Food Desert Problem

985 Words2 Pages

In America , the existence of food desert , which means an area where people can’t afford fresh food conveniently , is causing many health problems such as overweight for the low income Americans.

Rationale for Researching this Problem:
People’s diet is one of the most important factors that could affect physical health . The diet health problem in America , however , is actually severe and “usually the result of individuals eating too much or eating the wrong things rather than eating too little” (Price, 2017) . Enormous quantity of people have to eat the wrong things just because they live in a wrong place : approximately 23.5 million Americans living in a food desert (In Depth Briefing: America's "Food Deserts", 2013) . Though food …show more content…

Such a food desert could easily form by a closure of a single store or supermarket in a low income community because these communities are usually not attractive target for corporations , and the closure of only fresh food resource in a community might make a long-term vacant of healthy food .(Pick 'n Save closing to leave 'food desert' on south side ,2017 ) Many factors could stop a supermarket to enter a food desert : some area are far from the corporation’s deliver route , and some don’t have enough consumers to support a supermarket ( Ploeg, M. V. 2013). For the smaller stores another problem rises . They must compete with fast food restaurants , which have lower price , faster serve and , for some people , better taste . On the other hand , poor people lack both time and money , so it’s unlikely for them to go miles away just for a dish of green salad while there may be several children waiting to be cared and several jobs waiting to be done . Some families also lack corresponding knowledge , make them even more tend to choose unhealthy food.
Though the food desert problem and its effect to residents’ diet is unquestionably exist , some researchers still doubt its importance and ponderance . One opinion …show more content…

(2013). In S. C. Hunnicutt (Ed.), At Issue. Is the Western Diet Making the World Sick? Detroit: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted from The Week, 2011, August 12) Retrieved from http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010849209/OVIC?u=psucic&xid=6391fcba

Belsie, L. (2017, April 11). 'Food deserts' sprout groceries that nourish people - and communities. Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved from http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A489172030/OVIC?u=psucic&xid=3f80335

Ploeg, M. V. (2013). Residents of "Food Deserts" Lack Access to Nutritious Foods. In S. C. Hunnicutt (Ed.), At Issue. Is the Western Diet Making the World Sick? Detroit: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted from Access to Affordable, Nutritious Food Is Limited in 'Food Deserts', Amber Waves, 2010, March) Retrieved from http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010849208/OVIC?u=psucic&xid=73611302

Price, T. (2017, July 7). Hunger in America. CQ researcher, 27, 557-580. Retrieved from

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