Communities Fight Transit Cuts to Keep Food Access Alive

When Zen'Yari Winters lost her neighborhood grocery store in Memphis, her food shopping options shrank to a painful choice: take two buses 13 miles to Walmart and risk hours waiting with melting ice cream, or pay delivery fees that eat into her tight budget.

Winters is one of 25 million Americans living in what researchers call a "transit desert," where public transportation can't meet demand. For the 16 million Americans without cars, getting to a grocery store isn't just inconvenient. It's expensive, time-consuming, and sometimes impossible.

The problem is getting worse. Cities like Memphis, Providence, and Duluth recently cut bus service as pandemic-era funding runs out, creating what transit advocates call a "fiscal cliff." Memphis reduced service on many routes. Rhode Island slashed 45 of its 63 bus lines in September 2025.

The cuts are hitting at the worst time. Food insecurity is rising across America amid job losses and potential cuts to food assistance programs. Some people now pay neighbors $60 just for a ride to the supermarket, according to Urban Institute research.

But scientists are proving that better transit means better nutrition. A University of New Hampshire study found that adding just one bus per 10,000 city residents could reduce household food insecurity. Microeconomist Sierra Arnold discovered that when bus stops disappear from neighborhoods, people buy less healthy food because they're forced to shop at pricier corner stores instead of full-service grocers.

The Ripple Effect

These findings are sparking real action. Researchers like epidemiologist Ric Bayly are documenting how transit access connects directly to public health, giving advocates hard data to fight service cuts. His 2025 Tufts University study showed that even with double the travel time, less than half of Rhode Island residents could reach healthy food by bus compared to car.

Local activists like Kelsey Huse in Memphis are amplifying stories of people like Winters, refusing to let transit-dependent residents be forgotten in budget debates. Their work is changing the conversation from "buses don't make money" to "buses determine who eats well."

Communities are also testing creative solutions. Some cities are exploring taxi vouchers for grocery trips, while others are adding electric scooters and redesigning routes to better connect food deserts with supermarkets.

The fight for better transit is really a fight for dignity, health, and equal access to something as basic as fresh vegetables. And in cities across America, that fight is gaining momentum.