Tackling the food desert crisis

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   Following the Covid 19 pandemic, food hunger has once again become one of America’s most pressing issues. The USDA defines food deserts, also known as FDs, as local areas, usually low-income communities, with little to no access to affordable, healthy foods. A term first coined by a U.K. government task force concerned with nutrition inequality, these areas persist throughout the United States to this day.  An estimated 23.5 million people are living in such FDs across the United States. It is a known fact that people living in these areas have an increased risk of chronic diseases associated with lifestyle and diet choices. However, any arguments neglect to mention the influence of their residential neighborhoods as a determinant of health; food deserts have been garnering attention as significant environmental contributors to an individual’s health and areas in need of governmental help to reduce socioeconomic disparities. Gaining a better understanding of food deserts and their impacts on residents can help develop more effective proposals to address vulnerable and disadvantaged populations, providing them with greater mobility to make healthier choices. However, is building more grocery stores truly the solution to alleviating food insecurity, or are racially discriminatory policies and systematic disinvestment in these communities to blame?

   Food deserts are often found in areas comprised primarily of African Americans and Latinos. These neighborhoods often have fewer supermarkets with a minimal variety of foods, especially a lack of accessibility to healthy foods than their counterparts with similar socioeconomic demographics. Small box retailers such as bodegas and liquor stores, which typically focus on niche products or custom goods and services, are more predominant, minimizing the food choices of those consumers living in food deserts. While the term “food desert” is commonly used to describe this area, there has been controversy over the racial implications of this term. Ideas commonly associated with a “desert” include a vast expanse of dry, arid land bare of life. However, this notion of a “desert” is misconceived as plants and animals have adapted to the demanding conditions of this landscape and even allowing the prospering of human civilization; a “desert” is just as successful and prosperous of an ecosystem as a rainforest. “Food deserts” makes this phenomenon seem naturally occurring when in reality, they are the result of human behavior. The term “desert” takes away from the community’s presence, failing to highlight the preexisting farmer’s markets, gardens, and food businesses in these areas. It is an environment caused by the systematic racism embedded in human society, insinuating that people of color and poorer communities are inferior, dehumanizing those who live in “food deserts”.

   Building more grocery stores may not be the best solution. In impoverished neighborhoods, grocery stores may not be a feasible way to gain access to accessible foods. The term “food mirage” describes this phenomenon, where grocery stores are plentiful, but are not affordable for the neighborhood. More often than not, people living in “food deserts” can get food, but not healthy food, opting for cheaper choices such as fast or junk food. Public health specialists have coined the phrase “food swamp” to describe areas where convenience foods, often unhealthy food, are more accessible than healthy, nutritious food. In these communities, creating more jobs with livable wages can dramatically change their lifestyles and diets towards healthier ones.

   Words such as swamps, deserts, and mirages all have negative connotations, bringing to mind feelings of disgust, isolation, and destitution. Language can create either a sense of belonging or division in society. Using these terms hides the cause of the problem, preventing systemic discrimination to be corrected. Researchers are moving towards addressing these areas as “food apartheid,” highlighting how racist policies have perpetuated the growth of inequitable food environments. Apartheid describes a system of discrimination based on race, which can be applied to “food deserts” as well because these areas are the result of racial discrimination. Simply shifting the word “desert” to apartheid draws attention to the subconscious systemic and structural racism that created low-income and low-food access areas, guiding society towards working on solutions to promote racial equity.

   Racial inequities have endured since America’s founding, which makes solving this problem no easy task. Pinpointing and recognizing this issue is just the first step of many. Organizations and policymakers are continuing to tackle different aspects of approaching food apartheid, with innovative ideas such as building alternative food systems. Regional projects such as Whitelock Community Farm and the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network are strengthening local food systems through small-scale farming. Nonprofits such as Mandela Grocery are working on bringing affordable, organic groceries to everyone’s table and altering grocery store models through co-ops. State governments are implementing policies to relieve the effects of food apartheid and turn food deserts into food sanctuaries. In 2014, the Navajo Nation passed a “junk food” tax to fund community health initiatives. Setting strong policies in place is instrumental to guaranteeing every community has equitable access to food and redistributing power to remove systems of oppression.

Citations

Hilmers, Angela et al. “Neighborhood disparities in access to healthy foods and their effects on environmental justice.” American journal of public health vol. 102,9 (2012): 1644-54. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2012.300865

Meyersohn, Nathaniel. “How The Rise of Supermarkets Left Out Black America.” CNN, 16 June 2020, edition.cnn.com/2020/06/16/business/grocery-stores-access-race-inequality/index.html.

Sevilla, Nina. “Food Apartheid: Racialized Access to Healthy Affordable Food.” NRDC, www.nrdc.org/experts/nina-sevilla/food-apartheid-racialized-access-healthy-affordable-food.

“The United States Can End Hunger and Food Insecurity for Millions of People.” Center for American Progress, 4 Nov. 2022, www.americanprogress.org/article/the-united-states-can-end-hunger-and-food-insecurity-for-millions-of-people.