Nearly every day, Ernie Gutierrez’s commute and errands take him right through the center of Compton, California, a working-class community just south of downtown Los Angeles.

Gutierrez immigrated to southern California from Nicaragua as a ten-year-old boy and has lived in Compton most of his adult life. Over the years, his daily trips through the city center have left him all too familiar with the types of restaurants and food stores that typically open there: shops that, he says, tend to focus more on fast food and packaged goods than on good health.

He sees few options for wholesome groceries.

“There are some places where there are not enough stores or anything. And in some areas, there are stores, but the food that they provide – it’s just a lot of processed food,” says Gutierrez. “And all the fast food that you can think of! That’s what’s around here.”

Indeed, large pockets of Compton sit in so-called “food deserts.”[i] That means residents of the city – where more than one in five live below the poverty line[ii] – have limited access to affordable, good-quality fresh food. That void has a deep ripple effect of negative consequences on community health.

So, it is no surprise that Gutierrez took note when a restaurant opened with a radically different menu and approach. The new restaurant was called Everytable.

Gutierrez says he was immediately taken by Everytable’s offering of healthy food options sold at a price that is affordable for the surrounding community.

Over time, he has become one of the Compton store’s most loyal customers. He visits at least once a week and often picks up four or five meals per visit – effectively using Everytable as the healthy grocery store his neighborhood does not have.

He says the impacts on his health have been noticeable.

Read the full article about impact investing for food access at Global Impact Investing Network.