I Am Very Happy At The Nice Town Of Pleasanton

If there are any grocery stores are available in lower income areas, most of the people can’t afford the healthier, more expensive foods in the grocery store. They settle for cheaper, but filling, foods. Food deserts are also known for having more fast food restaurants available for the community. Fast food restaurants are built in bulk in lower income areas because more lower income families use them. “Low-income youth and adults are exposed to disproportionately more marketing and advertising for obesity-promoting products” (Food Research and Action Center). Since the fast food restaurant is quicker and easier to get to, and cheaper, it seems to be the better for many families.

Throughout Freedman’s article he mentions the “food deserts” that exist throughout America. According to Freedman these are areas, “where produce tends to be hard to find, of poor quality, or expensive.” After all, according to Consumer Reports in 2015, “ on average, organic foods were 47% more expensive,” than conventional foods. This means that a major portion of the general public cannot buy organic food because of its price tag. Pollan concurs in Food Rules: An Eater’s Manuel that, “not everyone in America can eat well, which is a literal shame,” however he counters that, “most of us can: Americans spend less then 10 percent of their income on food.” According to familiesusa.org, as of 2016 the federal government considers a state of poverty when an individual lives on $11,880 or less annually. With this $11,880 or less that impoverished individual pays for their household expenses, transportation, personal care, and medical care in edition to food. Pollan believes in cooking for yourself as way to lose weight. He brings to light his perception that, “when you go to a grocery store, you find the cheapest calories are the ones that make you the fattest.” While he acknowledges that poverty is an influential catalyst to obesity, he fails to connect that the 14.5% Americans, according to the Census Bureau, live below the poverty line and therefore these “cheap calories” may be the most viable option. Also, even if consumers were willing to buy healthier items, many may not have the time to cook a meal due to long hours at work. This is where Freedman's argument shines. He argues for a more convenient method of aiding obesity that offers access to cheaper and healthier food that can be provided

Obesity rates in the US are rising due to food insecurity. One in six people in the U.S. are food insecure, while two-thirds of adults and one-third Americans are overweight or obese.14 Studies have found that wealthy districts have three times as many supermarkets compared to the poor.15 Kevin Conocannon of the USDA noted in an interview that people in poorer areas sometimes have narrower variety of food options.16 SNAP recipients face barriers to achieving nutritious diets due to lack of availability in their neighborhood. Healthy food often comes with higher costs, so most people with lower income result to eating foods with lower cost and higher calories. According to a 2009 report by the USDA, as many as 23.5 million Americans live more than one mile from a supermarket with limited access to a vehicle.17 Food Deserts are particularly prevalent in low-income communities.18

It has become impossible for low-income families to provide healthy meals for their families. Government, Farm policies and the food industry itself are main reasons as to why the cost of healthy foods has become harder for American families, especially low-income families, to provide the healthy foods needed to fight the obesity epidemic. With low- income families being the main focus point on the problem of

Individuals of higher income levels often have private insurance that allows them to see a physician on a regular basis. These individuals are able to prevent many diseases before they exacerbate. They often eat low fat diets or plant based diets. They are educated on their nutritional health and often make better choices when choosing the different types foods to eat. Due to their income, they can afford to eat healthy food and make healthy food choices. Even though these individuals may be predisposed to certain diseases, their diets prevent them from becoming prevalent in their lives. Due to the individual’s socioeconomic status they make enough money that they don’t stress about the necessities in life. These individuals live in areas such as Roswell, Johns Creek. Alpharetta, Buckhead, Kennesaw, and Stockbridge. Individuals of a poor economic status have limited access to healthcare. These individuals often have Medicaid, Medicare, or no health insurance at all. They often eat diets that are high in fat. Individuals of poor economic status aren’t often educated about eating healthy. They often eat unhealthy because it is too expensive to eat healthy. These individuals often receive government subsidiaries such as WIC and SNAP benefits for themselves and their children. There aren’t many healthy food stores if any at all in these neighborhoods. Stores such as Whole Foods, Sprout, and Trader Joe’s aren’t located in poverty stricken communities because the individuals can’t afford the prices. It is a disadvantage that the grocery chains in the neighborhood don’t offer the resident a healthier option. Individuals of poor economic status often fight chronic illnesses such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and often cancer. They often live sedentary lifestyles that contribute to these diseases. They eat diets that are high in red meats one that contributes to

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

The dollar menu section of this documentary focused on how processed foods and fast food are typically less expensive than healthier foods. The documentary shows one family having the dilemma at the grocery store: a family is aware that the father who has diabetes needs a healthier diet with more fresh, but they are forced to buy foods they can afford. As the film implies people with lower incomes are more likely to eat processed, cheaper, foods, leading to a higher rate of diabetes, obesity and other health problems. The federal government spends billions each year subsidizing commodity crops. Over time, prices of certain crops, like soybeans and corn, were lowered due to these subsidies causing overproduction which made them a lot cheaper than other crops. Since these crops were so cheap, meat and food producers started using them for a variety of purposes, such as, high-fructose corn syrup, animal feed and hydrogenated oils. The lowest-priced options at the grocery are processed foods made from subsidized ingredients that have refined grains with added fats and sugars. This cheap food has had the greatest impact on low-income families. Because are on a tight budget, the price difference between fresh healthy foods and food with subsidized

Obesity is a problem in different areas throughout the world; obesity is a major problem in the United States of America. The food industry in the U.S. has changed. Food is cheaper and easier to access, but food is lower in quality and is massively produced (Kenner, 2008). Food is no longer as hard to come by as it once was and is not as expensive, but healthy food is more expensive and, most of the time, requires trips to the grocery store. In American society today, American are busy and have minimal time to exercise, cooking, or even go to the grocery store. The lower socioeconomic classes are notably affected as a result of individuals and families of lower socioeconomic classes often can’t afford healthy food from local grocery stores

Many areas in the United States contain an abundance of neighborhoods that function with little to no healthy food sources nearby because of the large number of people in poverty. With the fleeing number of locally owned grocery stores and convenient fast food restaurants sprouting in urban and rural areas, residents do not have an adequate quantity of fruits and vegetables readily available. The City of Baltimore defines a food desert as “an area where the distance to a supermarket is more than one quarter of a mile; the median household income is at or below 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level; over 30 percent of households have no vehicle available; and the average Healthy Food Availability Index score [convenience stores, corner stores, and supermarkets] is low” (Food Deserts). Baltimore City today “ranks second among similarly sized cities for the number of low-income people living in food insecure areas” (Freishtat, 2014). Leaving eight percent of white Baltimoreans living in food deserts compared to the 35 percent of black Baltimoreans, and 30 percent of children living in food deserts in Baltimore alone (Buczynski, 2015).

Individuals who live in low-income areas have to rely heavily on fast food and cheap food from convenience stores because it is the only food close and affordable to them. People in poor neighborhoods are, “Confronted with a high concentration of poor diet choices” and, “End up eating a less healthy diet” because, “Few markets” offer, “Fresh fruit and vegetables” (Cortright 1). Even if

(2009) also found that prices did not match the economic status of the region. A study within the U.S. found prices to be higher in low income areas; though, there were mixed results according to area income and race in other studies (Beaulac et al., 2009). Residents within these regions may suffer from deprivation amplification, in which the already disadvantaged are further deprived when they are located in a food desert. The last two studies reviewed were specific to the Texas region and provided a more focused look at the burdens precipitated by rurality. Sharkey and Horel (2008) looked at spatial disparities associated with rurality within a six county-rural region of Texas. They found that distance decreased with increasing deprivation, minority composition, and population density; additionally, some of the most impoverished neighborhoods with the greatest minority composition had better potential spatial access to the nearest grocery stores (Sharkey & Horel, 2008). This finding was surprising, yet, over 20% of all rural resident neighborhoods were at least 17.7 km from the nearest supermarket or grocery store and 7.6 km from the nearest convenience store (Sharkey & Horel, 2008). The close proximity of convenient stores to rural residents within this region may lead to the purchase of more

The lack of access to and availability of health food has always been a Public Health issue, affecting many lives, particularly the underserved population. The presence of small corner stores in inner cities that carry unhealthy food items has been linked with increased risk of chronic diseases and obesity. The inner cities in New York with low-income and minority communities have a large number of corner stores in close proximity to the neighborhoods and fewer number of grocery stores as well as supermarkets at a distance from the neighborhood. The owners of the corner stores in the inner city neighborhoods have very limited knowledge about the health benefits associated with the consumption of highly nutritious food. They are also unaware of the health consequences associated with the consumption of unhealthy food. Without any knowledge about health and food, these corner stores are simply

According to a New York Times article, Michelle Obama once stated, “In so many neighborhoods, if people want to buy a head of lettuce or salad or some fruit for their kid’s lunch, they have to take two or three buses, maybe pay for a taxicab, in order to do it” (Kolata). She was referring to the food deserts in the several low-income neighborhoods within the city of Chicago. Mrs. Obama has also advocated in getting schools to serve healthier lunches, as part to reduce childhood obesity within these neighborhoods. Studies done in the past have shown that limited access to healthy food and rather easier access to less nutritious food may be linked to poor diets and, ultimately, to obesity and diet-related diseases. Even when these food deserts do have access to nearby convenience stores, it tends to be either overpriced or low-quality food, which carry mostly processed foods that offer little-to-no nutritional value, when compared to the food and products that supermarkets have to offer.

All over the world are people with little everything such as food, money, and importantly, education. Education is a key component to living a happy life. Without education, society would continue making the same mistakes every day without learning from their faults. It is imperative that everyone is given the same education in order to survive. With education comes making healthy decisions in choosing food items. In an article titled “Giving the Poor Easy Access to Healthy Food Doesn’t Mean They’ll Buy It” by Margot Sangerkatz, talks about how putting grocery stores in a poorer neighborhood won’t accomplish anything. People will still continue buying junk food because they are not taught any differently. If those individuals were taught differently, those grocery stores would then make a difference.

Wouldn’t it be reasonable to consider that people just might eat healthier if they simply had the money to do so? It would be interesting to consider that the people who usually have bad eating habits, are the ones who actually can’t afford to eat healthy. America has the highest obesity rate in the world, but who knows where we could be if the healthy food was more affordable and the junk food wasn’t reasonably cheap. Illnesses and diseases have become common too in people, many that come from just unhealthy eating that has taken a negative toll on the body. Not to mention, people living in low-income areas where in those areas, the main thing around them are fast food restaurants. The promotion of healthier eating and a healthier lifestyle, though, isn’t completely hidden from the public, though more ads about tasty junk food are on televisions, billboards, and so on, more than food that will benefit your body and general health. These things are all played into the fact that people already have a terrible diet, and the prices of foods that can make someone’s diet healthier are too high for most to even include them in their diet regularly. Healthier foods should cost less because it can help lower the high obesity rate in America, it will promote a healthier lifestyle to people to do things like exercise more, and it can help prevent life-threatening illnesses caused by unhealthy eating.