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By R. J. M. McMarrow
Sophomore
Made on September 24, 2020
English II Honors
Mrs. Skillman

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Andrade, Nancy, et al. “Food Deserts in Chicago.” Illinois Advisory Committee, Illinois Advisory Committee, Oct. 2011, www.usccr.gov/pubs/docs/IL-FoodDeserts-2011.pdf.

CBS Detroit. “Metro Detroit's Segregation On Display In 'Racial Dot Map'.” CBS Detroit, CBS Detroit, 31 Aug. 2015, detroit.cbslocal.com/2015/08/31/metro-detroits-segregation-on-display-in-racial-dot-map/.

Jordan, Jerilyn. “New Report Reveals 30,000 Detroiters Do Not Have Access to Healthy Food.” Detroit Metro Times, Detroit Metro Times, 19 Aug. 2020, www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2018/03/08/new-report-reveals-30000-detroiters-do-not-have-access-to-healthy-food.

Nadeau, Kristen J., et al. “Youth-Onset Type 2 Diabetes Consensus Report: Current Status, Challenges, and Priorities.” Diabetes Care, American Diabetes Association, 1 Sept. 2016, care.diabetesjournals.org/content/39/9/1635.

Terranella, Slone. “Detroit's 'Food Deserts' Are a Burden for Many.” The South End, 23 Apr. 2018, www.thesouthend.wayne.edu/features/article_ea5c3c08-46fd-11e8-b44a-bb0dd1413b54.html.

“The Devastating Consequences of Unequal Food Access.” Union of Concerned Scientists, Union of Concerned Scientists, Apr. 2016, www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/attach/2016/04/ucs-race-income-diabetes-2016.pdf.

“The Socio-Economic Significance of Food Deserts.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 29 June 2011, www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/the-socio-economic-significance-of-food-deserts.

Wright, James, et al. “Food Deserts: What Is the Problem? What Is the Solution?” Society, vol. 53, no. 2, Apr. 2016, p. 171. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s12115-016-9993-8.

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Many people are at a lost for a solution to food deserts. Community gardens and other initiatives seem to work, but there may not be one complete solution. There are many ways to slay a dragon, and society may never solve food deserts completely. The only thing the average citizen can do is advocate for the less fortunate, join some community garden initiatives, talk to local leaders, and educated themselves on the issue.

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Food Deserts are a problem for Chicago. The Illinois Advisory Committee reports, "In Chicago, a number of researchers have studied the issue of food deserts and reached a consensus that food deserts exist, and they exist mainly in communities of color, making it an important civil rights issue. In 2006, the Gallagher Group concluded that the majority African American communities in Chicago have the lowest access to '1) chain grocery stores, 2) independent and smaller grocery stores, and 3) all grocery stores.' (Illinois Advisory Committee)" They also report that the disparity has been reduced over the years through the same means as Detroit. People were making community gardens. An oasis of sorts. The Illinois Advisory Committee writes, "The positive news regarding Chicago food deserts is that data shows the number of Chicagoans who live in food deserts decreased by over 39 percent since 2006.52 However, the Gallagher Group reported that today more than 283,900 Chicago residents live in communities where 'they have to travel farther to buy a fresh apple than they do to get a bag of potato chips or a greasy burger.'53 Although the number of individuals who still reside in food deserts is staggering, the progress made in the past five years did not occur by chance. Several companies have made the commitment to opening stores in these communities, many communities have taken it upon themselves to start community gardens and farmers’ markets, numerous researchers have implemented models to address the problem, and the city has taken a more proactive role in addressing the problem. In this section, some of these efforts will be discussed.' (Illinois Advisory Committee)"

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The blue markings show a distance of 2-4 miles to a store on the map. The only place you can see those marking, are in African American communities (represented by the dashed lines).

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Areas with African American Communities and Areas with Super Markets in Chicago.

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Areas with African American Communities and Areas with Super Markets in Chicago.

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The Majority of the food deserts are in African American communities based off this Map.

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The following maps are related to Chicago food deserts.

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Ways People are Trying to Help Detroit...

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Ways People are Trying to Help Detroit...

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No doubt that food deserts are a problem in Detroit. Slone Terranella writes, "However, Detroit’s growing restaurant scene has sparked dialogue about the lack of grocery stores within the city. The Michigan Department of Agriculture has labeled 19 Detroit neighborhoods as a 'food desert,' which is a term used to describe an urban area that lacks accessibility to quality and affordable food. The shortage of grocery stores creates an inflation in food prices and forces many residents to purchase food at convenience stores or settle for fast food.

Midtown resident Julian Vanhouzen, 22, said having no car makes it difficult to buy food.

'The closest store is Whole Foods, but it’s too expensive for my budget, so I have to walk about two miles if I want cheap groceries,' Vanhouzen said. (Slone Terranella)” Some people in Detroit are taking to growing food locally, "“The increase in the number of urban farms in Detroit has aided in expanding access to food in many neighborhoods. Programs such as Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, Michigan Farming Initiative and Keep Growing Detroit help create community centered farms in impoverished neighborhoods throughout the city. These urban farms provide employment to the residents of the community and often sell produce at wholesale prices. Tyson Gersh, founder of Michigan Farming Initiative, said the organization is dedicated to the philosophy of increasing food security, being cost competitive and battling blight. (Slone Terranella)"

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"Food deserts can be hazardous to your health. Living in a food desert matters a lot when it comes to a pair of serious public health issues: obesity and diabetes. As we've seen written before, these problems vary across communities, and the data show that they’re clearly related to the prevalence of food deserts. Nationally, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data, counties with the highest percentage of households living in food deserts (10 percent or more) had rates of adult obesity in 2008 that were a full nine percentage points higher than counties with the lowest percentage of households in food deserts (1 percent or fewer households). Similarly, high-food desert counties had rates of adult diabetes that were five points higher than low-food desert places. (Public Broadcasting Service)" Food deserts don't also just affect adults. They also effect kids, the youth, the future. " Food deserts also contribute significantly to obesity among low-income preschool children. All of which is to say, living in a food desert is not incidental, it has an independent effect on obesity and diabetes. (PBS)"

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"One theory is that chain supermarket stores have put smaller

neighborhood Mom and pop^ grocery stores out of business.

These local Mom and pop^ stores are forced to close by the

enticements of the large supermarkets: large parking lots, longer hours, lower prices, more variety, and some even bag your

groceries and bring them out to your car, which small stores

rarely offer. The downside is that these suburban mega supermarkets are only available to those with cars or those

who can to them via public transportation. Without transportation, many are left to do their grocery shopping at convenience stores where nutritious food is less available.

Other researchers argue that food deserts arose in inner-city

areas because the median income dropped when affluent residents migrated to suburban areas in the 1960s through the

1980s. Studies show that this migration to the suburbs caused

half the supermarkets in the three largest cities of the United

States to close. The same migration caused a significant decrease in the median income of the inner city areas which

equates to less purchasing power and fewer stores. (James Wright)"

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Alone, this map  shows the racial distribution in Detroit, but it becomes very telling when it is lined up with a map of Detroit food deserts.

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Clear Evidence: The Map Speaks for Itself.

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Clear Evidence: The Map Speaks for Itself.

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When the previous maps are lined together (An the Detroit Food Desert map is turned Black and White), you can see a clear disparity between African Americans and Caucasians (White Americans). The majority of the food deserts in downtown Detroit are found in African American communities.

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Alone, this map  shows evidence of food deserts, but it becomes very telling when it is lined up with a race distribution map of Detroit.

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The following are maps related to Detroit Food Deserts.

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A food desert according to the USDA is, "...the original USDA food desert mapping tool "Food Desert Locator" and defines food deserts as having at least 33% or 500 people of a census tract's population in an urban area living 1 mile (10 miles for rural area) from a large grocery store or supermarket." To put more simply, a food desert is a location with a number of  people who do not live close enough to a store to reasonably be able to buy healthy foods.

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In today's society, people confuse the ideas of equal opportunity and equal outcome. The goal of this piece is not to encourage a welfare like system for food or to suggest the idea of giving food out for free. This is not the Communist Manifesto, and this is not trying to thwart Darwinism. The goal of this piece to educate people on the unequal access to food. It doesn't matter if you can afford healthy food if there is none around you. One thing to get straight is that there should be equal opportunity to get food. And this piece points out how certain ethnicities and races struggle with finding healthy food like finding water in a desert.