LOS ANGELES — A food desert is an area where residents have limited access to healthy food choices, and experts say they pose a significant risk to the health and well-being of South Los Angeles residents living there.

Elle Perrault, block leader of the Vermont Knolls Residence Association, said she is passionate about creating an atmosphere of wellness in her community, which is why she and other neighbors fight so hard for healthy food options.

“In a high-end neighborhood, you have Trader Joe’s, Costco, Home Depot – all the things you want at home, and you have that quality,” Perrault explained. “It’s a high-end city.”

It’s an issue that Marqueece Harris-Dawson, councilman for the 8th District, which includes South LA, has been fighting against since before he took office. This isn’t just a food desert, he said, it’s food apartheid.

“Apartheid is something that people do. And we feel like the food corporations have decided to abandon certain neighborhoods, and ours is one of them. You know, over half a dozen stores have been closed while I was working on it. And all of this is by huge corporations whose CEOs make tens of millions of dollars a year,” he explained.

In a statement, a Trader Joe’s spokesperson said, “We are currently evaluating hundreds of neighborhoods across the country, including in the 8th Ward. We are growing and opening more new neighborhood stores every year. If customers can recommend specific stores in their neighborhood, we have a form on our website… While there are no guarantees, it is important to us that we are welcoming.”

Click here to access this form.