Food desert

A food desert is an area that has limited access to affordable and nutritious food, in contrast with an area with higher access to supermarkets or vegetable shops with fresh foods, which is called a food oasis. The designation considers the type and quality of food available to the population, in addition to the accessibility of the food through the size and proximity of the food stores. A food desert is an area that has limited access to affordable and nutritious food, in contrast with an area with higher access to supermarkets or vegetable shops with fresh foods, which is called a food oasis. The designation considers the type and quality of food available to the population, in addition to the accessibility of the food through the size and proximity of the food stores. In 2010, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that 23.5 million Americans live in 'food deserts', 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 tend to be more populated by low-income residents, who are not as attractive a market for large supermarkets, and have reduced mobility. Food deserts lack suppliers of fresh protein sources such as poultry, fish and meat, along with fresh fruit and vegetables, instead, relying on convenience stores, which provide processed and sugar- and fat-laden foods, which are known contributors to the United States' obesity epidemic. By 1973, 'desert' was ascribed to suburban areas lacking amenities important for community development. Cummins and Macintyre report that a resident of public housing in western Scotland supposedly coined the more specific phrase 'food desert' in the early 1990s. The phrase was first officially used in a 1995 document from a policy working group on the Low Income Project Team of the UK's Nutrition Task Force. Initial research was narrowed to the impact of retail migration from the urban center. More recent studies explored the impact of food deserts in other geographic areas (e.g., rural and frontier) and among specific populations, like minorities and the elderly. They address the relationships between the quality (access and availability) of retail food environments, the price of food, and obesity. The findings support that environmental factors contribute to people's eating behaviors. Research conducted with variations in methods draws a more complete perspective of 'multilevel influences of the retail food environment on eating behaviors (and risk of obesity).' Researchers employ a variety of methods to assess food deserts including: directories and census data, focus groups, food store assessments, food use inventories, geographic information system (GIS) technology, interviews, questionnaires and surveys measuring consumers' food access perceptions. Differences in the definition of a food desert vary according to the: The multitude of definitions which vary by country have fueled controversy over the existence of food deserts. It should also be noted that because it is too costly to survey the types of foods and prices offered in every store, researchers use the availability of supermarkets and large grocery stores (including discount and supercenter stores) as a proxy for the availability of affordable, nutritious food.