Food Deserts Essay

Introduction

Food deserts are places where there is no access to cheap and healthy foods such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, low-fat milk, and fruits due to lack of grocery supplies in a convenient walking distance. For instance, most Americans living in a low-income, minority or rural areas are exposed to food deserts and might not have access to healthy foods hence consuming foods without essential nutrients. A report made by Economic Research Service of the United States Department of agriculture showed that roughly 2.2 percent of all United States families; that is 2.3 million people stay more than a mile away from a store. The most affected areas include low-income, minority and rural as they lack retail and large food stores where they can get healthy foods.

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Causes of Food Deserts

Some of the major causes of food deserts include; poverty, high costs of healthy foods, residential isolation, lack of supermarkets in most areas where one can access healthy foods easily, and lack of nearby regions to get healthy foods (Walker, Keane, & Burke, 2010). Poor households are the most affected due to high costs of vegetables, whole grains, and fruits as compared to unhealthy foods hence making it hard for low-income families to purchase them. These unhealthy foods usually have a lot of fat, sugar, salt, and high calories. The other major cause of food deserts is high costs of healthy foods as most people will end up buying unhealthy foods since they are affordable. Supermarkets are the major areas where one can have access to healthy foods. However, they are in scarce due to high costs of maintenance, especially in big towns. For instance, constructing a supermarket in a town is more controlled with high licensing fees, high parking fees, insurance rates are high due to high crime rates in the cities (Barker, Francoise, Goodman, & Hussain, 2012). Lack of nearby areas to buy healthy food is another cause of food desert as one will have to walk several miles in order to get healthy foods. Besides some of the available groceries have less fresh food as they have due to lack of space for perishable and fresh produce.

Consequences of Food Deserts

Food deserts can be dangerous to your health. According to research done by the National Research Council (2009), one is likely to develop some diseases like diabetes, obesity, blood pressure and in the long run one is likely to develop cancer. Obesity is a major health implication of living in a food desert. It is a very risky disease as it puts people into other fatal health disorders especially cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Lack of healthy food can greatly affect the families living in food deserts. Lack of nutritious foods leads to people consuming foods containing high calories and low nutritious.

Types of Inequalities Created due to Food Deserts

There are different types of inequalities brought about by food deserts. These include; income inequality, educational and nutritional know-how. Income variation plays a huge part as research done by Richard Florida in City Lab shows that more than 90 percent of the main variance in America's food diet has to do with class. Where inequality amongst socio-economic class exists, there is food inequality too. For instance, an area with low-income families can access healthier foods at a low cost as compared to higher-income area. Educational inequality plays a part as well in food inequality. Well informed and educated persons consume more nutritious foods especially those who are well informed about nutrition. People with information and education may come up with healthier decisions regardless of the purchasing power hence minimizing food deserts.

The relationship between food choice, food access, and health care that food choice for low-income families is affected by both food costs and availability of healthy foods. Due to the negative effect on communal well-being, food deserts affect the economic opportunities accessible to low-income families in urban areas. Besides, lack of supermarkets leads to lack of jobs that are connected with retail creations.

Those who reside in food deserts areas might find it hard to get the culturally suitable foods and dietary limitations; for instance, gluten allergies and lactose intolerance restrict them from choosing the appropriate food as compared to those who have access to more selections. Healthier diets are more expensive as compared to unhealthy foods and especially in food deserts. For example, as the overall cost of vegetables and fruits in the US raised by roughly 75 percent between 1989 and 2005, the cost of fatty produce went down by more than 26 percent. Due to inflation, food budgets have gone up to most families irrespective of their financial status, hence low-income families being unable to buy the healthy foods due to high costs.

Impact of Food Deserts on Communities of Color

The trend of targeting food deserts on the community of color and low-income is on the rise (Bowens, 2015). Hispanics and Americans are at greater risk of suffering from a number of diseases due to lack of healthy foods. They likely suffer from obese, high blood pressure, diabetes and in the long run develop different types of cancers. For instance, those Hispanics and Americans suffering from obesity are at a rate of 36.8 and 45 percent respectively. Obesity has been associated with a huge number of health problems like cardiovascular disease, Type 2 Diabetes, different kinds of cancer, high cholesterol and hypertension to both children and adults (Barker, Francoise, Goodman, & Hussain 2012). Middle-class communities consume more of low-fat milk as compared to low-income communities. Another study of fresh vegetables and fruits stocked in a two different communities store market showed that the store that was in the middle-class area was purchased more as compared to the ones living in a low-income area (Barker, Francoise, Goodman, & Hussain 2012). Nutritional also plays a significant role in physical and mental growth. Insufficient consumption of food during pregnancy, early stages of childhood and children are at high risk of weakened mental and physical growth. Therefore, children need healthy food not only to keep fit but also perform well in school. Consuming healthy foods strengthens the immune of a child. The same will be experienced in the communities where children living in low-income areas are disadvantaged as they are not able to consume healthy food hence weakens their immune and unable to perform well in school.

Healthy foods usually take a lot of time to prepare and contain huge amounts of proteins, healthy fats, minerals, vitamins hence promoting energy as compared to fast foods which contain a lot of trans fats, sodium, and high calories which leads to obesity, diabetes and heart diseases. Fast foods are more expensive as compared to well-planned foods. Fast foods are cooked using trans fats which is of low quality, and it causes swelling and calcification of artificial cells hence increasing the danger of heart attack. While healthy foods use fats from unprocessed oils like olive oil and virgin coconut oil, nuts and avocados thus lowering the dangers of the heart attack. Fast foods also contain processed vegetables and fruits which contain a lot of sodium which increases the risk of hypertension as for healthy foods consist of unprocessed, whole vegetables and fruits.

Relationship between Food Insecurity, Food Deserts and ObestyFood insecurity and the linked health outcomes is a major social justice concern for low-income and minority populations. People living in food deserts experience poverty exposing them to insufficient food (Mata 2013). This is a major concern as food insecurity, and insufficient food can be harmful to a child' health. Families living in food desert who are at the risk of food insecurity consume unhealthy foods hence likely to develop some diseases like obesity.

Possible Solution

Food deserts can be enhanced through various ways. Organizing a community garden where members can share and contribute to the conservation and crops of the garden. Establishing local farmers markets is another means of minimizing food deserts. Local governments can enhance local transportation such as metros and busses to enable easier access to created markets. Governments can change zoning codes as well to provide financial or tax incentives to encourage retailers to continue offering healthier produce to the food desert areas.

References

Walker, R. E., Keane, C. R., & Burke, J. G. (2010). Disparities and access to healthy food in the United States: A review of food deserts literature. Health & place, 16(5), 876-884.

Bowens, N. (2015). The color of food: Stories of race, resilience and farming. New Society Publishers.

National Research Council. (2009). The public health effects of food deserts: workshop summary. National Academies Press.

Mata, C. T. (2013). Marginalizing Access to the Sustainable Food System: An Examination of Oakland's Minority Districts. University Press of America.

Barker, C., Francoise, A. Goodman, R. & Hussain, E. (2012). Unshared Bounty: How Structural Racism Contributes to the Creation and Persistence of Food Deserts. ACLU Racial Justice Program. Retrieved from: http://www.racialjusticeproject.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2012/06/NYLS-Food-Deserts-Report.pdf