“Grocery Incubators More than 20 million people live in food deserts, areas where at least a third of the population lives more than one mile from the nearest grocery store (10 miles in rural areas). Without a supermarket in the vicinity, food desert residents must get their meals from whatever options are around—often fast-food joints and corner stores. Burger Kings and bodegas aren’t exactly hitting the highlights of the food pyramid.
When asked about the hunger problems in America one would imagine a homeless person asking and begging for food in the streets. However, what we fail to understand is that hunger is closer to us than what we think. A fellow co-worker or perhaps even the next door neighbor may
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
Many of the people living in food deserts are people with low income. These low-income families often turn to the junk food provided at the convenience stores and fast food restaurants because it is all they can afford. Socio-economic status is a defining characteristic of food deserts. Food deserts are
There is currently a food desert issue in the downtown area of Greeley, Colorado. Greeley is home to 96,539 people. A staggering 21% percent of the residents live in poverty ranking it the highest in the state. The issue in Greeley is not only the amount of people that live in poverty, but those who live in a not so desirable area. Greeley is divided into three sections. On the east side is where most of the poverty is found. The middle section of the city is average or middle class and the west side of town is the high class area where the wealthiest residents live. The issue at hand is the east side of Greeley. The most recent shut down of the only grocery store on that side has left the residents in that area struggling to find adequate groceries to fill their refrigerators and cupboards. Their only way to provide for their families is the local convenience stores. There is a convenience store on just about every corner however, there are multiple problems with having the convenience. One issue is that the prices at a convenience store are substantially higher than that of a regular grocery store. Symptoms include, lack of proper amenities on the east side of town including a grocery store. Transportation to and from the closest grocery store is limited and most people have to walk to the bus stop. The other symptoms include residents with children that can only get a hot meal at school. Most are on free or reduced lunches so the parents at least know
All food should be available to all people. The concept of this is dwelled on in the article, “Food justice and Food retail in Los Angeles” by Mark Valliantos. Throughout the article, Valliantos maintains the notion that healthy food should be within everyone’s reach, yet inner cities are still suffering from shortages of fresh produce. To see this issue in action, Valliantos documented this reoccurring phenomenon in Los Angeles. The author gives a description of two areas within the city of Los Angeles, and how they are economically divided based on the amount of healthy produce one has at its disposal. He makes note of programs that already exist to help low income families receive healthy foods that they could not afford. He also
(Love & Das, 2016, para. 7). However, Love and Das (2016) expound on the inefficiency of this solution by stating that it “does not bridge the gaps to healthy food” because of their inability to invest in the community and understand their needs (para 12). Using vivid language throughout the article, the authors make their point emotionally impactful by emphasizing that big-chain grocery stores “lur[ed…] to the hood” leave when they no longer profit from maintaining a store in these neighborhoods (Love & Das, 2016, para. 9). Rightfully criticizing the existing solution, the authors expose the superficiality and inefficient manner of only bringing in more stores into neighborhoods. Moreover, by criticizing the superficiality of the existing solution, the authors suggest that eliminating food deserts involves a more personal investment into the betterment of the community. Overall, Love and Das permit the readers to gain an emotional insight on the impact food deserts have on low-income populations and understand the limiting nutrition conditions by appealing to
Imagine a college student’s dinner. Is it a marbled, medium rare prime rib steak? How about an enormous ruby red lobster or even caviar, whatever that is? Unless you envisioned Tiffany Trump at a dinner party, the odds are pretty good that the luxurious surf and turf you might have
Food Deserts Issues of hunger and malnutrition are commonly associated with developing nations and are often overlooked in wealthy countries. However, there is growing areas forming across the United States called food deserts. Food deserts are a big recognized problem in our country. Food deserts are a problem today that we need to address.we need to find a resolution for this issue. America has more fast food stores on every corner then they have food markets. this must be fixed. america needs to recognize this issue and fix it for the good of its people. What happens when it is hard or a inconvenient for you to get to a grocery store to buy fresh fruit and vegetables? What if there 's a fast food restaurant by your house that you can go to instead? chances are you might be living in a food desert.
Is Syracuse's “food desert” still a problem? Well, not so much. With a brand new supermarket people can say the city of syracuse is no longer a food desert. But this is just a start, a strong step in the right direction. Sarah Moses explains “The grocery store at 611 South Ave. will be located in an area that community leaders have called a "food desert" because of a lack of affordable grocery stores within easy walking distance for the area's many low-income residents, many of whom do not own cars.” This can force people to buy food at corner stores with high prices and no healthy options. The researchers were trying to find if ethnicity and race are active factors in how people buy food. They believed that ethnicity does have a significant role in how food is purchased. Different ethnic groups will buy different foods at different stores in different places based on their culture.
Food desert defines a specific urban area, which lacks affordable food or fresh selection of food such as fruits, vegetables, and meats. Research proves that a food desert does not only occur in poor communities around the world as assumed but can also be found in upscale communities as well.
Poverty is an issue that can be discussed at great lengths, but the real challenge is finding effective ways to reduce or eradicate poverty. It is important to spend quality time developing approaches to the issue of poverty and how to alleviate it. Individuals living in poverty lead a life of limited opportunities and one of these limited opportunities is access to good quality healthy food. The American Nutrition Association considers this lack of access as a Food Desert defined as, “parts of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthful whole foods, usually found in impoverished areas” ("USDA Defines Food Deserts | American Nutrition Association," n.d.). One way in which American’s can work towards a future with less poverty and eventually one with little to no poverty would be to eliminate the existence of Food Deserts.
Food desert are urban, suburb, and rural boroughs without ready access to fresh healthy and economical food. The communities that are considered food deserts, has no grocery stores or supermarkets within a walking distance from their household. The families that live in those areas do not have access to transportation; therefore, they consume food that is accessible, which is usually processed. Most stores that people, living in a food desert, go to is convenience stores, which are usually near their households, and are accessible to some healthy foods. Another, place where many people receive their food from is fast food, and the food from those places is greasy and fattening. The lack of access to healthy food could lead to a lot of disasters,
Considering most families live in a low-income and poverty condition the transportation aspects are super challenging and difficult when grocery shopping, especially traveling 10 miles or more without a vehicle. Due to these conditions members from a food desert primarily focuses on what is available, affordable, and convenient to them. Two major issues are convenient stores, and fast food restaurants. Convenient stores contain horrible food selections, such pop, candy, chips, sweets, and much more. McDonalds, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, are also some examples of horrible selections. These resources have zero nutrients for the human body they are extremely hazardous and dangerous. For instance, they contain pounds of sugar, high in sault, deep-fried and overall it is processed food.
A food desert is an area, typically of low income and minority residents, that lacks access to nutritious and affordable food. Food deserts are places where there are not enough supermarkets, thus the population is deprived of whole foods such as fruits and vegetables. On the contrary, an area with many grocery stores and an abundant supply of affordable and healthful food, is known as a food oasis. In 2010 the United States Department of Agriculture reported that roughly 18 million Americans live in food deserts. These food deserts are defined by residents living more than one mile away from a grocery store in urban or suburban areas, and more than 10 miles away in rural areas (Lee, 2017). The food desert areas put those families and and individuals who are already at a disadvantage, and puts them in a position of greater disadvantages. Food deserts are a social problem for they have detrimental effects on society, and exacerbates the instability and inequality within a community.