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LINK Addressing the Problem of American Food Deserts - TheHumanist.com

The percentage of people who struggle with hunger in Washington, DC matches the national average but the number of children in this category is slightly higher (1 in 5). According to a study by the DC Policy Center in 2017, the problem is a combination of poverty and lack of available transportation to sources of affordable food. The study found that 11 percent of the city (by area) is in food deserts, defined as geographic areas where people have limited access to healthy food. Unsurprisingly, the food deserts in DC, as in many locales, are overwhelming located in the poorest sections of the city, Wards 7 and 8. The only section with no food deserts is Ward 3, the area with the highest median income.

zblaze 7 July 19
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7 comments

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1

It is the truth. 60 minutes had a show on this, The poor neighborhoods do not get local chains in their area. The money to be made is in the upper areas of income. The poor get stuck with old produce and snack food. Our nation is absolutely stupid regarding the value of human life.

EMC2 Level 8 Dec 16, 2018
1

I live in Ward 3. This is accurate. There is some type of grocery store everywhere you turn. Unfortunately, that is not the case for my students.

0

The poor part of my yard.
People go on about immigrants and Muslims but gee they know how to eat.

1

We have an organization here called FoodShare. They box up fresh fruits and veggies and if you’re on EBT you can buy a huge box for $10. There’s always a recipe card included and if you don’t know how to cook you can take the free cooking class they offer. I had to write a report with demographic statistics for a grant and volunteered at FoodShare during that time.

1

I live near Dayton Ohio. Last year the big grocery chain here closed the last grocery store on the West Side of Dayton (a low to no income, predominately black neighborhood). Outrage by the liberals!!! But, the economic facts were: no sales, high rate of theft, vandalism, no support by the local community. You can't run a business in that environment. And no local company or group would take over the site as a business. So, what would be a solution for this food desert?

The solution is to increase the income of poor people so that they have money to buy food and then the stores would return.

@dahermit
Good plan. How would you implement that?
Nobody will open a business on that side of Dayton. The indigenous population seems to be uninterested in work or education. There is a world class community college in downtown Dayton. The Majority of students are from the suburbs. I believe it's a cultural issue. And we've not, as a nation, found a fix to that.

@bigpawbullets this is a huge statement to make. And racist as well. There may be many people who would like to take advantage of the college but can not.

@GreatNani
Lookout! I'm labeled a RACIST! !!!!! 😉

0

We worked on that twenty years ago. My slightly satirical answer is Amazon Prime. Send the food to them where they live,

Because when poor, you spend money on electronics and prime membership— and have good credit/credit cards?

@Bierbasstard ...so you can split SNAP five ways on an account? Oh, and have the computer, internet, etc. overhead? You’re asking an awful lot for people working 60 some odd hours with kids who can barely keep afloat.

@ScientistV Dear, you misunderstand: not -for- profit oragnizations have the Amazon Prime plans and use it to send food packages to people who cannot get good forrd. All these ideas can be made to work using tyhese new methods. Organizations and companies can work together for the benefot of needy people.

1

Thats a lot of kids going hungry 😟

weeman Level 7 July 20, 2018
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