#6 What are food deserts?

Welcome to the sixth edition of The Daily Concept, the newsletter that introduces you to a new idea, every day.

Click here to read our earlier write-ups on the Spanish Civil War, the private funds industry, period poverty, desertification, and ghost guns.

Today’s newsletter was written by my dear friend Greg. He will be working with me on writing & editing the newsletter.

Dan

What are food deserts?

America is not generally seen as a country that struggles to feed its population. Although few Americans face the risk of starving, a surprising number of Americans don’t have access to healthy and nutrient dense food.

You might be surprised to learn that 23.5 million Americans live in “food deserts”. 

The FDA defines food deserts as areas where residents must travel over a mile to access a supermarket.

People within these areas typically struggle to find affordable and nutritious food like fruit and vegetables.

A population may have limited access to fresh food if:

• Local stores mainly stock processed food in cans and packets rather than fresh food.
  

• Stores that do offer fresh food sell it at prices that are beyond what most residents can afford.
  

• Local residents cannot afford to travel to stores that stock fresh food and instead have to use convenience stores, fast-food restaurants, or other outlets.
  

Food deserts are far more common in low-income areas. There are several reasons for this. In some cases, local outlets do not stock fresh food because they do not perceive there to be sufficient demand to justify the investment.

In other cases, low-income communities may simply lack the space or zoning permission for large grocery stores, which are more likely to stock healthy food options.

Food deserts and urbanisation

Food deserts are often caused by urban sprawl. This phenomenon occurs when urban areas with high population densities expand into larger areas with lower population density.

Urban sprawl is also generally associated with single-use zoning. This policy prevents areas from being used for multiple purposes, like housing families, operating stores, or running farms. As single use areas grow in size and number, residential areas get further and further away from large grocery stores and farmland.

Greater distances between farms and grocery stores means fresh food needs to travel further to reach consumers, resulting in higher prices.

Why are food deserts a problem?

To understand why food deserts are a problem, it is important to understand that not all food is the same. Fresh food includes a wide range of nutrients, while highly processed food primarily consists of empty calories.

Calories vs nutrients

Calories are measurable units of the energy provided by food. The human body burns energy to keep organs working and to move around. Nutrients are substances in food that the body uses to grow, develop, and maintain itself. Nutrients are generally categorized into two main groups called “macronutrients” and “micronutrients”.

• Macronutrients include things like carbohydrates and proteins, which also provide calories.
  

• Micronutrients include vitamins and minerals, which the body needs to strengthen bones, keep nerves active, and balance fluids

Areas that are considered to be food deserts don’t generally have a problem providing citizens with calories. Calories are cheap to produce and can be found in every kind of food sold at grocery stores. Food deserts are a problem because they allow a population to sustain itself on processed and ultra-processed foods.

Processed and ultra-processed foods do not provide high levels of nutrition. Instead, these foods are designed to be addictive and cheap to produce. The preservatives and cheap ingredients used in processed food can also harm the health of consumers. This is why populations in food deserts are 59% more likely to have a high rate of obesity-related cancer deaths than people from other areas.

What can be done to get rid of food deserts?

Federal agencies, local governments, and non-profits have adopted different strategies for ending food deserts:

• The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers several initiatives to increase grocery store investment in low-income communities. One USDA program is the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), which provides loans and technical assistance to boost fresh food access.
  

• The Farm Express program in Arizona uses buses as mobile markets for fresh produce. The initiative targets populations with limited access to fresh food and operates on a weekly schedule.
  

• Some local governments support community gardens to grow fresh food for local residents.

Want to know more about food deserts?

The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that 2.2% of all U.S. households reside in food deserts. Half of the households residing these areas are on a low-income. The USDA has provided a map for locating food deserts around the country.

ART OF THE DAY

Thank you for reading. Please reply to this email if you have any thoughts or feedback. I need help from you, dearest friend and/or family member, as I grow this newsletter into the best publication it can be.

Yours,
Dan