Food Deserts in the US

Food deserts are said to be regions that do not have easy access to fresh, healthy and inexpensive food. This interactive map of the US Department of Agriculture shows the regions in the US where food deserts exist. The following method is used to determine whether a census tract, whether urban or rural, is a food desert. A census tract is considered to be a food desert if it satisfies the following criteria:

1. the tract is a low-income community, where the poverty rate is at least 20 percent OR the median income of the family is less than 80 percent of the median income of the area.

2. at least 33 percent of the population or 500 individuals live more than a mile away from a grocery store or a supermarket (for urban census tracks) or more than 10 miles away (for rural census tracts).

According to the USDA, about 23 million live in food deserts, and about half of them are low-income. However, some places have more people living in food deserts; as seen in Baltimore, around 20 percent of the population live in regions that are termed as food deserts. Although distance may not be much, it might be very cumbersome to walk or get on the bus to get grocery that is a few miles away.

Could the emergence of food deserts be a problem? In rural areas, the emergence of food deserts can worsen health outcomes. The poorer and older members of the community may not get healthy nutrition.  This report also says that counties that have characteristics of a food desert tend to have:

1. large percentage of adults with less than high school or GED degree
2. higher number of convenience stores or small grocery stores per capita

Without access to healthy food that is inexpensive, people have to rely on fast food or packaged to meet their nutritional needs, food that may not be healthy or nutritious.

However, its not about the distance that important. Price of healthy food needs to be low enough so that people living in food deserts can afford them, along with proper marketing of healthy foods. A lack of grocery stores that sell nutritious foods can have a adverse effect on the health of young consumers who live in low-income families. A study finds that if a region has more convenience stores, then obesity rates among young consumers are higher when compared to regions with less convenient stores. The same study finds that the more grocery stores an area has, the lower is the obesity rates among low-income pre-school children.

According to American Heart Association, obesity among children has been rising over the years, and the rate is higher among children living in low-income households, and the cost of obesity among adolescents in the US is said to be around $250 billion. This is a huge drain to society, and it can only increase if the prevalence of obesity keeps on increasing.

Thus to reduce obesity among children, policymakers need to focus on educating children about the benefits of nutritious food. Efforts also need to be put to increase the number of grocery stores in food deserts. Communities can be encouraged to grow vegetable gardens in empty plots; and non-profits can be asked to help bring nutritious foods to food deserts. These can help to increase availability of nutritious foods and reduce the cost to the economy.