Food, Transportation Lead Health Concerns in Austin
Access to healthy foods such as these at the Austin Farmers' Market was a main concern among Austin residents, according to feedback the county recently collected. Photo by Counse, flickr.com/cbroders.The Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department went before the county commissioners today to discuss public feedback regarding community health.
The findings show a wide disparity in the socioeconomic status of county residents and highlight the needs of a growing Hispanic population.
“There were two focus areas they indicated: One was access to healthy foods, and two was transportation,” said Shannon Jones, deputy director of Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services. “In other words, being able to get access to health care facilities and health care locations as well as healthy foods.”
Jones says collecting public feedback is one of the initial steps in improving overall health in Austin. He says his department will spend the next six months working with different players in the health care community to figure out how best to address the public’s concerns.
