Food Deserts Essay - 1839 Words

Hundreds of thousands of Chicagoans live in what’s known as a food desert. A food desert is in an area of focus that is short on access to fresh meat and produce. These areas are usually over populated with packaged and processed foods, which are not always healthy. They also have a significant amount junk that you can easily find in convenience stores and fast food restaurants. What exactly qualifies a neighborhood to be part of a food desert? Food deserts usually have a bunch of blocks without a corner grocery store. In a more severe case an entire neighborhood, or a whole bunch of neighborhoods do not have a mainstream grocery store. A mainstream grocery stored would be a grocery store like a Jewel, a Whole Foods, or an Aldi, where†¦show more content†¦In a lower income neighborhood such as Pullman, where there are not many grocery stores. These neighborhoods lack all kinds of resources that they need to be able to access these grocery stores, such as, money and transportation. â€Å"Theres nothing here in the community for us to shop at, (Schorsch, 2009) said Saiesha Anderson, 28, who suggests that city officials transform the vacant lots and boarded up shops in Pullman into groceries stocked with fresh foods. Rev. James Meeks called Pullman a food desert because, the closest store with fresh produce is a Jewel that is located at 11730 S. Mars hfield Ave., which would be a few miles from some families homes depending on where their homes are located. In our neighborhood, the only thing you can buy is something greasy in a bag, (Schorsch, 2009) said Rev. Meeks. Meeks wants the Chicago aldermen and Chicago’s union leaders to allow Walmart to build a store on the South Side, home to some of the citys poorest communities. According to the book â€Å" The Meaning of Sociology†, â€Å"Having high rank means that one can influence the economic and political order r more regularly than can those who hold low rank or lives in poverty.† (Charon, Vigilant, 67) A neighborhood with wealthier income would be able access the resources that they need daily for food, versus a family of lower income who does not have the money to have access to the saneShow MoreRelatedFood Of A Food Desert1745 Words   |  7 PagesBarrera Geography Matthew Piscelli November 19, 2014 Food Deserts One huge problem that the United States faces today are the large numbers of food deserts. A food desert, according to the United States department of Agriculture, is a neighborhood that has a difficult time getting quality and affordable food to their home. This means that people are not properly being fed and getting the nutrition needed for a healthy diet. 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These low-income families often turn to the junk food provided at the convenience stores and fast food restaurants because it is all they can afford. Socio-economic status is a defining characteristic of food deserts. Food deserts are most commonly found in areas dominated by minorities and low-income families. Studies show that wealthy areas have about trip le the amount of supermarkets as poor urban areas do. In addition to this