Food Desert Research Paper

Healthy eating is vital to eliminating sickness and diseases in one’s life. Many people suffer from diabetes, obesity, heart conditions, and high blood pressure because of improper eating habits. To a degree, most of these eating habits are related to limited access to produce healthy foods. The increasing amount of food deserts and lack of family income contributes to African-American obesity rates, and lack of healthy choices. Ironically, these food desserts reside in communities plagued by poverty. These income restrictions also add to the problems that are part of being in a food desert.

In Eric Holt-Gimenez’s article, “The Fight over Food Deserts: Corporate America Smacks Its Way Down”, the author provides answers the food desert epidemic facing the United States today. A food desert is an area in which fresh and nutritious food is not readily available to the masses. Whether it be because of economic or geographic reasons, the fresh ingredients are often scarce and expensive. Gimenez first addresses the corporate aspect of food desert problem and how the big box companies are looking to take advantage of impoverished neighborhoods (Holt-Gimenez 525). Next, Gimenez states a solution to the problem; improving wages for the working class, not providing big business with more money to move into local areas(Holt-Gimenez 526-527). While I agree with Gimenez that having the government fund the big chain stores is not the solution; I do not think that raising the minimum wage is the answer. To solve the food desert problem, the farmers and local grocers need to be funded by the government.

This very detailed five year plan which ended in 2015, was aimed at dealing with the problem of excess weight and obesity, a problem attributed to lack of physical activity and unhealthy eating. The plan was also aimed at raising awareness about the “tremendous consequences on Tennessee’s health and economy,” as well as prioritizing policies that are concentrated on dealing with the causes of these problems. In tackling the issue of obesity and other economically draining health problems, the TSNPA acknowledged that socioeconomic as well as race/ethnicity disparities must be taken into account (Tennessee Obesity Taskforce). In the case of Edgehill, these two categorizations make the group suffering from the food desert situation most apparent. The African-American population, which makes up a little more than 70 percent of the Edgehill population, suffer the most from the consequences of food desert, one of which is high rates of obesity and other chronic

One huge problem that the United States faces today are the large numbers of food deserts. A food desert, according to the United States department of Agriculture, is a neighborhood that has a difficult time getting quality and affordable food to their home. This means that people are not properly being fed and getting the nutrition needed for a healthy diet. The good quality food that is needed to maintain this balance is not near or affordable for the people living in these areas. Food deserts affect many people across the United States, especially those that are on the lower end of the social economic spectrum and live in rural areas. Many of these low-income families do not have the means to get to the supermarket and get the right products they need so they settle for lower quality but more cost efficient foods. A great example for a food desert would be the great city of Chicago who is ranked in the top two worst food deserts in the United State according to newsone.com.

Food deserts are one of the biggest problems in society, as the authors of Food Justice bring up (Gottlieb & Joshi, 2010). In fact, Indianapolis is ranked worst in the nation for food deserts. So what is a food desert? A food desert is when places are left with the lack of availability of nutritious foods and high rates of poverty. Often times, these are known as grocery gaps because grocery stores move out of the area, normally located in low-income communities. It makes sense that they would move to make more profit, but it leaves those in the community left with essentially nothing. Also, most people living in a low-income community do not have access to transportation, so they cannot get to grocery stores that are outside of walking distance. This is why Gleaners, a local food justice organization, steps in and fills in places where grocery stores have left. The program that works to fix this is Mobile Pantries. As I will explore later, Mobile Pantries allows people who cannot reach grocery stores the ability to get nutritious foods they need. Mobile Pantries give people a sense of going to the grocery store and picking out healthy foods. While consumer choice is limited, as Patel mentions, Mobile Pantries still gives people healthy options (Patel, 2014). Gleaners is a part of the Food Justice Movement because while they are not changing consumer choice, they are providing individuals with the option of healthy foods and working to end hunger and obesity

Those residing in food desert communities are left with a small hand full of options when they do not have a car of their own. They have no choice but to use private cars, such as taxis, or to travel several miles on foot, or use public transit to get to healthful food stores. People without cars become dependent on food sources in their nearest proximity. In rural urban food desert areas, the distance to healthful, nutritious food access is near impossible on foot. According to a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, approximately 2.4 million families in the United States are more than a mile from a grocery store and do not have access to a vehicle. The physical distance from full service grocery stores leaves people in these food deserts to be more likely to purchase food

Hundreds of thousands of Chicagoans live in what’s known as a food desert. A food desert is in an area of focus that is short on access to fresh meat and produce. These areas are usually over populated with packaged and processed foods, which are not always healthy. They also have a significant amount junk that you can easily find in convenience stores and fast food restaurants.

The concept of a Food Desert is not new, “British politicians introduced the idea of food deserts in the mid-1990s… suggested a link might exist between distance to a grocery store and the diets of poor people” (Gilligan, 2014). It took many years before the idea of a Food Desert was recognized in the United States of America but it is now estimated that, “About 23.5 million people live in food deserts” ("11 Facts About Food Deserts | DoSomething.org | Volunteer for Social Change," n.d.). The inability to obtain healthy food choices leads to, “people in low-income communities [suffering] more from diet-related diseases like obesity and diabetes” (Truehaft & Karpyn, 5, n.d.). The existence of these Food Deserts is a factor that works to keep those in poverty down and makes progress even harder for them to

This includes the distribution of health care services and resources, transportation, as well as income within the same city. Geography is also directly related to the social determinants of health since these are the circumstances in which people are born, live, and work (Jonas & Kovner 376). In urban areas, not having access to close and affordable quality fresh food, also known as food deserts, are linked to other health disparities and diet-related health problems. Just as with the previous example about Hispanic and Asian Americans, people living in food deserts might be able to have access to health care services, but do not have access to other elements related to their health such as healthy foods. It is also common that if people do not have access to healthy foods do not have access either to affordable quality health care services such as preventive

Some students believed that College Park is not a food desert or should not be considered a food desert because there is access to healthy food in the area and making good dietary choices should not be a problem for students. These students contradict the social norm of college students eating out and having an unhealthy diet. There is a general belief that college students do not have financial stability, eat ramen noodles and other quick, microwavable food items, and go to fast food restaurants regularly. Academics are the main priority for college students, so some students do not have a job and primarily focus on their education. These students may receive money from elsewhere, such as family members or a financial aid refund. Students

In the United States, millions of Americans are left hungry due to limited access to nutritional food on a regular basis. There is a vast disparity in those with access to food based on a number of factors, such as race, access to private transportation, and income. These factors all stem from one overarching idea, geography. Those without access to nutritional food originate from low-income areas that are miles away from a supermarket and they must depend on local convenience stores. The issue of food deserts therefore arise as particular areas in the US grow hungrier due to an inability to attain the high-quality food that many Americans are accustomed to.

This causes people not have healthy diets and can get food related diseases. There is this connection between social justice movements and food activism, where food is a necessity and is a human right. There are various issue that should be addressed and should be advocated as multiple human right activist did.

Americans have the worst diet in the world and other countries know this fact. The American diet is responsible for skyrocketing obesity rates and contributing to the development of diseases. Our food pyramid just changed its look, we now use a round plate, this is called choose my plate. The new looks has helped Americans understand how much to eat food group needs to be on the plate. Half of the plate is for fruits and vegetables, 1/4 contains grains and other 1/4 is for proteins. Outside the plate, there is a place for dairy products. As Americans, we have different ethnic foods to choose from daily. Choosing what to eat has become a more complex with so many options. There are different benefits as long as Americans follow the food pyramid.

The anomaly behind the findings in the food desert research throughout the United States could

In the Logan Square neighborhood, there is a lack of viable grocery store options. Nonetheless, throughout the City of Chicago there is an abundant amount of restaurants and food options; however, many of these food options are not the healthiest. As stated by the Food Empowerment Project, a food desert is typically “Described as geographic areas where residents’ access to affordable, healthy food options [...] is restricted or nonexistent due to the absence of grocery stores within convenient travelling distance.” Moreover, the people who live in these food deserts are low income families and minorities. These food deserts are the leading cause of food insecurity. Food insecurity is defined as limited or uncertain availability of nutritious food options.