Thanksgiving is a special holiday modeled on the 1621 harvest feast that was enjoyed by the English colonists and the Wampanoag Indians. It is a time when families and friends gather to give thanks and enjoy an abundance of food, typically overindulging in a range of appetizing dishes. Colorful and extravagant feasts adorn the dining room tables of many of us. However, this is not true for all members of society. Even in our affluent state, there are areas where access to fresh, healthy food is out of reach for many. This is especially true in areas that are food deserts, so named because they lack access to nutritious food sources.
Food deserts can be defined as located more than a mile from healthy and affordable food, or more than 20 miles in a rural area. There are many reasons why people live in food deserts but the issues relate primarily to access. This can be because there is a lack of transportation, such as people not owning or having access to cars, preventing them from traveling to a grocery store. Public transportation can be limited as well. As a result, there may only be places offering low-quality food such as corner grocery stores, convenience stores, or bodegas. Another reason for limited access can be a lack of grocery stores in existence that offer nutritious foods. This may be because more nutritious foods are more expensive (in general) and therefore grocery stores like Whole Foods may not profit as much when located in an urban area/inner city area where incomes are lower on average.
There are many reasons for food deserts. These reasons include limited access to transportation, limited income, and few places that offer a wide variety of fresh foods. The impacts of food deserts on the inflicted communities are extensive and are especially deleterious to health. Food deserts tend to offer food that is processed, cheap, and lacks nutrients and vitamins. The food also tends to be high in calories, fat, and sugar. As a result, these types of foods are more likely to cause obesity which can then lead to other health issues such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
Lack of healthy food can significantly impact the well-being of children. When children are developing and growing, they particularly need access to fresh foods. They require this for their overall health and for their maximum development. In addition, many healthy habits and food preferences are formed in childhood and if a child is only exposed to unhealthy sugary, salty, and fatty foods, they may continue to prefer that to more nutritious options throughout their lifetimes, leading to poorer overall health. Lack of healthy food and food deserts have lasting impacts on the communities for many years to come. As a result of poor diets and poor health, people can be limited in the jobs they can procure and maintain, which limits their income. This also limits opportunities for their families. This becomes a vicious cycle and affects everyone in their communities.
Surprisingly, this issue is prevalent in affluent areas such as New Jersey. The US Census Bureau determined that 1 in 13 New Jerseyans report having insufficient food to eat in the prior 7 days. A recent study identified food deserts in every county of New Jersey, comprising neighborhoods where nearly 344,000 people live. A recent newspaper article stated that about 800,000 New Jersey residents suffer from food insecurity, with about 25% of those residents being children. There are several programs in New Jersey that are attempting to address this problem. In 2021, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy passed the Food Desert Relief Act as part of the New Jersey Economic Recovery Act of 2020. This Act helps identify 50 food deserts in New Jersey to support. The funding includes $40 million dollars for up to 6 years to support these communities, with the money used for tax credits, loans, and grants for grocery stores that serve underserved residents. In NJ, the Economic Development Authority’s Sustain and Serve NJ initiative has a budget of $45 million dollars to pay restaurants to deliver ready-to-eat meals to underserved residents. Such initiatives are excellent steps in the direction of addressing food deserts in NJ.
The 50 food desert locations in New Jersey were identified using criteria that included poverty statistics, information from the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about healthier food, and identifying whether residents were able to purchase healthy and nutritious foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables at supermarkets and grocery stores. Additional considerations included food retail environment and demographic, economic, health, and community factors that further helped to identify food deserts.
These larger grocery stores and supermarkets would benefit from the financial benefits they may receive. Other supporters of this policy would be community members who want improved access to healthy and nutritious foods. Opponents of such a policy might be smaller convenience stores and independent stores that may not qualify for these financial benefits and may be at risk of closing due to the competition from the larger grocery stores and supermarkets. It could possibly be that the larger, well-known chain of grocery stores and supermarkets put smaller, independent stores out of business due to this policy. In addition, some members of the food desert community may also protest if they no longer have access to the cheap but unhealthy food they have grown used to having easy access to. These smaller stores and convenience stores may have been present in their communities for long periods of time and putting them out of business or closing them may disrupt the daily habits and diets of some residents.
Some cities in the U.S. have addressed this problem in different ways. For example, Baltimore, Maryland has tried to address this problem by providing additional money for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the largest federal nutrition assistance program, providing resources to support schoolchildren during winter breaks and summer. They were also able to provide required matching dollars through Healthy Food Priority Area Funds and have created new rules and laws for food truck businesses.
Steps that supporters can take to address this problem include increased publicity. This could be achieved by writing articles for the local newspapers and through social media. Furthermore, fundraisers can help to provide resources to encourage local entrepreneurs to start businesses such as food trucks offering healthy and fresh foods in some of these regions with food deserts. Lastly, supporters could try to petition their local governments to try to encourage partnerships with local towns with food deserts. Thanksgiving is a holiday that should remind us to enjoy our overflowing array of delicious and nutritious food, but also remind us to try to highlight the issue and fight for that same access for those less fortunate.
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