Poverty and Inequity of Food

By Jeremy Gonzalez

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Figure 1. Food items that can be purchased at a fresh food provider such as a supermarket.

What does someone usually think when they open their refrigerator and notice they’re running low on groceries? Think about the last time you were in this situation. Your first thought is to go to the grocery store or supermarket soon to stock up on everything you need: eggs, milk, orange juice, bread, fresh vegetables and fruit, and anything else you don’t see inside the fridge. You make the quick drive to your local Trader Joe’s or Food 4 Less with the grocery list saved on your phone. After managing to find a parking spot very close to the exit, you head towards the entrance and walk through it, instantly feeling a blast of fresh air as you enter the supermarket. You notice fruit is on sale, so you decide to pick out some apples, bananas, and freshly cut strawberries. Next stop is the dairy section, where you pick up two gallons of milk and a dozen fresh eggs. Along the way you pick up a gallon of freshly squeezed orange juice. After picking up a loaf of bread, you make your final stop at the poultry section to pick up some chicken breast for dinner and head to the register with the shortest line. You swipe your credit card at the register and walk to your car content with everything you just purchased. Once you arrive home, you put the groceries away and continue on with your daily life.

For most Americans with a steady income, this is the ideal solution to the shortage of groceries situation in their household. When a family is running low on groceries, someone will go to the supermarket and purchase whatever groceries they need. And they can do this on any day they would like, as long as the supermarket is open. However, there is another solution to this situation that is a darker reality than the happy ideal ending.

(This solution revolves around a low-income family living in a food desert whose daily life is more of a struggle that refreshes everyone’s memories about dealing with hardships.)

Think back to the same scenario as mentioned above. The refrigerator looks to be running low on groceries, but a low-income family cannot go to Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods or Food 4 Less to buy groceries whenever they are running low. The family only receives a limited amount of food stamps from the government per month, and they have to use it wisely. Sometimes the nearest grocery store is miles away from their home. Their low income is used to cover utilities and whatever groceries they can purchase. Sometimes, they need to make the decision between buying fast food (since it’s the nearest food provider to them) and using the little money they have to purchase expensive groceries in order to restock the fridge. Settling for a cheap pizza that is prepared for immediate take-out is a common solution when living in an area like a food desert. A lack of fresh produce or healthy food provider is the main reason food deserts exist across the entire United States. It is a growing epidemic that can quickly spread if it is not addressed properly.

Anyone can easily log onto Instagram and see pictures of food that their friends and family have posted onto their profiles because it looked so pretty and absolutely delicious. When people usually go out to eat at a restaurant, they like to photograph their food and post it on social media so their followers can see what restaurant they went to and what they ordered during their visit. People from all over the United States have a tendency to post food pictures, and scientists decided to take advantage of this habit. With every food post, an Instagram user usually geo-tags the restaurant they are eating at or ate at that day.

Figure 1. Instagram post from @cheatdayeats page with geotag of restaurant at top.

Scientists and researchers came together and noted food posts with geotags from all over the country. Once they mapped out the food posts, they cross referenced them with a map of food deserts and began seeing which posts belonged to a food desert and others that belonged to a non-desert location on the map. The scientists and researchers noticed an unusual pattern when they cross referenced the pictures to a food desert map.

Figure 2. Food that is commonly found in a food desert.

In every region of the US, foods on Instagram posted in a food desert location often had higher cholesterol, sugars, and fats than food at non-desert locations. If you think about the restaurants that make up a food desert and non-desert, this should not come as a surprise. Food deserts are filled with liquor stores and fast food joints that serve food and snacks that is deemed unhealthy. Any type of fast food joint like McDonald’s, Jack in the Box, etc. would definitely serve food that is high in fats and cholesterol. Restaurants in non-desert locations are often organic or offer very healthy options on their menu.

Figure 3. Food that is commonly found in a non-desert.

Naturally, it makes sense that their food is lower in fats, sugars, and cholesterol. Egg whites with freshly cut potatoes or a veggie omelet with fresh fruit will always be a healthier option than a loaded breakfast burrito from your local fast food joint.

One famous documentary that shows the dangers of eating fast food on a consistent basis is Super Size Me. This film was shot in 2003 and released in 2004, when McDonald’s still offered super size as an option for their combos. Director Morgan Spurlock decides to go on a 30-day diet, consuming McDonald’s food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day.The film documented the drastic changes he underwent during his month-long experiment.

Figure 4. Local McDonald’s. Fast food joints are commonly seen infood deserts.

His physical and psychological well-being had changed in a negative manner. He gained a total of 24 pounds, increased his cholesterol levels significantly, experienced mood swings, and had fat accumulated in his liver. All of this occurred because he consumed too much fast food as meals. There is likely no one that consumes fast food for every single meal each day, but people who live in food deserts have more access to fast food joints than those who live in a non-desert. A realistic number of visits that someone might pay a fast food restaurant would be anywhere between two and four times per week. Spurlock went every day, three times per day and the results were frightening. Even if someone goes two to three times per week, the malnutrition of not eating fresh produce will take its toll on the human body. It does seem a little easier to go eat at a fast food restaurant when they offer a value menu or dollar menu, especially when the food comes out hot and ready in a few minutes. A salad and fresh produce at an organic supermarket will be very high in price, which could sometimes drive anyone who is struggling financially to take their business to a more affordable

Award-winning writer/comic Larry Wilmore has a show on Comedy Central titled “The Nightly Show” which covers current events, news, and pop culture using humorous skits and satire.

Figure 5. Larry Wilmore on set for The Nightly Show.

In one episode, he has a skit with stand-up comedian Jordan Carlos about a food desert. In the short skit, Jordan Carlos is challenged by professor Ester Fuchs from Columbia University to go to Camden, New Jersey in search of a fresh tomato anywhere within one mile of the city. Camden is known for being a food desert, but Carlos accepts the challenge and makes the trip. His first stop is a small convenience store where there is nothing but processed foods such as sugary cereals, bags of potato chips, and unhealthy packaged snacks. Carlos continues to walk throughout the city and walk into liquor stores only to be met with more processed foods and no fresh produce. After walking for five miles, he comes across a supermarket that contains fresh produce. Putting the humorous spin aside, the struggle that Jordan Carlos went through to find one fresh tomato is a reality for some people. Carlos asks a comical question to Fuchs, wondering why people living in food deserts don't just hop in their Prius and go to the supermarket that is “just over a mile away.” Fuchs explains that life in a food desert is not that simple, as people living there are low income families that don't own a Prius and tend to walk as their means of transportation. The type of neighborhood Carlos walked through can support the stereotype that financially troubled families live in food deserts. The houses were run down or slightly damaged and the area appears to be unsafe to walk around at night. Jordan Carlos experienced life in a food desert for an evening, but other people face this struggle as a daily part of their lives.

If you've seen any film in the popular trilogy The Hunger Games, you might have caught (or missed) a few references to food deserts. The plot of the sci-fi film revolves around a young teenager, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), and the nationally televised event called The Hunger Games. The city she lives in is divided into 12 districts. District 1 houses all the financially successful people, and district 12 houses the low-income families of the film. Katniss comes from district 12, where the poorest families live together. Food and water are extremely scarce in this part of the city. In the scene where Katniss is walking through her district, an older man who appears to be homeless is eating what little meat he can find on some bones. The houses are damaged and run down. This is very similar to an actual food desert in the real world. In the second film Catching Fire, Katniss and her companion Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutchinson) visit the president’s party (It can be difficult to imagine a life where one is struggling to obtain fresh food and produce everyday.)located in District 1 in honor of their victory. At one point during the party, Katniss and Peeta are offered food but politely decline because they are full. Someone nearby overhears and offers them a colorful drink that will make them nauseous in order to throw up and make room for more food. This is one example of food inequity that can be easily distinguished. The rich are consuming food to the point they can no longer eat, drink a potion that makes them hurl everything out simply to make room to continue eating food while the people in District 12 are scavenging for the small amounts of food they can find in their area. In reality, the difference is not quite as drastic but nonetheless it is still visible. Leftover food is often thrown away at restaurants while there are people living in food deserts similar to District 12 who do not have any fresh food providers anywhere near them.

Sometimes, people living in food deserts do not know when their next meal will be or when they will come across fresh food. Many people are blessed with nearby supermarkets and farmers markets that can provide all the fresh fruits, vegetables, and nutritious food items. In a food desert like Camden, NJ, we saw that there was no supermarket within a five mile radius. Walking over five miles to purchase fresh food that might be just over a budget is a sacrifice not many people would take if they were faced with that dilemma. Living in a food desert can be problematic, as it can increase the risks of cardiovascular disease. Any type of aid such as a community garden, food drive, or construction of a supermarket can go a long way. Attempting to limit and eventually eliminate food deserts should be fairly high on society’s agenda. Eliminating food deserts would be seen as an enormous step in the right direction to fight obesity in the United States. Providing everyone with the opportunity to obtain fresh healthy food at an affordable price could be monumental for the country. Everyone sees racism and gender inequality as major social issues in society. Poverty and inequity of food in scarce locations like a food desert should be considered a major issue like racism and gender inequality.

For additional information, here are some links that can provide more insight to food deserts.

1. https://newsroom.heart.org/news/risk-of-heart-disease-in-urban-food-deserts-is-associated-with-individual-s-income-rather-than-access-to-healthy-food

2. http://www.hungerfreeamerica.org/

3. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/03/the-instagrams-of-food-deserts/471540/

4. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/helping-low-income-families-have-a-healthy-thanksgiving/

5. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/07/eliminate-food-deserts_n_7097984.html

6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jicYbi-8ZNU

7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jicYbi-8ZNU

8. http://www.cc.com/video-clips/1paso2/the-nightly-show-with-larry-wilmore-stranded-in-a-food-desert

9. https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-food-deserts

10. https://foodforward.org/2017/01/food-deserts-in-los-angeles/

11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sgcc_ZZnAgM

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