Food Deserts In Low-Income Communities
By: AC
Today’s topic strays a bit from food waste but in many ways remains connected. We’ll be discussing food deserts and food insecurity in low-income communities. To start off, food deserts are defined as a place where most residents do not have access to a supermarket nor reliable transportation to easily go to one. On the other hand, fast-food restaurants crowd the streets of these neighborhoods, preying on these families to choose between these unhealthy options versus a home-cooked meal. Words such as “fast, hot, and ready to eat” target these individuals who work long hours at their job and then have to come home and feed their families. And in the end, these people do choose the fast-food option because that is what is most obtainable.
Fast Food Restaurants Prey on Low-Income Communities
In an article about fast food and food deserts, Catherine Keske writes about how food security and insecurity have a lot to do with the dietary choices people make. According to her article, food security is defined as “maintaining reliable, consistent access to food.”, which she mentions “requires time and resources that are often scarce in food-insecure households”. Many of these individuals in low economic and minority communities have physically demanding and long days of work, for often low pay. These create barriers in the types of food they can obtain to feed their families and often lead to poorer health choices. A lack of time and money, alongside the impact of food deserts, results in these families choosing fast food over more nutritious meals.
A Shortage of Grocery Stores in These Areas
The shortage of grocery stores in less advantaged communities is no coincidence. In actuality, it may be a byproduct of redlining and the environmental discrimination that took place in the past. With lenders only suggesting people buy land and build in certain areas, the neighborhoods in the ignored areas became just that: ignored and undervalued. And while redlining is now illegal, the impact almost feels irreversible. With many investors uninterested to build grocery stores in these less “attractive” communities, the residents of these areas suffer the repercussions of this problem. In comparison to low-income communities, the more affluent areas only a few miles away, have a vast amount of grocery stores as well as healthier restaurant options surrounding almost every corner. While one low-income community has one grocery store (with fewer options), more advantaged neighborhoods can have up to 10 places to shop for food with even more options available.
How Is Food Waste Related
While the connection may not seem too obvious, there is a relationship between food deserts, food insecurity, and food waste. With over 40% of food going to waste, while around 1/6 people struggling with food insecurity, there seems to be an issue. According to recent research on the subject, creating more grocery stores in these low-income communities might actually reduce food waste. It may sound counterintuitive, however, many of the families in these communities make fewer trips to the grocery store but buy more. This can lead to unplanned purchases and more than needed due to having to “buy everything” so they don’t have to come for a second trip. On the other hand, people that live closer to grocery stores and have greater access to one can make more frequent trips to the grocery store but buy less which could result in less food going to waste due to staying on the kitchen counter too long. Rather than buying multiple perishables, that may end up going to waste, if people had greater access to food they would only buy what was needed and could eat everything up until their next shopping trip. However, this solution is easier said than done as many builders continue to choose to make stores in richer and more well-off neighborhoods and not the ones that need them. On the bright side, there are multiple community efforts made to try closing the food insecurity gap, one of these being community fridges (read more about it here.) Other efforts include a local farmers’ market pop-up, food pantries, and more, but the truth is that these serve more as bandaids and not permanent solutions. And so, Food For Second Thought hopes to continue raising awareness on this large issue until there are better solutions put in place.
