Food deserts are a health threat for minorities and low-income families
By: Kevin Sofen
Tags: Sustainble Foods, Navajo Nation, Food, Permaculture, Sustainable Development

Think about the last time you did the grocery shopping. Did you shop at a local grocery store? Was the food affordable? Did you have a choice in fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthy foods? If you answered yes to all of the previous questions you have the privilege of living within a place that has access to healthy food. Most of us live in these areas where we can shop for fresh, seasonal produce at the local grocery store, or go to restaurants that serve healthy options.

On the contrary, many people live in the so-called ‘food deserts’; these are places with limited access to affordable healthy and nutritious foods like fruits, vegetables, or whole grains. People who live in food deserts are forced to shop all their grocery needs from stores and gas stations with limited shelf space. These premises mostly sell ultra-processed foods and snacks. In addition, people living in food deserts often eat from fast-food restaurants as restaurants that provide healthy options are not available. Even if restaurants were able to offer healthy options, they are not always affordable for the people living in the area.

Food deserts are located mostly in sparsely populated areas with low-income households but are not limited to just rural areas. People from low-income neighborhoods who have lower education levels and higher rates of unemployment are more at risk of living within a food desert area. In 2016 during business school, I had the fortune to visit the Navajo Nation through a project that raised $10,000 to implement permaculture farms. This experience opened my eyes to the wide array of problems and solutions that can address this issue of food deserts.

Living in a food desert has many negative health impacts. The food that is readily available in food deserts usually has a very high-calorie, high-fat, and high-sugar content, but is low in nutrients. Therefore, paradoxically, the biggest issue for people living in a food desert is obesity. It might seem like even a bigger contradiction that inhabitants of these deserts are obese and malnourished at the same time. Obesity and poor eating habits eventually lead to other health problems like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, or high blood pressure. These health problems can be further exasperated as they may not have the monetary means to purchase the necessary medicines.

In addition to low-income earners, another risk group for food deserts is minorities. A quarter of Native Americans live in a food desert, versus 2% of the total population of the United States.

The Navajo Nation, that has more than 300,000 inhabitants, is a prime example. Their reservation stretches on an area the size of South Carolina, yet there are only thirteen full-service grocery stores in this vast area. Most inhabitants shop in gas stations and trading posts and incredibly, the average resident must drive three hours to buy groceries. Thirty-three percent of Navajos are pre-diabetic or diabetic, and heart disease is the second cause of death after unintentional injury.

Poor access to whole foods and any government subsidy programs have contributed to a shift from their traditional diet based on corn, beans, squash, wild fruit and vegetables, and animal protein to mostly eating junk food.

In the last two years, some organizations have attempted to improve the lack of food ability for the Navajos. Since 2018, more than 1700 people benefited from the ‘Fruits and Vegetables Prescription Program’; a program in which doctors give vouchers for a month’s supply of produce for families. These programs are assisting the inhabitants in the short-term, but are not designed to solve the underlining problem and provide long-term solutions.

A systematic change is necessary to solve food scarcity for the Navajo population. Empowering the population to build sustainable solutions to loosen their dependence on food programs and grocery stores is one such solution. Other solutions include the creation of community gardens, food co-ops, or mobile food markets lead by community members. Until these solutions are implemented the food deserts will thrive, while the health of their population deteriorates.