The wealthiest country in the world has a growing food problem. Shamefully, food deserts have negatively impacted millions of low-income families in the United States for decades. Now, in addition to the food deserts, as many as 39 million Americans suffer from food insecurity, according to a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) study.
But wait, there’s more. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, millions more are being added to the ranks of the food insecure. Our country is now faced with the possibility of widespread malnutrition and starvation from multiple causes. And it’s all preventable.
A desert is a barren, dry land with harsh living conditions that are hostile for plant and animal life. A food desert is an area in which the people who live there have limited or no access to affordable, nutritious food – a harsh and hostile place, indeed.
In food deserts, there are no grocery stores or farmers markets with fresh produce and other high-quality foods within a mile of where people live, usually low-income neighborhoods in which the residents have reduced mobility. According to the USDA, more than 2 million households in food deserts don’t own a vehicle, and mass transit is not a practical solution for food shopping, especially in a pandemic.
These areas often have numerous fast food restaurants, convenience stores, and liquor stores where residents buy their meals. Fast food and junk food become the staples of their diets, which detrimentally impact their overall health. An added factor is that frozen and canned food last longer and are easier to prepare than fresh food, so fresh options are not as practical for a low-income family working multiple jobs.
A 2010 U.S. Department of Agriculture report cited that 23.5 million people in the U.S. live in food deserts. While 82% of food deserts are in urban areas, they also exist in remote rural areas and on indigenous reservations, with a USDA estimate of 335,000 people in the U.S. living more than 20 miles from a grocery store.
Food insecurity, on the other hand, is not a food desert. It’s a deficiency of dependable access to food in order to maintain health. In other words, although the consumer may be able to get to a store that sells fresh and nutritious food, they may not be able to afford to buy it.
Hunger in the United States is expected to double by the end of 2020. The number of food insecure people has spiked across the country, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thousands of people have lost their jobs, and there is more job loss to come. Food accessibility is becoming increasingly difficult, and the food desert is expanding beyond the usual low-income areas. Native communities have been disproportionately impacted by the virus.
The High Price of Food
In normal times, people who live in food deserts typically pay as much as 37% more for their groceries than people in the suburbs – for the same items – because of higher operating costs in urban areas. It’s now becoming even more difficult for people to afford fresh, nutritious food. The pandemic has made food more expensive, and the prices are still rising. Many smaller food shops, farmers markets, and restaurants have closed permanently, leaving only the larger food chains and less competition to drive prices down. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of groceries went up 2.6% in April 2020. It was the biggest monthly increase since 1974. The price of meat increased by 3.3%, eggs by 16.1%, and fresh produce by 1.5%.
Adding to this price increase, it’s no longer safe to shop in stores, so many people have food delivered. Food delivery is expensive. With higher prices for items, delivery fees, and minimum purchase requirements, this option is prohibitive for many. If you can’t afford to have your food delivered, you have to risk your life at the grocery store.
With more than 16 million Americans out of work, the food crisis is deepening by the day. In the midst of COVID-19, those already living in a food desert find it even more difficult to find nutritious food. Thousands more who have never been food insecure suddenly can’t afford to feed themselves and their family, which puts more pressure on food banks. People who have never gone to a food bank now wait for hours in line to get food. And it’s costing more for food banks to provide food for a population of food insecure people that is growing every day.
Stores are finding it more and more difficult to stock certain items, because supply chains are broken. The larger stores are struggling to keep their shelves stocked. Many aisles have been wiped bare of essentials, due to a combination of hoarding, buying panic, slow production to keep up with the demand, and lack of transportation for consumer goods.
The federal government offers little, if any, help in meeting basic needs, including the ability to buy food, and they have ignored the issue of rising prices and price gouging. They seem not to care and have actively worked against hungry Americans by cutting federal nutrition programs.
There has been some government relief, though it’s not really a practical solution. The USDA now allows food stamp recipients in some states to purchase groceries online and have them delivered. However, there are still 15 states in which it is not allowed. The delivery option is still prohibitively expensive for many low-income families.
The irony is that there is plenty of food, but much of it is being wasted. Since the food can’t be delivered, it rots in warehouses, or suppliers dump it, rather than donating it to people in need. Meat producers slaughter their livestock, when they’re not able to sell it. More affluent families waste food, too. They can afford to stock up. If they don’t eat what’s on their plates or in the refrigerator and it spoils, the food goes into the garbage.
Impact on Health
Ironically, the biggest health factor related to food deserts is obesity. Available foods are usually processed, not fresh, and they’re high in refined sugars, simple carbohydrates, and unhealthy fats which contribute to obesity. Obesity and being overweight can lead to chronic health issues, such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke. These conditions last for generations, because the kids often end up living in food deserts, as well.
Lack of education plays a role in food-related health issues, since families have established eating habits which are hard to change. Children have an added health challenge, because poor nutrition can lead to weak immune systems, stunted growth, and cognitive difficulties.
Stress is another health factor tied to food insecurity. When you’re out of work, underemployed or underpaid, life is stressful, because you can’t afford to support yourself and your family. Stress releases cortisol into the body. High cortisol causes all kinds of chronic health issues, such as weight gain and obesity, type 2 diabetes, insomnia, impaired healing and cell regeneration, digestive and metabolic issues, mood swings, depression, weakened immune system, and hormone imbalances.
Solutions
So… how do we water this food desert? The answer is not simple, but Americans have always been resourceful when it comes to difficult situations.
I believe that building a strong community is at the core of this solution. Each community has its own set of unique challenges and will need to employ a combination of tactics specific to the needs of the residents. It’s important to involve community members in the planning and execution of these solutions, so the results effect real change.
Here are some suggestions:
- Mobile grocery stores, both urban and on tribal lands can make a big difference in the availability of nutritious, affordable food.
- Elicit support for local agriculture and infrastructure to help communities create a more sustainable local food supply.
- Support and buy from small local growers.
- Encourage farmers to donate excess crops and dairy products to food banks.
- Build community gardens and encourage families to participate and share produce.
- Establish and support local farmers markets in your neighborhood.
- Improve public transportation from food deserts to markets that offer fresh, nutritious foods.
- Push for local laws and tax codes to attract grocery stores and fresh food sellers to food deserts.
- Change food buying habits and eating behaviors with education in nutrition and food preparation. Food is deeply cultural, so find healthy alternatives or make “adjustments” to the traditional foods.
- Bring into challenged neighborhoods affordable grocery stores and markets that stock fresh items.
- Vote for representatives who support government food assistance and nutrition programs.
- Create food buying clubs.
- Bring to the neighborhood produce trucks that sell fresh produce at a discount.
- Train neighborhood residents in food production, preparation, and nutrition.
- Support safe working conditions and fair wages for local farmer workers.
- Practice sustainable and regenerative agriculture.
- Support food entrepreneurs.
- Celebrate cultural diversity as represented in food.
- Encourage residents to participate in community food projects.
- Grow your own food.
Around the time that COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, thousands of Americans began growing their own food. This drove up the price of gardening and made many gardening items, such as seeds and soil, difficult to get. But that was the first wave. Now that the initial pressure on the supply chain has settled back a bit, supplies are more readily available. Prices, however, have not come down.
The good news is that once you’ve purchased the tools, seeds, containers, soil, etc. that you need for your home garden, you won’t have to buy them again – at least not for a while. When your plants begin to produce, you’ll have an abundance of fresh food to eat right away and then preserve the excess for later.
Be generous. Offer excess produce to your neighbors. Start a conversation with them around gardening. Offer and get advice. Swap seeds. Swap produce. You’ll begin to build a network of support in your community.
When you help others, it will come back to you in ways you can’t imagine, often when you least expect it – and most need it. A community safety net will benefit all, and it will help you have a more abundant and joyful life.
No one deserves to go hungry. Clean, fresh, nutritious food should be a right for all, not just Americans, but for everyone on this planet. It’s time for us to tear away the mantle of hunger and create universal abundance.
###
