A Brief Explanation of Food Deserts

Donuts
Photo by Kobby Mendez on Unsplash

An accomplished community developer in Kansas City, Kansas, Ann Brandau-Murguia most recently served as executive director of the Argentine Neighborhood Development Association, a community housing organization that aims to revitalize the Argentine community. Among Ann Brandau-Murguia’s notable accomplishments in this role, her involvement in the construction of a Walmart gave greater access to healthy food and eliminated a significant food desert.

According to the American Nutrition Association, a food desert is an area where residents have little to no access to fresh fruits, vegetables, or other whole foods. Typically resulting from a lack of grocery stores or farmers markets, food deserts often exist in impoverished areas. Food deserts often have many convenience stores, making heavily processed and high-sugar foods the only option for neighborhood residents who do not have personal transportation. The result is a growing obesity epidemic in the United States, where more than 23 million people live without access to healthy, affordable foods.

To combat this problem, the USDA has created a map of the country’s food deserts, and the Center for Disease Control outlines strategies to address the issue, such as creating community gardens, improving public transportation, and revising tax laws to incentivize supermarkets to open in food deserts.