Food desert

A food desert is an area, especially one with low-income residents, that has limited access to affordable and nutritious food. In contrast, an area with supermarkets or vegetable shops is a food oasis. The designation considers the type and quality of food available to the population, in addition to the number, nature, and size of food stores that are accessible. Food deserts are characterized by a lack of supermarkets which decreases residents' access to fruits, vegetables and other whole foods.

In 2010, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that 23.5 million Americans live in a food desert, meaning that they live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban or suburban areas, and more than 10 miles from a supermarket in rural areas. Food deserts lack whole food providers who supply fresh protein sources (such as poultry, fish and meats) along with whole food such as fresh fruits and vegetables, and instead provide processed and sugar- and fat-laden foods in convenience stores. Processed, sugar- and fat-laden foods are known contributors to the United States' obesity epidemic. Convenience store prices are less affordable to regular consumers around the area.

 

  • Distance

    Distance-based measurements are used to measure food accessibility and identify food deserts. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service measures distance by dividing the country into multiple 0.5 km square grids. The distance from the geographic center of each grid to the nearest grocery store gauges food accessibility for the people living in that grid. Health Canada divides areas into buffer zones with people's homes, schools or workplaces as the center. The Euclidean distance is the shortest distance between the two points of interest, which is measured for gaining food access data. Different factors are excluded or included that affect the scale of distance. The USDA maintains an online interactive mapping tool for the U.S., the "Food Access Research Atlas," which applies four different measurement standards to identify areas of low food access based on distance from the nearest supermarket.

     

  • Fresh food

    The second and third standards adjust the scale of distance and factor income to define a food desert. In the U.S., a food desert consists of a low income census tract residing at least 0.5 miles in urban areas (10 miles in rural areas) or 1 mile away in urban areas (20 miles in rural areas) from the large grocery store. The availability of other fresh food sources like community gardens and food banks are not included in mapping and can change the number of communities that should be classified as food deserts. A 2014 geographical survey found that the average distance from a grocery store was 1.76 kilometers (1.09 miles) in Edmonton, but only 1.44 kilometers (0.89 miles) when farmers' markets and community gardens were included, making it 0.11 miles under the latter definition for an urban food desert. Some cities already restrict the location of fast food and other food retailers that do not provide healthy food.

  • Rural food deserts

    The main difference between a rural and an urban food desert is the distance of residents from the nearest supermarket. Twenty percent of rural areas in the U.S. are classified as food deserts. Within these counties, approximately 2.4 million individuals have low access to a large supermarket. This difference in distance translates into pronounced economic and transportation differences between the rural and urban areas.

  • Urban food desert

    Food deserts occur in poor urban areas when there is limited or no access to healthful, affordable food options. Low income families tend to be negatively affected by the lack of access to healthful foods because they lack the means to travel to better food options.People moving from towns to more urbanized areas has brought about the challenge of providing food, goods, and other services.

  • Fast food

    A 2011 review used fifteen years of data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study to examine the fast-food consumption of more than 5,000 young American adults aged 18–30 years in different geographic environments.The study found that fast food consumption was directly related to the proximity of fast food restaurants among low-income participants.

  • Store appearance

    Additional factors may include how different stores welcome different groups of people and nearness to liquor stores.Residents in a 2010 Chicago survey complained that in-store issues like poor upkeep and customer service were also impediments. Safety can also be an issue for those in high crime areas, especially if they have to walk carrying food and maybe also with a child or children.

  • Biscuits or cookies

    Biscuits, (from the Old French word bescuit originally meaning twice-baked in Latin, also known as "cookies" in North America, are flattish bite-sized or larger short pastries generally intended to be eaten out of the hand. Biscuits can have a texture that is crispy, chewy, or soft. Examples include layered bars, crispy meringues, and soft chocolate chip cookies.

  • Cakes

    Cakes are sweet tender breads made with sugar and delicate flour. Cakes can vary from light, airy sponge cakes to dense cakes with less flour. Common flavourings include dried, candied or fresh fruit, nuts, cocoa or extracts. They may be filled with fruit preserves or dessert sauces (like pastry cream) , iced with buttercream or other icings, and decorated with marzipan, piped borders, or candied fruit.

  • Chocolates and candies

    Chocolate is a typically sweet, usually brown, food preparation of Theobroma cacao seeds, roasted, ground, and often flavored. Pure, unsweetened chocolate contains primarily cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions. Much of the chocolate currently consumed is in the form of sweet chocolate, combining chocolate with sugar.

  • Custards and puddings

    These kinds of desserts usually include a thickened dairy base. Custards are cooked and thickened with eggs. Baked custards include crème brûlée and flan. Puddings are thickened with starches such as cornstarch or tapioca. Custards and puddings are often used as ingredients in other desserts, for instance as a filling for pastries or pies.

Many cuisines include a dessert made of deep-fried starch-based batter or dough. In many countries a doughnut is a flour-based batter that has been deep-fried. It is sometimes filled with custard or jelly. Fritters are fruit pieces in a thick batter that have been deep fried. Gulab jamun is an Indian dessert made of milk solids kneaded into a dough, deep-fried, and soaked in honey. Churros are a deep-fried and sugared dough that is eaten as dessert or a snack in many countries. Doughnuts are most famous for being a trademark favorite of fictional character Homer Simpson from the animated television series The Simpsons.