Food Deserts in America




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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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