Food Deserts: Access to Food in Rural Communities
I can name at least three grocery stores within ten minutes from my apartment. This doesn't even count the smaller convenience stores that so many of my friends use in a pinch. I can go shopping at 8:00 on a Sunday night and still be home by 9:00.
This situation is not so unusual for someone living on a college campus just outside of downtown Columbus. However, someone living in Harrison, Nebraska (population 279) may rely on a single grocery store for the whole town, the next closest being 50 miles away. These areas are called "food deserts" or "food vacuums," which basically means that they are areas of low food access. These areas correlate strongly with poverty, and associated problems of income disparity, which in many case afflict minority communities. For instance, a study in 2006 concluded that "white neighborhoods averaged a grocery store for 11,900 residents, and black neighborhoods averaged one grocery store for 70,000 residents." Also, rural communities located nearer to bigger cities with chain grocery stores are less likely to support their own local stores, while communities without those chain stores have successful grocery stores.
The Center for Rural Affairs has a page on their site explaining federal resources available to low food access areas, and Kansas State University is working to improve local grocery support.
Read more about Food Deserts at the Blog for Rural America.
- Elizabeth Rose's blog
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