Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Food deserts were a problem in Louisiana before COVID. Now it's even worse

A Piggly Wiggly supermarket that recently closed down in York, Alabama.
Stephan Bisaha
A Piggly Wiggly supermarket that recently closed down in York, Alabama.

Access to nutritional, affordable food was a challenge for many before the pandemic, but the Farmlink Project is aiming to redistribute healthy food to communities that need it most.

Farmlink’s Aidan Reilly tells us more about connecting the broken pipelines in the food and agriculture industries.

Despite efforts to strengthen these supply chains, many Louisiana residents continue to face obstacles in attaining dry goods and fresh food. The Gulf States Newsroom’s Stephan Bisaha tells us more about the recent closures of multiple grocery stores across the South.

While Louisiana released a new medical marijuana program in January, delays in pharmacy stocking and long wait lines have made the rollout anything but seamless. The Advocate’s Sam Karlin joins us today for an update on the program, specifically how investors and suppliers are being impacted.

Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Karl Lengel. Our producer is Alana Schreiber and our digital editor is Katelyn Umholtz. Our engineers are Garrett Pittman, Aubrey Procell, and Thomas Walsh. 

You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at 12:00 and 7:30 pm. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play, and wherever you get your podcasts. 

Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

Karl Lengel has worked in the lively arts as an actor, announcer, manager, director, administrator and teacher. In broadcast, he has accumulated over two decades of on-air experience and is currently WWNO’s anchor for NPR’s “All Things Considered” and a host for “Louisiana Considered”. He holds a BS in Professional Management from Nova Southeastern University and an MFA in Film and Theatre from the University of New Orleans.
Alana Schreiber is the managing producer for the live daily news program, Louisiana Considered. She comes to WWNO from KUNC in Northern Colorado, where she worked as a radio producer for the daily news magazine, Colorado Edition. She has previously interned for Minnesota Public Radio in St. Paul and The Documentary Group in New York City.