Introduction
Food deserts are areas where relative scarcity of healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain exists. In such areas, people often have to walk long distances and may have to pay a premium to acquire healthy foods. One such area according to the Food Access Research Atlas by the Economic Research Service of the US Department of Agriculture is Richardson in Dallas, Texas. I visited the area and noted that more than 100 housing units do not own a vehicle and live more than half a mile away from the nearest supermarket. I also noticed that a significant number of the residents live more than 20 miles away from the closest supermarket. Political issues and both individual and communal factors associated with race and financial ability contribute to food deserts because the development of supermarkets and healthy food outlets in an area depend on that region’s demographic characteristics.
Basic Observations
I visited Sprouts Farmers Markets on North Henderson Avenue in Dallas, Texas. It is the nearest grocery store with a full range of healthy foods such as farm-fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and low-fat milk. Unfortunately, the store is about 15 miles from the Cortland Prairie Creek area I visited. It could be more than 20 miles depending on where a person lives in the Richardson area. The store’s main customers are individuals shopping for their personal or business grocery needs. I saw a few employees and a few customers on my visit to the store. The customers included men, women, and children of all ages and races, but most of them were white. Similarly, most employees that I saw were white females. I also saw a few black and Hispanic employees.
Comparison
For the Richardson area residents, particularly those living around Prairie Creek, access to fresh food is a problem because supermarkets and grocery stores are far apart. This difficulty is in sharp contrast with my neighborhood, which has many fruit and vegetable vendors within walking distance. Another difference that I observed is that the people in the area I visited neither own vehicles nor live close to a public transportation means, which further complicates their shopping abilities given how far the grocery stores are. In our neighborhood, not only are grocery stores a short distance away, but most people also own vehicles, and public transportation is readily available, giving triple convenience. People in our neighborhood also use online shopping whenever they are unwilling or unable to go out to shop physically.
Analysis
A food desert is a neighborhood that has limited or no access to fresh, healthy, and affordable foods, including fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. People have advanced many theories to explain the apparent existence of food deserts. One of them is that food deserts are caused by social inequality (Arganini et al., 2012; Block et al., 2004; Martin & Ferris, 2007). A problem is a form of nutritional inequality affecting the poor, particularly those who neither own a car nor live near a reliable public transportation system (Polivy & Herman, 2002; Mallyon et al., 2010). Another theory to explain the presence of food deserts is that they emerge in places where people of color live. This theory suggests that big grocery stores prefer to invest in White neighborhoods instead of Black neighborhoods, making it difficult for Black and people of color to access fresh foods, even when they have the financial means to purchase those foods (Polivy & Herman, 2002). This theory mixes both individual and communal factors associated with race, financial ability, and political issues to describe the origin and trend of food desert clustering in the United States.
Another theory about food deserts focuses on changes in land use activities over the years. It postulates that as populations grew and many people migrated to cities and towns, fewer people were left to produce food to feed the rest of the nation (Block et al., 2004). As such, not only was the land available for farming become scarce (as most landowners decided to build residential and commercial properties on farmer agricultural lands), but those working in this sector were also reduced (Gottlieb & Joshi, 2010). Today, there are fewer farms in the United States than they used to be several decades ago. The mechanization of agriculture and the utilization of new technology in the production and processing of agricultural foods has led to increased food production throughout the world, but arable land continues to decline. The remaining farmable land is now being threatened by climate change and global warming, which could exacerbate the food desert problem in the United States and other parts of the world.
Conclusion
Food deserts occur due to the demographic characteristics of a given area. Supermarkets tend to be farther from poorer people of color than wealthier whites. Thus, this form of nutritional inequality is tied to individual and communal characteristics and financial abilities. The main difference I observed between the food deserts I visited and my area is that individual barriers played a critical role in the food desert. People there did not own vehicles or have access to reliable public transportation. It is also unclear if these Richardson residents use online grocery shopping, but the costs of such an undertaking may be high since the stores are far, increasing the delivery cost. The primary explanation for this difference is that people may lack access to affordable and healthy foods because they are economically disadvantaged.
References
Arganini, C., Saba, A., Comitato, R., Virgili, F., & Turrini, A. (2012). Gender differences in food choice and dietary intake in modern western societies.Public Health-Social and Behavioral Health, 4, 83-102. Web.
Block, J. P., Scribner, R. A., & DeSalvo, K. B. (2004). Fast food, race/ethnicity, and income: A geographic analysis.American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 27(3), 211-217. Web.
Gottlieb, R., & Joshi, A. (2010). Food justice. MIT Press.
Mallyon, A., Holmes, M., Coveney, J., & Zadoroznyj, M. (2010). I’m not dieting, “I”m doing it for science’: Masculinities and the experience of dieting. Health Sociology Review, 19(3), 330–342. Web.
Martin, K. S., & Ferris, A. M. (2007). Food insecurity and gender are risk factors for obesity. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 39(1), 31-36. Web.
Polivy, J., & Herman, C. P. (2002). Causes of eating disorders. Annual Review of Psychology, 53(1), 187–213. Web.