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Food Deserts
Tanjin Minar CWP 102 4/14/13 Brad Romans Food Deserts There is growing trend of cities across the United States that do not have access to food such as places in Buffalo, Baltimore, or Detroit. According to the USDA, a food desert is to qualify as a “low-access community,” at least 500 people and/or at least 33 percent of the census tract 's population must reside more than one mile from a supermarket or large grocery store (for rural census tracts, the distance is more than 10 miles). You can even look up a food desert locater on the USDA website and it will provide you areas where it is hard to buy broccoli or carrots in red marked areas. Going to the supermarket is a 30-minute bus ride if you live in the east side and many people do not have the money either to buy expensive organic produce as well. Thus, living in a stratified society today, people who live in food desserts region are prone to have an adverse effect on their health because of the proximity of food co-op, farmers market or organic supermarkets. Food deserts are places or regions in the United States that people do not have access to healthy food, which then contributes to obesity and adverse health conditions. There is a direct link in how food deserts have adverse affects on health. For example, cities like Buffalo, Detroit, Baltimore, Washington D.C or even New York City have African Americans with a ratio of obesity related illnesses because of the lack of healthy foods near them. Many parts of Buffalo do not have resources to healthy food such as parts in the East Side in Bailey Ave. opposed to Williamsville in Buffalo. Wegmans is known as Buffalos supermarket that has various types of food, which is organic and healthy. Many stores in Buffalo such as Tops or Shop Rite despite the fact they are cheaper in food but the quality is not too bad. In America, there have been several studies done


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