The article provides information on why many people living in the United States and Canada have no access to healthy fresh food regularly. It presents that the core problem is not poverty or physical distance of shops, but unaffordable grocery stores that are expensive for many people.
By using the case of Deborah Gilfillan, the article explains that food mirage, which is a term describing a place that is surrounded by expensive and fancy stores or restaurants but without cheap but healthy food products. It shows that non-profit grocery stores and the Department of Agriculture could not solve the problem.
The article demonstrates the study that mapped 73 supermarkets in Winnipeg, finding that almost 120 000 people live in “unsupportive” food places or food deserts. It highlights the importance of solving this socioeconomic issue, showing the worst food desert neighborhoods.
It explains the difference between food desert and food marriage. A food desert is having no access to affordable and healthy food options, while a food mirage is having enough places of healthy food nearby but they are not affordable.
The study examines food mirage by looking at the coverage of grocery stores in Portland. It suggests producing stands as a pedestrian-scale approach to mitigate gaps in grocery store accessibility for those without transportation.
It analyzes food access, food security, health, and gentrification in the urban center of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada by using semi-structured interviews with 20 low-income, longtime residents and five informants. The study provides insights on how diverse priorities of individuals influence food access under gentrification.
It examines the food shopping behavior of different residents by applying survey data and probability sampling in the Alberta neighborhood in Portland, Oregon (USA). The findings demonstrate that college-educated (62%) and white residents (60%) are prone to shop there weekly, regardless of any racial, social, or physical conditions.