In my red and mostly rural home state it's not uncommon to read about grocery stores shuttering and locals being stuck having to drive 45 minutes or more to have access to much more than a gas station hot dog. I'm sympathetic to the idea of subsidizing modest grocery stores or farmers' markets so people are not left high and dry.
That being said, I'd say especially in urban settings the "food desert" discourse can reflect the upper middle class cultural predilections of folks like Michael Pollan more than it does the consumer choices of local residents. There's an extent to which fresh vegetables are an acquired taste without the immediate gut appeal of greasier, saltier, crunchier, more prepackaged things, or that flavored seltzers are not as viscerally grabbing of one's taste buds as a big sugary soda or slurpee. I did some research on this for Bill Moyers, there have been a lot of cases where well-meaning philanthropists or local officials have spent a lot of money hosting farmers' markets offering produce for which there's very little actual demand. Maybe there could be better nutritional education, but people also like what they like.
One of my big frustrations as a policy major was the frequent tendency to term complex issues as anodyne abstractions it's easier to talk about. "Food insecurity" as a term kind of suggests it's just a matter of throwing more money at a single solvable problem, rather than an intractable tangle of conundrums to endlessly struggle with.
This is the reason I thought Michelle Obama’s work was so important because it focuses on the educating people about healthy lifestyles (both nutritious and exercise) while also starting those habits early for kids before adults maybe get set in their ways for the foods they prefer. With that said, both food desert and food insecurity have technical definitions, but I do understand what you’re saying about how they can become hand-wavy in ways that might not be constructive
I agree with the "catching them early" part but the education piece tends to be overrated by middle/upper class folk. I've lived in plenty of overwhelmingly poor and obese neighborhoods and no one there was under the delusion that their diet was healthy, or that vegetables wouldn't do them some good.
The look of disgust and near terror that predictably fell on any of the roommates or coworkers I offered to share my broccoli with (looks i dont think ill ever forget) vividly illustrates what we're dealing with.
Yeah it's a tough balance to strike getting the message across but not quite too preachy to raise people's hackles... at the end of the day kale really is good even if it takes some work to get there!
I'm french so I don't think we have the same problem as in the US when it comes to food availability. But I think the problem with unhealthy food is the same as with cigarette: it is killing people. Unless the government steps in to do something, people will continue poisoning themselves. I have little admiration for politicians who pretend to be radical but don't go after the food industrial complex that is killing millions of people each year.
This is an issue that deserves more attention so thank you Jeremy for this post. I'd add as a solution more spending on delivering food to those who need it. It's expensive in time and dignity to wait on a long line for food. Many who are food insecure simply cannot afford the time or understandably will not accept the stigma.
I think one of the key points is that people having trouble accessing or paying for food are likely to still get enough calories, but to do so by turning to junk food available at gas stations and convenience stores or fast food chains, all with negative health consequences. This may become a habit or behavior that is hard to change, even if food resources or availability is altered via public policy.
Definitely a key point. Fast food is the other side of the coin here with food deserts. Unhealthy options may be the only option in many of these communities and then exactly as you said those habits become harder to break
I wonder... In the US, don't you have Drive by grocery stores where you just order on the internet and then you go pick up your order at a certain location? I think it could be an alternative to full blown grocery stores. And if you have one of these pick up points say, every 5 miles, you can swap the car for a bike or a rickshaw...
This still has 2 challenges which are that (1) there are 2.1 million Americans who live in food deserts AND don’t have cars and (2) it doesn’t address the issue of cost which is that many Americans can’t afford nutritious groceries regardless of the pickup method
A location that does only pickup has fewer costs. What about the bike/rickshaw alternative ? 5 miles on a bike is very doable. But then you would have the issue of Time. Maybe carpooling could also help.
I meant lower costs. Overall what I mean is even if we can't help the 2.1 millions Americans that are the most insecure, maybe exploring those ideas could help make a dent.
In my red and mostly rural home state it's not uncommon to read about grocery stores shuttering and locals being stuck having to drive 45 minutes or more to have access to much more than a gas station hot dog. I'm sympathetic to the idea of subsidizing modest grocery stores or farmers' markets so people are not left high and dry.
That being said, I'd say especially in urban settings the "food desert" discourse can reflect the upper middle class cultural predilections of folks like Michael Pollan more than it does the consumer choices of local residents. There's an extent to which fresh vegetables are an acquired taste without the immediate gut appeal of greasier, saltier, crunchier, more prepackaged things, or that flavored seltzers are not as viscerally grabbing of one's taste buds as a big sugary soda or slurpee. I did some research on this for Bill Moyers, there have been a lot of cases where well-meaning philanthropists or local officials have spent a lot of money hosting farmers' markets offering produce for which there's very little actual demand. Maybe there could be better nutritional education, but people also like what they like.
One of my big frustrations as a policy major was the frequent tendency to term complex issues as anodyne abstractions it's easier to talk about. "Food insecurity" as a term kind of suggests it's just a matter of throwing more money at a single solvable problem, rather than an intractable tangle of conundrums to endlessly struggle with.
This is the reason I thought Michelle Obama’s work was so important because it focuses on the educating people about healthy lifestyles (both nutritious and exercise) while also starting those habits early for kids before adults maybe get set in their ways for the foods they prefer. With that said, both food desert and food insecurity have technical definitions, but I do understand what you’re saying about how they can become hand-wavy in ways that might not be constructive
I agree with the "catching them early" part but the education piece tends to be overrated by middle/upper class folk. I've lived in plenty of overwhelmingly poor and obese neighborhoods and no one there was under the delusion that their diet was healthy, or that vegetables wouldn't do them some good.
The look of disgust and near terror that predictably fell on any of the roommates or coworkers I offered to share my broccoli with (looks i dont think ill ever forget) vividly illustrates what we're dealing with.
Yeah it's a tough balance to strike getting the message across but not quite too preachy to raise people's hackles... at the end of the day kale really is good even if it takes some work to get there!
That would make for a great tattoo
I'm french so I don't think we have the same problem as in the US when it comes to food availability. But I think the problem with unhealthy food is the same as with cigarette: it is killing people. Unless the government steps in to do something, people will continue poisoning themselves. I have little admiration for politicians who pretend to be radical but don't go after the food industrial complex that is killing millions of people each year.
This is an issue that deserves more attention so thank you Jeremy for this post. I'd add as a solution more spending on delivering food to those who need it. It's expensive in time and dignity to wait on a long line for food. Many who are food insecure simply cannot afford the time or understandably will not accept the stigma.
Yes such a great point. In both cities and rural areas where last mile delivery is very challenging this is a huge issue.
I think one of the key points is that people having trouble accessing or paying for food are likely to still get enough calories, but to do so by turning to junk food available at gas stations and convenience stores or fast food chains, all with negative health consequences. This may become a habit or behavior that is hard to change, even if food resources or availability is altered via public policy.
Definitely a key point. Fast food is the other side of the coin here with food deserts. Unhealthy options may be the only option in many of these communities and then exactly as you said those habits become harder to break
This is such a massive issue that I really didn't know about
I wonder... In the US, don't you have Drive by grocery stores where you just order on the internet and then you go pick up your order at a certain location? I think it could be an alternative to full blown grocery stores. And if you have one of these pick up points say, every 5 miles, you can swap the car for a bike or a rickshaw...
This still has 2 challenges which are that (1) there are 2.1 million Americans who live in food deserts AND don’t have cars and (2) it doesn’t address the issue of cost which is that many Americans can’t afford nutritious groceries regardless of the pickup method
A location that does only pickup has fewer costs. What about the bike/rickshaw alternative ? 5 miles on a bike is very doable. But then you would have the issue of Time. Maybe carpooling could also help.
I meant lower costs. Overall what I mean is even if we can't help the 2.1 millions Americans that are the most insecure, maybe exploring those ideas could help make a dent.