Results: Food deserts

Food deserts are areas where residents' access to affordable, healthy food options (especially fresh fruits and vegetables) is restricted or nonexistent due to the absence of grocery stores within convenient travelling distance. Have you heard of food deserts before this survey?

While usually viewed as an inner city issue, food deserts are both an urban and a rural issue. Not all rural residents own cars and can travel to the nearest grocery store and for the urban resident, a trip to a grocery store rather than a convenience store or bodega can require multiple transfers on public transit. According to US census and USDA data, 13.5 million Americans, 46 percent of whom are classified as low-income, live in food deserts. Were you aware the problem of lack of access to healthful food was that prevalent?

While you may not see "food desert" as a designation on a map, they are easy to identify if you walk around. There will be corner markets with greatly inflated prices and limited or no fresh produce, dollar stores and convenience stores and gas stations as the only grocery options in the neighborhood. Do you or someone you know live in a food desert?