Are food deserts real?

However, recent research questions the concept of food deserts. For more than two decades, much evidence has supported their existence, but current studies suggest people in low-income areas actually live in food swamps, where they’re inundated with a wide variety of both healthful and unhealthful foods.

Are food deserts a myth?

But the data tell a different story. A new Chicago Booth study finds that food deserts have no meaningful effect on eating habits. “People in food deserts shop in supermarkets almost as frequently as people living in higher-income neighborhoods. They just travel longer distances to stores.”

Are food deserts a wicked problem?

Food deserts represent one of the ‘wicked (complex, long-term social) problems’ facing society. The problem itself is not well-defined; there are multiple stakeholders involved with a high degree of uncertainty and often a lack of reliable data (Mingers, 2011, Mingers and Rosenhead, 2004).

Why is food desert controversial?

Controversy over “food deserts” term It is not accidental.” Herrera says that communities “that lack access to fresh, healthy, affordable food result from structural inequities, deliberate public and private resource allocation decisions that exclude healthy from those communities.

Why food deserts are not a problem?

Why Food Deserts Aren’t the Problem Our research suggests the opposite narrative: Lower demand for healthy food is what causes the lack of supply. Furthermore, local neighborhood conditions don’t matter much, since we regularly venture outside our neighborhoods.

Do food deserts contribute to obesity?

Study results also showed that the individuals who live in food desert are at an elevated risk for obesity. Together, these findings suggest that Americans who either do not have enough to eat or live in areas without access to stores that sell affordable nutritious foods are at greater risk for obesity.

How do deserts deal with food?

Food Desert Solutions

1. Establish bus stop farmers markets.
2. Support community gardens.
3. Improve public transportation options.
4. Implement dollar store restrictions.
5. Consider food co-ops, nonprofits, and government-run supermarkets.

How do food deserts cause obesity?

What are the potential dangers of food deserts?

Without access to healthful foods, people living in food deserts may be at higher risk of diet-related conditions, such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

What’s wrong with the term food desert?

Using the term desert implies that the lack of healthy and affordable food is somehow naturally occurring and obscures that it is the direct result of racially discriminatory policies and systematic disinvestment in these communities.

What are the effects of food deserts?

Food deserts are areas where people are unable to gain access to healthful foods. They are a major issue affecting millions of people in the U.S. and around the globe. Experts suggest that living in a food desert may put people at increased risk of obesity, diabetes, and other weight-related conditions.

What are food deserts and why are they bad?

Food deserts limit access to food resources, particularly healthy and culturally appropriate foods. This can have a profound and lasting negative effect on people’s lives and their health outcomes. Around the world, there’s a direct correlation not just between poverty and hunger, but also between poverty and obesity.

What’s the difference between food deserts and food insecurity?

A person doesn’t have to reside in a food desert to lack access to things like whole grains and fresh produce. In some cases, such foods might be available, but high prices make them unaffordable to some. Food insecurity is a very real issue that, while more common in food deserts, isn’t limited to them.

Are there food deserts in rural areas?

But while roughly 82\% of food deserts are in urban areas, rural communities aren’t exactly exempt. 1  According to the USDA, an estimated 335,000 people in the United States live more than 20 miles from a supermarket.

How many people live in food deserts in the US?

About 23.5 million people live in food deserts. Nearly half of them are also low-income. Approximately 2.3 million people (2.2\% of all US households) live in low-income, rural areas that are more than 10 miles from a supermarket.