Food deserts in the United States
[2] Food access has been shown to disproportionately affect Black communities: several studies have observed that neighborhoods with higher proportions of Black residents tend to have fewer supermarkets and further retail access, disproportionately affecting food security levels within the community.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service measures distance by dividing the country into multiple 0.5 km square grids.
In the US, a food desert has 100 households or more with no vehicle access living at least 0.5 miles (0.80 km) from the nearest large grocery store.
[16] A "healthy" bodega, as defined by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, stocks seven or more varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables and low-fat milk.
[15] For instance, in 2013, Whole Foods Market opened a store in the New Center area of Detroit, where one third of the population lives below the poverty line.
[19] The differences between a rural and an urban food desert are the population density of residents and their distance from the nearest supermarket.
[23][24] Rural food deserts are mostly the result of large supermarket stores moving into areas and creating competition that makes it impossible for small businesses to survive.
[25] A 2007 study found that people who live in rural food deserts are more likely to lack a high school degree or GED, to experience increased poverty rates, and to have lower median family income.
People who live in rural communities have significantly lower scores in the areas of health behavior, morbidity factors, clinical care, and physical environment.
Research attributes the discrepancies to a variety of factors, including limitations in infrastructure, socioeconomic differences, insurance coverage deficiencies, and a higher rate of traffic fatalities and accidents.
The lack of access to fruits and vegetables often results in vitamin deficiencies, which eventually causes health problems for those who live within these areas.
[21] Tasked with finding a solution to the problem, research has shown that it takes individual and community actions, as well as public policy improvements, to maintain and increase the capacity of rural grocery stores to provide nutritious high-quality affordable foods and to be profitable enough to stay in business.
[21] A 2009 study found that although personal factors impact eating behavior for rural people, it is the physical and social environments that place constraints on food access, even in civically engaged communities.
Some ways that communities can do so are increasing access to the normal and food safety net systems and creating informal alternatives.
[25] They believed their current health conditions to be shaped by their eating behaviors when the future chronic disease risk was affected by the history of dietary intake.
[25] The 57 recruited rural residents from Minnesota and Iowa in one study perceived that food quality and variety in their area were poor at times.
[25] The researchers reached the conclusion that for a community of people, food choice bound by family and household socioeconomic status remained as a personal challenge, but social and physical environments played a significant role in stressing and in shaping their dietary behaviors.
[27] When prices are high and there is a lack of financial assistance, many living in places with limited grocery stores find themselves in a situation of being unable to get the food that they need.
[32][33] There is also a price variance in small grocery stores that prevents people in lower-income areas from purchasing healthier food options.
[32] Recognition of food deserts as a major public health concern has prompted a number of initiatives to address the lack of resources available for those living in both urban and rural areas.
As food insecurity has reached drastic levels, significant pressure for the government to qualify the problem as a human rights issue has proven futile.
[36] The HFFI has supported the development of statewide programs across the country, in California, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
[37] In Pennsylvania, the state program, the Fresh Food Financing Initiative (FFFI), provides grants and loans to healthy food retailers to create or renovate markets, including supermarkets, small stores, and farmers' markets, in low-income urban and rural areas across Pennsylvania.
[citation needed] There have also been efforts to integrate current federal aid to food co-operations.The Virginia Fresh Match (VFM) program worked with community efforts such as food co-ops to accept federally funded initiatives such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as a way to promote healthier eating habits.
[51] Cities with food deserts, such as Detroit, Michigan, have advocated instead to create policies that financially incentivize healthy markets to build their establishments in these communities.
[54] Urban agriculture has many benefits such as being a "local source of fresh healthy food", and bringing communities together and reducing environmental problems.
In major urban centers such as Boston, mobile food markets travel to low-income areas with fresh produce.
[59] Several studies have cited improved dietary behaviors through educating children on healthy nutrition practices and food systems in school settings.
[61] For example, the Grow Hartford Program was implemented in a school in Connecticut to have students address an issue in their community and they chose to focus on food justice.
[62] The youth involved worked on farms in the area to learn about the processes of food production and the importance and variety of vegetables.
