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Causes and effects of food deserts thesis
Causes and effects of food deserts
Causes and effects of food deserts
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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 most commonly found in areas dominated by minorities and low-income families. Studies show that wealthy areas have about triple the amount of supermarkets as poor urban areas do. In addition to this, predominantly white communities have about 4 times as many grocery stores as predominantly black ones do. Studies also show that grocery stores in African-American neighborhoods are usually smaller and have less option when it comes to the selection of foods. Research proves that low-income families will shop wherever the food prices are lower, and generally cannot afford to pay for healthful foods. In comparison to the residents of higher income communities, low-income households normally have diets that are higher in meat and processed foods and often have low intakes of fruits and vegetables. Research suggests that people with low socioeconomic status spend up to 37% more on food. This is because of smaller weekly food budgets in addition to poorly stocked stores. Those with lower income are more likely to spend money on inexpensive fats and sugars versus fresh fruits and vegetables that are more costly on a per calorie basis. Healthy foods like whole grain products are more expensive than high calorie junk foods. Economic forces have driven grocery stores out of many cities in the past few years, either only leaving only a few, and in some cases none. Many of these people leaving in these rural urban areas do not own cars and b... ... middle of paper ... ...Hobbiss, A. Food Deserts And How To Tackle Them: A Study Of One City's Approach.Health Education Journal, 137-149. Holzman, D. C. (2010, April 1). Food deserts and how to tackle them: a study of one city's approach: White House Proposes Healthy Food Financing Initiative. Environmental Health Perspectives. Health Education Journal June 2000 vol. 59 no. 2 137-149 Ploeg, M. ver; Breneman, V.; Farrigan, T.; Hamrick, K.; Hopkins, D.;Kaufman, P.; Lin, B. H.; Nord, M.; Smith, T.; Williams, R.; Kinnison, Access to affordable and nutritious food measuring and understanding food deserts and their consequences : report to Congress ([Rev. Sept. 3, 2009] ed.). (2009). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. Shaw, H. J. (2006), Food Deserts: Towards the Development of a Classification. Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography, 88: 231–247.
Many in the U.S., today, try to eat well,balanced, meals to order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. They do so by purchasing their food at farmers markets or making their own meals, so their food isn’t processed or genetically modified. Even though people are trying to maintain health in order to live long lives, without medical complications, many don’t have the opportunity to pursue life like this. In “Research shows food deserts more abundant in minority neighborhoods,” the author, Kelly Brooks, portrays an anecdote and logical reasoning, from Kelly Bower’s research, to thoroughly describe the food deserts in poor minority neighborhoods and how this issue needs to be repaired.
Cities are becoming more proactive about dealing with food deserts, mainly by giving tax breaks, as in Baltimore, to grocers that are willing to come to low-income, desertous areas. Pushes from environmental groups are also taking an impact on the cause, as the fight for healthy food has become a hot topic in that arena as well. Communities themselves are also taking a stand against food deserts, by doing their own growing of food and creating urban farms, starting up community markets, and starting programs to bring fresh food to deserts (Block, Chavez, Allen, & Ramirez,
A major issue that is occurring in America is a phenomena known as “food deserts”, most are located in urban areas and it's difficult to buy affordable or good-quality fresh food. Whereas in the past, food deserts were thought to be solved with just placing a grocery store in the area, but with times it has become an issue that people are not picking the best nutritional option. This issue is not only making grocery store in food deserts are practically useless and not really eliminating the issue of food deserts because even when they are given a better nutritional option, and people are not taking it. In my perspective, it takes more than a grocery store to eliminate ‘food deserts’. It's more about demonstrating the good of picking the nutritional option and how it can help them and their families. For example, “Those who live in these areas are often subject to poor diets as a result and are at a greater risk of becoming obese or developing chronic diseases.”(Corapi, 2014).
Holzman, D. C. (2010, April 1). Food deserts and how to tackle them: a study of one city's approach:
Food deserts are places where healthy foods are not produced nor sold. Unfortunately, Chicago is filled with food deserts. Approximately 600,000 people reside in areas that consist of food deserts (Gallagher, 2006). Nearly 200,000 of those people are children. These children do not have the opportunity for healthier options, which shows an increase in obesity rates (News One Staff, 2011). There are 77 Chicago communities and out of that 77, 23 are food deserts (Gallagher, 2006). Chicagoans-particularly the black communities- are forced to live off the accessible food that is near them. The food deserts are in Austin, North Lawndale, Armour Square, Near South Side, Fuller Park, Grand Boulevard, Washington Park, Woodlawn, West Lawn, Chicago Lawn, Englewood, Ashburn, Auburn Gresham, Beverly, Washington Heights, Morgan Park, Roseland, Pullman, South Deering, Riverdale, South Chicago, and West Pullman (Grossinger, 2007). The communities are usually served by junk food- filled corner stores, which do not offer an abundance of healthy foods. The communities are in desperate need of change.
“Food Deserts” are arears where people have a hard time finding affordable, healthy food. These places are usually low-income neighborhoods that do not have any supermarkets nearby but have convenience stores that sell junk food and fast food places around them. Ron Finley, a guerrilla gardener, lives in a “food desert” in South Central Los Angeles. He plants fruit and vegetable gardens to help nourish his community with healthy eating. In the article “Giving the Poor Easy Access to Healthy Food Doesn’t Mean They’ll Buy It,” Margot Sanger-Katz states that “merely adding a grocery store to a poor neighborhood doesn’t make a very big difference” because the diets of the residents living in those neighborhoods did not change. I think “food deserts” are only a part of the bigger problem in America because obesity is everywhere, not just in low-income
Food shopping when you are poor in America doesn't mean taking the minivan out to Costco; it can mean walking to the only "supermarket" in the neighborhood, often a small corner retail operation with high markups on food and household supplies.With so many people in poverty it is questioned if giving the poverty aid is even a solution as stated by David Cheal in his book New Poverty: Families in Postmodern Society, “Throwing money at social problems is no longer
Eating nutritious food may seem simple enough, but to those that hardly get by financially, affording healthy foods can be a major hindrance. This is proven by Dr. Jim Levine, a researcher with a concentration of the link between poverty and obesity. He is quoted stating, “In many poverty-dense regions, people are… unable to access affordable healthy food, even when funds avail.” (Sifferlin 1) For example, further studies show that the average cost of salad is $1.50 more than the average cost of a hamburger. Getting vitamins and minerals from the food we eat is substantial to survive in everyday life. Annually, it costs five hundred and fifty dollars more to eat healthier. Five hundred and fifty dollars may not seem like much, but to those that have low income, it is a crucial amount. While achieving a healthy diet proves to be necessary to maintain a healthy weight, it is almost inaccessible for those with low income. Low-income individuals confront the barrier of the cost of healthier choices in their everyday
As of 2013 around 23.5 million people are considered to live in food deserts according to the USDA. Over half of those people are low-income residents and statistically low-income zip codes have 25% fewer supermarkets, limiting their access to healthier food options. A few solutions to food deserts that are popping up are local garden initiatives, increase of healthier food options at convenience stores (there are 30% more convenience store in low-income zip codes than average) and mobile, pop-up produce markets. Many of these initiatives are in California but other areas are adopting the ideas as well. For instance, Indiana University has produce truck program called Garden on the Go and they accept food stamps. There are national efforts as well like the American Community Garden Association which “provides resources for over 18,000 community garden in the US and Canada.” The most obvious solution many would consider first is to just have more grocery stores open and there are some ideas encouraging this as well. One example is Fresh Works, a public-private partnership loan fund providing loans and grants to grocers willing to invest in underserved neighborhoods.
In Lester R. Brown's novel Full Planet, Empty Plates, the issue of food scarcity is explained through an environmental perspective. He begins the novel by addressing the issue of the world's high demand for crops, such as grain, and the stress it places on farmers to keep up with the increase in demand. In a time where there is a significant water shortage, higher temperatures, and eroding soils, food scarcity should be at the top of everyone's agenda. Brown poses the question whether or not food scarcity will be our civilization's "weak link" in terms of survival. He demonstrates how food security is a serious issue across the globe. As supply decreases, demand increases, thus raising the price of food. Unlike global resources such as oil,
In providing help to people who find themselves in food insecure households, people can be found who are skeptic of their true need. One of biggest myths of the disadvantaged is that they have poor shopping habits or shop in convenience stores where prices are extremely higher than compared to those in grocery stores. Another ...
Alviola IV, Rodolfo M. Nayga Jr., and Michael Thomsen to learn more about what food deserts and how they impact the society around them. I believed that this was a good source because it went into what food deserts are and how they might be connected to the increase of obesity. I learned that a food desert is an “area where access to healthy foods is limited or constrained” (Alviola 106). I also learned that studies have shown people who live in food deserts “are likely to pay higher prices for food and have limited options in terms of purchasing healthy foods” (Alviola 106). After reading this article I have realized that Xavier may also be in a food desert because the closest grocery store is Kroger whose produce is almost always non-fresh and does not look edible to eat which encourages people to leave and resort to eating fast food for every meal. Needing more information about the effects of Food Deserts I started to look at an article called, “The Effects of Food Deserts on the Weight Status of South Dakota Children”, written by Emily Niswanger, Elizabeth Droke, Suzanne Stluka, and Kuo-Liang Chang. I believed that this was a great next source to look into because the name of the article was exactly what I wanted to get more information about. The source was about one study that was made in the state of South Dakota to discover if food deserts do have an effect on
Walsh, Bryan. “America’s Food Crisis.” NEXUS. Eds. Kim and Michael Flachmann. Boston: Pearson, 2012. 166 – 173. Print.
According to Dolgoff and Feldstein (2003), “the needs and goals of the Food Stamp Program are to alleviate hunger and malnutrition by enabling low-income households to buy a nutritious adequate diet” (p. 132). The program also improved the market for local merchants to produce food for eligible low-income households and other agencies such as the School Lunch Program which safeguard the health and wel...
This definition of Food Security came about at The World Food Summit of 1996, which was held in response to the growing problem of under nutrition and doubts as to whether agricultural methods, used at the time, had the capacity to feed the growing global population. Most recently, the World Summit on Food Security 2009 recognised that the problem of world hunger has worsened, wi...