WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: What Are Food Deserts?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren vogle bomb here with a classic episode

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<v Speaker 1>from our archives. This one goes into the harsh realities

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<v Speaker 1>of the gaps in our food supply chain here in

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<v Speaker 1>the United States and what's being done to improve the situation.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff, Lauren voge bomb here. The United States

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<v Speaker 1>still struggles to feed people adequately. According to a new

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<v Speaker 1>analysis by the nonprofit organization Reinvestment Fund, seventeen point six

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<v Speaker 1>million Americans lack access to healthy food. It's not all

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<v Speaker 1>bad news. They analyzed limited supermarket areas or l says,

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<v Speaker 1>often called food deserts. Their analysis shows that in most states,

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<v Speaker 1>access to healthy food has improved overall during the past

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<v Speaker 1>several years. Even in states with significant population growth, such

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<v Speaker 1>as Florida and Arizona, the percentage of people who lived

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<v Speaker 1>in alisas decreased from six point eight percent in to

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<v Speaker 1>ten to five point six percent in twenty six. That

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<v Speaker 1>means three point one million people have better access to

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<v Speaker 1>fresh foods than they used to, but progress hasn't been

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<v Speaker 1>consistent across the country. Even though grocery stores aren't the

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<v Speaker 1>only places to get fresh food. Other retailers, including drug

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<v Speaker 1>stores and corner stores. Health experts note that food prices

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<v Speaker 1>at grocery stores are lower than those at smaller stores,

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<v Speaker 1>and that large clubs like Costco and Sam's typically require

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<v Speaker 1>membership fees that may be a barrier for some families. Plus,

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<v Speaker 1>when there are fewer grocery stores in a given area,

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<v Speaker 1>food prices are typically higher. Additionally, the analysis found that

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<v Speaker 1>ls as are disproportionately found in areas where the demographics

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<v Speaker 1>include more people with low incomes, people in poverty, and

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<v Speaker 1>people of color. For example, food access improved overall in

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<v Speaker 1>Rhode Island. The number of people living in alisas they're

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<v Speaker 1>dropped thirty eight percent between twenty and twenty sixteen, but

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<v Speaker 1>of Rhode Islands remaining ls A population is income residents.

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<v Speaker 1>Access to healthy food is key for good health and

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<v Speaker 1>quality of life. People who live in areas with poor

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<v Speaker 1>access to healthy food are fifty cent less likely to

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<v Speaker 1>have a good quality diet. In communities with good access

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<v Speaker 1>to healthy food, there's a reduced incidence of diabetes, for example.

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<v Speaker 1>Food access also impacts other health conditions, such as cardiovascular

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<v Speaker 1>disease and even some types of cancer. The Reinvestment Fund

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<v Speaker 1>analysis identifies low supermarket areas by looking at criteria such

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<v Speaker 1>as income, car ownership rates, and the distance to existing

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<v Speaker 1>grocery stores, making adjustments for differences in rural and urban areas. Still,

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<v Speaker 1>residents of LSAs travel almost twice as far to get

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<v Speaker 1>to grocery stores as residents in places with good access

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<v Speaker 1>to healthy food, even when there is a similar population

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<v Speaker 1>density and car ownership. Retailers typically place stores in areas

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<v Speaker 1>where there's enough demand to sustain operations, such as a

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<v Speaker 1>denser population with a higher income. Low income or rural

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<v Speaker 1>areas don't offer those characteristics to attract retailers without other incentives,

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<v Speaker 1>and in urban areas, retailers face barriers such as real

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<v Speaker 1>estate costs, limited parking space for customers, and traffic issues

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<v Speaker 1>which can make it hard for large trucks to enter

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<v Speaker 1>and make regular deliveries. The LSA analysis by the Reinvestment

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<v Speaker 1>Fund will help direct government assistance to communities to help

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<v Speaker 1>bring grocery stores and healthy food retailers to underserved communities

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<v Speaker 1>through the government's Healthy Food Financing Initiative. In the past

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<v Speaker 1>ten years, drug stores such as Walgreens have made efforts

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<v Speaker 1>to stock limited grocery items, including milk, eggs, and fruit

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<v Speaker 1>calling these efforts a food oasis to combat limited access

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<v Speaker 1>in food deserts, and some communities address food access through

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<v Speaker 1>grassroots efforts such as mobile grocery stores, community gardens, and

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<v Speaker 1>farmers markets. For example, in Chicago, and urban Farming program

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<v Speaker 1>that started back in seen with just a few acres

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<v Speaker 1>of land and a converted bus, served its ten thousand

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<v Speaker 1>customer as of August. The program called Fresh Moves Mobile

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<v Speaker 1>Market serves senior centers, schools, and other locations on Chicago's

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<v Speaker 1>South and West sides weekly, focusing specifically on areas with

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<v Speaker 1>no access to fresh foods. Today's episode is based on

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<v Speaker 1>the article seventeen point six million Americans still lack access

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<v Speaker 1>to healthy food on house toworks dot com, written by

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<v Speaker 1>Sean Chavis. Print Office production of I Heart Radio in

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<v Speaker 1>partnership with house to works dot Com and it's produced

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<v Speaker 1>by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from my heart Radio

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