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Food Deserts
The Downfall of Low-Income America
Calvin Dean Kassidy Martin Keema Secret Makenzie Hewison

Cow or almond milk? White or wheat bread? Prime rib or plant-based burger? In today’s health world,
we often hear what we should and shouldn’t be putting in our bodies.

For many people, they don’t have the options to pick what foods
they buy. Communities in food deserts struggle to find and purchase
healthy foods close to home. Residents in low-income
communities are at a disadvantage to accessing healthier food
options.

Higher-income communities have access to high quality, easily

accessible, and healthy food right outside their door. Low-income
neighborhoods don’t have the same luxury. Is this reality fair?

What is a Food Desert?

A Food Desert, for urban areas, is defined as an area where at least 1/3 of the population is more than 1 mile
away from a supermarket.

This doesn’t affect a small portion of the population. There are over 6,500 food deserts in the US that affect
about 19 million people whose income typically falls below the national average.

Many people in these areas can’t make the long journey to the supermarket when groceries are needed. This
leaves people many food insecure, forcing them to have no other option other than purchasing fast food.

Habits Start with Accessibility

Lower-income communities don’t have access to high-quality healthier foods.

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A study in New Haven Connecticut revealed the quality of produce in lower-income neighborhoods was
significantly worse than higher-ere income neighborhoods. Fruits were worse quality than vegetables
throughout supermarkets within the town (Andreyeva).

The consumption of healthy food is hard to instill into lower-income communities if the food doesn't appear
appealing. Fruit generally appeals to younger kids more than vegetables, but because the quality of fruit doesn’t
look promising, generations appeal more to junk food compared to healthy food.

Grocery stores notably had better quality produce than convenience stores.

In the same study, they surveyed 75 retail food stores within the city, 19 grocery stores and 56 convenience
stores. There were 47 convenience stores in the lower-income communities. The grocery stores were built in
high-income neighborhoods. With less access to grocery stores, but more access to convenience stores, the
quality of healthier food was minimal.

If a person has $20 and could buy captivating food they know tastes well, or food that looks questionable, a
person is likely to buy the food they trust.

Healthy Lifestyles Require a Car?

Without convenient access, lower-income households are unable to travel farther distances to grocery stores
carrying healthier food options.

For example, a city in Oklahoma has a population of 11,000 residents, yet not one grocery store nearby. One of
the residents explained, “From his house in Oklahoma City's...Gregory McCauley estimates it takes him more
than an hour by bus to get to a grocery store” (Ansari).

The only way residents buy their groceries close to home is at the local Dollar stores. 32% of these residents
live below the poverty level and are unable to afford to get to a better stocked grocery store with fresher foods.
Therefore, they must adapt to what they have, which is often only packaged, processed foods. Residents in these
lower-income areas say that they would make better dietary choices if it was available to them.

It is assumed in lower-income areas, people are less likely to own a car or cannot afford to drive long distances
often. For instance, Steph Larsen said, "Driving down a two-lane highway in rural Nebraska last spring, I
passed a Native American man riding an old bicycle toward the nearby Omaha Indian Reservation...We were at

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least seven miles from the nearest town, and he had four grocery bags bulging with food slung over his
handlebars as he worked to climb a hill. I'll bet...he wasn't biking for the exercise" (Lee).

Unfortunately, supermarkets are in busier, more populated areas which attract higher-income households and
lower-income households are unable to access these supermarkets. Researchers should be focusing less on the
proximity to healthy food measured by the distance and time it takes to get to grocery stores and focus more on
crucial factors like the cost, convenience, and quality of fresh foods.

Sprouts vs. Walmart

Critics may say cities should just build more affordable grocery stores in food deserts.

US Senator Jerry Moran from Kansas stated, "...hunger and food insecurity are very real and threaten nearly 1
in 6 Kansans. The Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act would incentivize food providers to establish
themselves in communities where people lack access to healthy, affordable food by encouraging the
construction and establishment of grocery stores, food banks and farmers markets.”

US Senators and Congress recognize the troubles lower-income communities face and work with Associations
and larger retailers to address these problems. But the focus should be the consumers and members of these
communities. Businesses should be putting in new affordable grocery stores that all residents can buy from.
Adding Sprouts won’t benefit residents as much as a Walmart would.

After adding a Wal-Mart in Crenshaw Plaza Mall, Brent Howell, a broker at

CB Richard Ellis stated, “I think it's a well-positioned shopping center in an
urban area with Wal-Mart coming in as an anchor tenant.”
It was believed to bring in tons of attraction to the area. Bringing attraction
to lower-income areas will allow food deserts to perish and encourage more
investors to expand.

Is Convenience Worth Health Risks?

Food deserts stop families from locating healthier food due to certain limitations, like living in suburban areas.
Many households are turning to convenient, fast-food stores resulting in poor health.

Many families can’t get healthy foods such as whole grains, dairy, fruits, etc. The alternatives are buying foods
that are high in sodium, sugar, and unhealthy fats. A South Carolina school study showed, “49 percent of rural
students were found to be overweight compared with a national average of 21 percent (Felton et al.1998)”.
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Consuming unhealthy foods can raise blood pressure, heighten our cholesterol levels, obesity, etc. People
should get the bare necessities without having to rely on convenient stores within proximity.

In 2017, Dallas, Texas had 40 food deserts. An interviewed citizen said there haven’t been major grocery stores
in over 50 years. He continued saying many people “suffer from cancer, strokes, heart disease, diabetes, and
childhood obesity (why grocery stores are avoiding black neighborhoods)”.

Grocery stores further away from low-income communities create unhealthy, damaging eating habits.

More to it Than One May Think

On the contrary, there are city officials who have worked hard to eliminate food deserts in their community but
are struggling.

In a 2011 meeting with Chicago officials, First Lady Michelle Obama stated, “...companies cannot fulfill this
commitment alone...We know that a company cannot just show up one day in a neighborhood and start building
a supermarket. They can't just scout out an empty lot and start setting up a farmers' market. They need to meet
land use and licensing requirements. They need tax incentives that make it worth their while -- their business
interest to make it happen.” (“Remarks by the First Lady at Mayor's Summit).

The process of placing stores in low-income areas is an extensive process including material, city work, permits
and city approval.

Currently in Indianapolis, “The rundown Family Dollar... First, it's closed until further notice. Second, it
doesn't accept food stamps for food items. That's bad news for nearby residents, who used to shop at the Kroger
right next door. Now it's a shell of a building with an empty parking lot... Just 5 miles away at the Dollar
General off of Mitthoeffer Road, the limited refrigerated grocery section is depleted. The milk and juice stock
are largely gone, while the eggs and processed meats have taken a hit. (Pak Harvey).

City officials have attempted to help by planting stores within food desert. Previously the article stated,
Indianapolis tried to resolve the problem of food deserts, but didn’t succeed. The process of bringing grocery
stores into a low-income area is challenging because there isn't an abundance of money. Products in the stores
must be affordable for the residents. Businesses struggle with staying open because they have insufficient funds
to continue running. It is an ongoing cycle of trying to solve food deserts by planting grocery stores and failing
to stay open.

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It Takes a Village

City officials and retailers are continually working hard to add grocery stores that do carry better options for
residents. Unfortunately, the solution isn’t as simple as it sounds. Food retailers face higher costs to build and
operate a store in food deserts because prices for land and rent are typically higher in these types of
neighborhoods. It is also harder and less convenient for delivery routes to reach these areas. Less populated
rural areas lack supermarkets because businesses want to select places where they get the most business which
are unfortunately in populated urban cities.

In the YouTube video from CNBC, “Why Grocery Stores are Avoiding Black Neighborhoods”, a quote from
Chicago Tribune states “Walmart closed 269 stores and 154 of them were in low-income neighborhoods.”
Low-income communities won’t get better if these stores are being shut down and there are no alternatives
taking its place. People within the community said there was no warning or vote on these local Walmart's
shutting down. This causes a sudden shift in the availability of healthier foods.

Lack of Assistance or Lack of Solutions?

Furthermore, escaping these areas isn’t an easy task. The lack of government assistance and economic
segregation these areas face make it near impossible to get out.

In 2010, the Obama Administration launched the Healthy Food and Financing Initiative which worked to
eliminate food deserts by expanding or opening 1,500 grocery stores near neighborhoods where there weren’t
supermarkets by 2016.

Although the government attempted, they fell short and only added 848. By failing to reach their desired goal,
the government proved that they didn’t put nearly enough funding into these programs to help the people of
these areas.

Since 2019, many programs have been launched in Indianapolis to try and help the struggling population. The
city has spent $130,000 on a Lyft program providing $1 rides to grocery stores, $195,000 in “food champion”
grants to support residents who want to address food insecurity in their neighborhoods, and $195,000 for a
mobile grocery that offers fresh produce in different neighborhoods.

While these efforts are noble, they didn’t go without criticism. Michael-Paul Hart, a republican council
member, said this about the programs, “They were on the right track. But it is again a temporary solution that is
not really going to get grocery stores in the areas that need them, which is the root of the problem here.”

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Fear To Start a Movement

Although these local governments are working to try and eradicate food deserts there isn’t enough permanent
change. Many store franchises fear the economic loss they might face if they decide to open a grocery store in
lower-income areas. So, boycotting these supermarkets could put pressure on them to act.

However, the main problem is that there aren’t supermarkets in low-income areas. So, what could be done is
donating to organizations that are working to help the people in these areas get access to nutritious food.

Lastly, an easy thing that anyone could do is spread awareness of the existence of Food Deserts so that
something can be done. After all, the problem of Food Deserts can’t get fixed if no one knows it exists.

Now You Know, So Be a Part of the Effort

If nothing changes, Food Deserts will be the death of low-income America.

Food desert communities face many disadvantages when it comes to accessing healthy food options.
Without proper access, health risks and economic barriers will continually affect low-income communities if
people aren’t informed and contribute to the efforts being made. Small solutions lead to bigger and better
outcomes!

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Works Cited
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