council district and a little part of Hudson's district.
1:21:21
Now, The real reason this is happening is because they are allowing bad foods in these districts, in those impoverished districts.
1:21:31
All the impoverished districts have all the bad foods.
1:21:33
When you eat the bad foods, you have high chance of having these diseases like diabetes and premature death and all the other disease to happen to your your body system is way high will be way higher than all the other non areas that are shaded a little lighter.
1:21:48
And we all know why is that because they have better food, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Reserties, while all the impoverished areas have NSA and associated in Sea Town and shop and stop and Target, which is like and when we go to Target, it's like gas food, and Walmart, which is like Gassel too.
1:22:08
So that's the reason it's happening because the foods are horrible.
1:22:12
You have in these districts, in these impoverished districts, you have to push for more healthier foods and more execution of the funds that the government like, the city council and the state assembly, state senate, and the federal government give to these areas to implement the services to make sure this doesn't happen.
1:22:29
We don't know what's going on with that.
1:22:31
Is that majority of this money is going to these executive directors' pockets, basically, in those impoverished districts, and all they and all these and I'm not saying all you guys here, but none of these couch members and none of these elected officials already came by us being reelected.
1:22:43
So it allowed us to happen with these nonprofit that so called face fighting for the people equity of health and in public districts, all they came out as line their pockets.
1:22:54
And one more thing is we need to we need to stop funding these corrupt violence organizations because the reason I'm saying is because none of these hospitals like Jacoby and Lincoln Hospital and King County at downstate.
1:23:07
They're getting a lot of money from the government for these carebodies for these carebodies initiatives we have to defund that and drive more into pregnancy promoting pregnancies.
Speaker 1
1:23:20
Thank you.
Speaker 12
1:23:20
And and maternity, maternal health, and cardiovascular health in these communities.
1:23:26
So that's all I gotta say.
Speaker 1
1:23:27
Thank you.
1:23:27
Thank you for your testimony, Becky.
Speaker 11
1:23:35
He is going to the heart of the matter and something the city council and health department can do together.
1:23:41
Is have New York have a waiver that really counts for health.
1:23:46
And that is a waiver from having to distribute sugary soda under the so called supplemental nutrition program.
1:23:54
10% of that money goes to sugary soda.
1:23:58
And you can ask the federal government for a waiver.
1:24:01
For New York City, you could ask New York State to join in that.
Speaker 1
1:24:05
If you could join us in that effort, we'll appreciate it.
1:24:08
I wanna thank this fan of coming today and testifying.
1:24:11
Thank you for your time.
Speaker 2
1:24:12
Thank you.
1:24:13
Before you before you before you go on, I wanna you, Mister Johnson, for testifying.
1:24:19
I wanna say a couple of things.
1:24:21
One is that That's why we have GONYC in a lot of places Mhmm.
1:24:25
And health bucks.
1:24:26
And I promote that, and that should be promoted in a lot of different areas.
1:24:30
And so we're trying to grow that as well.
1:24:32
Yeah.
Speaker 12
1:24:32
I'll I'm gonna say I know I know I know I know you're
Speaker 2
1:24:35
But I appreciate what you said.
Speaker 12
1:24:36
I know you're I know
Speaker 2
1:24:36
you're grown it better.
Speaker 12
1:24:37
Yeah.
1:24:38
I appreciate it.
1:24:38
I know you've grown it, but need put me the Deepon East Turbines Organization has dropped it at.
1:24:42
That's what I
Speaker 2
1:24:42
gotta say.
1:24:43
Understood.
Speaker 12
1:24:43
Thank you.
Speaker 2
1:24:43
Understood.
1:24:44
Thank you.
Speaker 12
1:24:44
Great.
Speaker 2
1:24:45
And to miss Norwood, we're The the like I said, the city council, we're trying to move in a lot of different directions.
1:24:54
We passed the first comprehensive diabetes bill last year, the Department of Health has a year.
1:25:03
That's why I brought it up today, has a year to put together the plan and all the different elements that go with that, and that's not due until April.
1:25:10
So and we're working closely with them.
1:25:13
And once that's out.
1:25:14
We're gonna make sure that to include you as part of that as well.
1:25:17
So thank you very much.
Speaker 11
1:25:19
You're welcome.
1:25:20
I don't know if the actual working report has been distributed TO THE COUNCIL HAS IT?
Speaker 2
1:25:25
IT'S DO IN APRIL.
Speaker 11
1:25:26
Andrew: No, THE WORKING REPORT HAS ALREADY BEEN RELEASED that's the working report, which is the basis for.
1:25:34
So I don't think that has been
Speaker 2
1:25:36
We'll follow-up, but it's gonna be it's supposed to be a fish out, and I've been working with them with the Department of Health on looking at various aspects of it.
1:25:44
So thank you.
Speaker 11
1:25:45
Alright.
1:25:45
Thank you.
Speaker 1
1:25:47
Thank you.
1:25:47
I'm going to hand it over to the committee council.
