Food Deserts in the United States

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), a food desert is defined as a concentration of low-income households with limited access to food retailers selling affordable healthy groceries (Dutko et al. 1). Lilian Stone, a personal finance writer, specifies that in 2015, approximately 27% of the U.S. population lived in food deserts (Stone). Furthermore, Paula Dutko, a publisher for the USDA, elaborates that residents of food deserts are prone to rising incidences of obesity, diabetes, or other weight-related diseases (Dutko et al. 1). In addition to health issues, the median family income in food deserts is 18% lower than families living in non-food desert tracts (Dutko et al. 1). Therefore, it is apparent that poor economics contributes to a rise in adverse health effects. Thus, when analyzing the economic disparities found across food deserts in the United States, it is necessary to determine the extent to which monetary policies affect residents’ standard of living in order to reduce the prevalence of health issues. 

Food Taxes and Pricing 

Food taxes are implemented in the U.S. to regulate people’s spending habits on food; however, individuals living in food deserts question the effectiveness of these economic policies. Roberta F. Mann, an author devoted to writing tax system reports from the University of Oregon, states that imposing extra taxes on unhealthy foods should discourage people from purchasing unhealthy products and encourage them to make healthier choices (Mann 718). Mann’s claim that increasing taxes will promote better health is based on the questionable assumption that residents of food deserts are receptive to the idea. People living in food deserts are typically low-income, so increasing the prices of foods may cause economic difficulties and be counterproductive. Lisa M. Powell, Ph.D., Director at the University of Illinois and Frank J. Chaloupka, professor of economics at the University of Illinois, conducted a survey analyzing the opinions of residents in food deserts regarding implementing taxes on “snack foods.” It was concluded that only 33% of the surveyed individuals supported taxing unhealthy foods to encourage healthy eating habits (Powell and Chaloupka 248). Whereas Mann’s assertion may seem beneficial, Powell and Chaloupka’s study contradicts the effectiveness of increasing taxes on unhealthy foods.

Generally, people living in food deserts are opposed to raising the prices of snack foods, so food taxes are detrimental to the quality of life of individuals. Furthering this claim, Lillian Stone states that the average cost of food in a food desert is 36% higher than the prices of foods in non-food deserts (Stone). Stone expands on Powell and Chaloupka’s study by explaining how food prices are already overpriced in food deserts, therefore strengthening the claim that levying taxes will cause financial struggles for residents who want to purchase food. Therefore, despite food taxes being a probable explanation for improving the standard of living of residents, economic concerns severely hinder the advantages of taxes, making them inefficient and problematic. 

Unequal Distributions of Healthy Food 

Although residents have access to food outlets, nutritious foods provided in low-income areas are disproportionate compared to high-income communities. Robyn Correll, a public health consultant from the University of Missouri-Columbia, states that in 2015, high-income areas had 24,000 grocery stores, but low-income areas had only 19,700 stores (qtd. in Correll). Correll’s statistic proves that residents living in high-income areas have more access to grocery stores than people in low-income communities. This debate is further extended by Adi Segal, a Columbia University researcher, who explains how poor neighborhoods with grocery stores often lack healthy food options (Segal 1). Along with low-income communities having limited grocery stores, the retailers also lack nutritious food choices. This deprivation of both food markets and healthy foods creates a poor standard of living for residents in food deserts. 

In addition to a short supply of grocery stores and healthy foods, the availability of junk food is more prevalent in low-income food deserts. Nicole Larson, an environmental researcher from the University of Minnesota, illustrates that low-income neighborhoods have 1.3 times the number of fast food restaurants as high-income communities (Larson et al. 77). Larson 

approaches the food disparity argument differently because she emphasizes the abundance of unhealthy fast foods instead of a lack of healthy foods. It is heavily implied that due to the small quantity of nutritious foods and an excess amount of junk food, people living in low-income communities are more likely to purchase unhealthy foods over nutritious ones. However, Dave Weatherspoon, an agricultural economic researcher from Michigan State University, challenges this claim by arguing that there are few “sales data opportunities” to analyze the purchasing behavior of food desert residents (Weatherspoon 962). This claim limits the previous assertions because it describes how little studies have been conducted on the spending habits of individuals living in food deserts. It is generally unknown whether residents in food deserts are more likely to purchase junk food over healthy food, complicating the economics of food deserts further.

Urban and Rural Food Deserts 

Economic disparities are evident when comparing food deserts and food-secure regions, however, socioeconomic differences exist within food deserts themselves. Societal gaps become apparent when evaluating urban and rural food deserts in contrast to one another. According to research scientists Joy Rayanne Piontak and Micheal D. Schulman, Ph.D, the 2008 recession caused a growth in unemployment rates in urban and rural regions. However, they argue that recovery rates in rural areas have “lagged behind” urban areas (Piontak and Schulman 76). Additionally, they analyzed that 81% of the highest poverty counties in the United States from 2007-2011 were “non-metro” or rural (Piontak and Schulman 76). Their research suggests that economic problems such as poverty and unemployment are more prevalent in rural food deserts than urban ones. This argument is further supported in a study by Dr. Frances Hardin-Fanning, Ph.D., a researcher from Morehead State University, in which she analyzed Kentucky’s urban and rural counties. It was found that Kentucky’s impoverished rural counties had higher food prices than urban counties of the same economy (Hardin-Fanning and Rayens 388). Hardin-Fanning’s study supports Piontak and Schulman’s claims of rural food deserts suffering harsher financial challenges by analyzing a real-world example of the supposed economic disparities.

Despite research pointing to a significant economic gap between urban and rural food deserts, Andrea Sparks, a chief financial officer for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, observes that there is limited research on urban food deserts. Recent studies on urban areas only focus on one specific city instead of analyzing broader generalizations of food desert cities as a whole (Sparks 1716). Her statement suggests that research regarding urban food deserts is inconsistent and specific to certain cities, providing a possible reason as to why rural food deserts may seem more economically challenged than urban regions. Conclusion 

In summary, people living in food deserts are negatively impacted by various economic policies, which contribute to a growth in food-related health issues. Food taxes on unhealthy foods should be implemented to combat the rising number of weight-related diseases in food deserts (Powell and Chaloupka 232). However, there is a problem with increasing taxes on food; residents may struggle financially to purchase the products due to living in low-income areas. Additionally, residents become more inclined to purchase unhealthy foods due to a lack of grocery stores and an excess amount of fast food restaurants in food deserts. Furthermore, because of a lack of "sales data opportunities" and "scanner data," retailers may struggle to understand how poor the standard of living in food deserts is (Weatherspoon 962). Thus, more research needs to be conducted on the economics of food deserts with consistent methods throughout to improve the overall quality of life. 

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Written by Max Sheynin

References

• Correll, Robyn. “What Are Food Deserts?” Verywell Health, 1 November 2022, www.verywellhealth.com/what-are-food-deserts-4165971. Accessed 18 November 2023. Dutko, Paula et al. “Characteristics and Influential Factors of Food Deserts” United States Department of Agriculture, August 2012, 

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  www.morningbrew.com/money-scoop/stories/2023/05/10/supermarket-sweep. Accessed 15 November 2023.

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