Food Deserts in America
23.5 million people are affected by food deserts, with
about half of them being a low-income household. Food deserts are geographic
areas where access to food that is healthy and affordable is either very
limited or nonexistent. Grocery stores will be miles away which makes it hard
on people to get the food that they need without breaking the bank. Often food
desserts are under-reported because corner stores are classified in the same
area as grocery stores but often do not offer healthy or affordable items that
could feed multiple people.
Food deserts do not only affect people in urban areas,
but rural communities are also affected as well. Economic forces have driven a
lot of grocery stores to close which limits access to them in the first place. In
addition, transportation may become difficult or even non-existent. If you live
in a rural community public transportation is not a thing, so if you do not have
a car and the closest grocery store is over ten miles away, getting access to food
may be difficult. People living in urban communities may have to take multiple forms
of public transit to get to a grocery store which makes it difficult to then transport
groceries when you must go from one bus to another hauling all your stuff with
you.
Peoples choices on what they eat are highly influenced
by what is available to them. Therefore, if they do not have access to healthy
options the likelihood of them making a healthy eating choice is slim. Minorities
and low-income individuals are more than half of the people who live in these
food deserts. That puts them at increased risk for preventable diseases like
diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. With minority communities, you
may have people with diverse diets than what the average American may eat.
Therefore, people who live in these communities may have certain dietary restrictions
with no grocery stores nearby it can be hard to find things that are culturally
appropriate.
Creating awareness about Food Deserts is the first
step in helping combat this issue. As activist and community members spread
awareness and knowledge, we can start working toward finding viable solutions
to help to decrease the inaccessibility to healthy eating options.
To find more information about Food Deserts or if you
would like to help shine a light on this problem click the links below.
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