FOOD DESERTS AND HEALTH DISPARITY

The term food desert comes from a British nutrition task force from the mid-1990s. Food deserts were defined as populated areas without grocery stores, though the definition also includes inaccessibility to food, whether by price, quality, or physical lack of foodstuffs.

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David Horning, the executive director at Impact Now Dove Springs, a food bank in Austin, Texas, says that for about 5 to 6 years, he’d serve an average of 50 families a week, but that in more recent years, the number has jumped up to 220 as of December 2024.

A study by the American Cancer Society suggested that higher incomes were highly correlated with better food access and greater life expectancies by over two years on average, whereas low-income areas were found to have greater dispositions for obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. These complications only further burden high-risk marginalized communities who usually can’t afford or don’t seek treatment.

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In a study conducted by the NIH in 2017, researchers found that half of all cardiovascular related deaths in the US were associated with suboptimal eating habits. Overall, the overconsumption of non-essential food, like sugar-sweetened beverages and red meat, in combination with the underconsumption of essentials like omega-3, fiber, whole grains, and polyunsaturated fats, raised the risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes-related deaths significantly. The study also found that Black and Hispanic men were most at risk, with lower education levels also increasing the proportion of death.

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A different study by Kelli, et al., argues that food deserts are more of a symptom than a cause and that the root of the problem lies in neighborhood characteristics and socioeconomic status, though it’s nearly impossible to separate the two.

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In an interview with New Orleans native Caryn Blair, PIN-UP magazine asked about how food access has worsened in the area post-Katrina:

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“The lack of food options is causing a lot of problems with chronic disease and general health issues down here.” She continues and says, “People are choosing not to invest in these neighborhoods, and it’s keeping the same groups of people malnourished.”

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Citations:

Hicklin, Tianna. “How Dietary Factors Influence Disease Risk.” National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 21 Mar. 2017, www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/how-dietary-factors-influence-disease-risk.

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Kelli, Heval M, et al. “Association between Living in Food Deserts and Cardiovascular Risk.” Circulation. Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Sept. 2017, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5810926/.

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Kolb, Kenneth H. “The Problem Solvers.” Retail Inequality: Reframing the Food Desert Debate, 1st ed., University of California Press, 2022, pp. 154–87. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv21r3j31.10. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.

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Massey, Jason, et al. “Living in Food Deserts Is Associated with Shorter Life Expectancy in the US, New Research Shows.” American Cancer Society MediaRoom, pressroom.cancer.org/releases?item=1237#assets_20295_1237-117. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.

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Waltman-Alexin, Blair. “Texas Food Bank Provides Relief as More Families Struggle to Afford Groceries.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 1 Dec. 2024, www.pbs.org/newshour/show/texas-food-bank-provides-relief-as-more-families-struggle-to-afford-groceries.

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Zeiba, Drew. “Interview: The Modern Phenomenon of Food Deserts and How to Fight Them.” PIN-UP Magazine, 2019, archive.pinupmagazine.org/articles/interview-caryn-blair-food-deserts-new-orleans-brooklyn-elliott-jerome-brown-jr#1