Food Desert Problem Essay

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One of the rising problems tackling America’s both large and rural areas today is the problem of food deserts. The term food deserts refers to an area in which there is no access to fresh, healthy and affordable food and more than 20% of the neighborhood falls below the poverty line (Powel, 2014). The problem of food deserts in America is a growing problem that has received a rising attention from U.S policies makers, public figures and corporations because it is a problem that’s affecting the U.S, not only on a national level but a local one as well ( Schimidt, 2013). According to Dosomething.org, an organization advocating for social changes, nearly 23.5 millions of people live in food deserts in America today. And chances are that you and I, if not already included in this number, at least knows someone who is counted in this number or is currently living in an area characterized as food deserts. And typically, these people are not only struggling financially, but they are also dealing with chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension (Powel, 1).
Over the past decades, countless studies have shown that what we eat affects our brain (.McCulloch, 2). That is why, it is encouraged to eat healthy food for numerous of reason
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Based on the criteria in determining a food deserts area, if 20% of the neighborhood falls below the poverty line in a particular area, the area is consider as food desert (Powel, 2014). With this in mind, it is likely that the people living in these areas won’t have their own transportation. They would have to depend on public transportation to get from point A to point B. And since the grocery stores in most food desert areas are within 10-20 miles far from where these people live, a lot of them would tend to eat foods that lack nutritional value than making that extra effort to get to the fresh-grocery store (Raja, S., Ma, C., & Yadav,

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