Case Study: Food Deserts
Background:
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, Food Deserts are defined as urban
neighborhoods and rural towns without access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food. Instead of
supermarkets and grocery stores, these communities may have no food access or are served only by
fast food restaurants and convenience stores that offer few healthy, affordable food options. This lack
of access contributes to a poor diet, and can lead to higher levels of obesity, heart-disease and other
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diet-related diseases ​
.
In many urban areas across the United States, from Detroit, to Chicago, to Los Angeles, to New York,
food deserts are posing a real threat to the health of thousands of Americans every day. The White
House estimates that as of 2010, over 23.5 million Americans, including 6.5 million children, currently
live in food deserts. The United States is one of the richest countries in the world, with a wealth of
resources and access to food. Yet, millions of people still lack the access to healthy and nutritious
food.
This case study will examine two major urban areas in the United States, Detroit and California (LA
and the Bay Area specifically), and look at the major health risks and socio-economic issues that are a
result of food deserts.
Essential Questions for Students:
●
●
What happens to people that live in food deserts?
How come there are food deserts right next to communities with plenty of healthy foods?
II. Sources:
Articles:
● Why it takes more than a grocery store to eliminate a ‘food desert’
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/takes-grocery-store-eliminate-food-desert/
● The Socio-Economic Significance of Food Deserts
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/the-socio-economic-significance-of-food-deserts/
● Transforming Food Deserts and Swamps to Fight Obesity
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-blumenthal/food-deserts_b_3822428.html
● California Food Deserts: Nearly 1 Million Live Far From Supermarkets, Grocery Stores
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/05/california-food-deserts-n_n_858065.html
● Food Truck Pioneer Battles Food Deserts With High Cuisine
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/10/07/230142780/food-truck-pioneer-battles-foo
d-deserts-with-high-cuisine
● Eliminating Food Deserts Will Take A Marriage of Private And Public Enterprise
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/07/eliminate-food-deserts_n_7097984.html
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USDA. “Food Deserts”. http://apps.ams.usda.gov/fooddeserts/fooddeserts.aspx
Websites:
● Food Access Research Atlas
http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/go-to-the-atlas.aspx#.Uu
v2udJdXTo
● Food Deserts
http://apps.ams.usda.gov/fooddeserts/fooddeserts.aspx
● America’s Food Deserts
http://awesome.good.is.s3.amazonaws.com/transparency/web/1309/america-s-food-deserts
/index1.html
● Forgotten Harvest: Get Informed
http://www.forgottenharvest.org/page.aspx?p=2
● Detroit Food Map
http://detroitfoodmap.com/
Data:
● California Food Guide Hunger and Food Insecurity
http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/formsandpubs/publications/CaliforniaFoodGuide/25HungerandFoodI
nsecurity.pdf
● Nearly Four Million Californians Are Food Insecure
http://healthpolicy.ucla.edu/publications/Documents/PDF/FoodPBrevised7-11-12.pdf
Personal Stories:
● Poet Clint Smith on Food Deserts and Urban Warriors
http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2013/11/10/poet-clint-smith-on-food-deserts-and-urb
an-warriors/?utm_source=SPPS+in+the+News%3A+Monday%2C+Nov.+11%2C+2013&utm_ca
mpaign=Monday%2C+Nov.+11%2C+2013&utm_medium=email
● Small Plates: Five Personal Stories of Food Insecurity in Metropolitan Detroit
www.gcfb.org/site/DocServer/Small_Plates_3_4_14_low_rez__2_.pdf?docID=9321
● The New Face of Hunger: Three Stories
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/foodfeatures/hunger/
Videos/Audio:
● Video: Food Forward Pilot: Urban Farming
http://www.pbs.org/food/features/food-forward-pilot-urban-farming
● Audio: “Detroit Truck Responds To City's Food Desert Crisis”
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131000846
● Video:​
A guerilla gardener in South Central LA
​
http://www.ted.com/talks/ron_finley_a_guerilla_gardener_in_south_central_la
● Article/Audio​
:​
Supermarkets don't go to 'food deserts (Bay Area)
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/why-supermarkets-dont-open-food-deserts
Photo Gallery is available separately.