Food Deserts

~ Aissa Dearing

Ever since I can remember, my mother and I had a tradition of going grocery shopping together. Escaping the chaos at home, it was the grand excursion of the week - we drove twenty minutes or so and spent time picking out my favorite fruits and veggies. The produce section at this particular supermarket was vast and my mother taught me exactly what to look for when picking out a particular fruit. Because of my early relationship with grocery shopping that my mother insisted on, I was able to gain a greater appreciation for healthy eating overall.

However, if you look inside my community of Durham, North Carolina, healthy food is difficult to access. Low-income communities of color, like mine, don't tend to have these produce-rich filled grocery stores. On my block, there are two tobacco stores, one gas station, and three fast-food restaurants. This food inequity issue isn't unique to my community; according to the United States Department of Agriculture, there are 6,500 food deserts across the United States. The demographics that comprise these food deserts are people living below the poverty line, people of color, and single-parent households.

Durham does host a weekly Farmer's Market, which not only has the greatest selection of healthy food options -- the food is transported from local farms making it the most sustainable choice for consumption. Upon visiting this market there was a stark realization that my mother and I made. Walking past the booths the price tags listed $3.50, $5.00, $7.00...the market was full of food, just with nothing that we could afford. It's not that people living in food deserts do not want healthy, affordable options -- it's that these options are out of our reach. Driving twenty minutes to the nearest affordable grocery store was considered convenient compared to the stores in my community.

Food equity and affordable nutrition play a defining role in health for all. When McDonald's is one minute away from my home, why should I make the effort to drive 10 minutes to Saladelia to order a $7.00 salad? There must be a national effort to ensure that our most vulnerable communities receive accessible, healthy food.