Posted on 06/17/2010 7:08:22 PM PDT by Ellendra
More than 23 million Americans, including 6.5 million children, live in low-income urban and rural neighborhoods that are more than a mile from a supermarket. These communities, where access to affordable, quality, and nutritious foods is limited, are known as food deserts. By using the new interactive Food Environment Atlas, users can see the location of food deserts across the country and other indicators of how successful communities are in accessing healthy food. Lack of access to proper nutrition is one reason why many children are not eating the recommended levels of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Food insecurity and hunger among our children is even more widespread. A recent USDA report showed that in 2008, an estimated 49.1 million people, including 16.7 million children, lived in households that experienced hunger multiple times throughout the year. (Household Food Security in the United States, 2008) Too often, these same school age children are not eating the recommended level of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low fat dairy products. (source) So, Let’s Move to ensure that all families have access to healthy, affordable food in their communities.
As part of the President’s proposed FY 2011 budget, the Administration announced a new program – the Healthy Food Financing Initiative -- a partnership between the U.S. Departments of Treasury, Agriculture and Health and Human Services which will invest $400 million a year to provide innovative financing to bring grocery stores to underserved areas and help places such as convenience stores and bodegas carry healthier food options. Grants will also help bring farmers markets and fresh foods into underserved communities, boosting both family health and local economies. Through these initiatives and private sector engagement, the Administration will work to eliminate food deserts across the country within seven years.
This Spring, LetsMove.gov will unveil specialized tool kits and strategies to help increase access to healthy, affordable food in communities across the country
Did they seriously say that they are going to try to eliminate "food deserts" in rural areas????
I couldn’t POSSIBLY comment on this.....or I would be kicked off this forum.
I’ll ditto that!
They will just “depopulate” the rural areas since they are full of teabagging gun nuts.
“eliminating food deserts” means....making everyone live in a crowded city, where they can ride the bus or metro, and find food REALLY close....(Hey, how’s that hope and change cr*p going?)
You and me both. I’m about 20 miles from town so when will MO get those 20 grocery stores built for me? I’m still waiting on that pony her hubby promised.
Of course this program will eventually need a Healthy Food Czar.
I nominate the Booger King.
Does having to walk all the way to the fridge for a beer count?
I thought the government provided breakfast and lunch (and in some cases, dinner) for all those below a certain income. If that is the case, it is the fault of the government if they are not getting enough fruits/veggies per day.
Uh that would be all of them Me-shell. What the devil is a rural neighborhood anyway? If you are rural you are, by definition, not in a neighborhood.
Last post, edited to include the word “school children”.
Its a ridiculous notion in 2010 to put supermarkets that close to everyone.
Nowadays, supermarkets are much larger than when I was a kid in the 60’s, its the old economy of scale. Not only that, only large supermarkets can provide the variety that people expect nowadays.
The real problem is just the choices that people voluntarily make to buy an excess of junk food or sell their food stamps for drug money.
Perhaps a federal policy as to what kinds of food that recipients can buy on the taxpayers’ dime and a crack down on selling foodstamps can address the problem that is being considered.
I live in a pretty big city, and it’s over a mile to the nearest Harris Teeter. I do not patronize it because they’re a bunch of corporate types.
Is she also going to ban Big Gulps and Snickers from 7/11?
This is about giving more ‘free stuff’ to well-fare crowd.
Enticing or forcing food chains to re-open or build new stores in areas they abandoned years ago. They left because they couldn't afford the high cost of business in these areas. Shoplifting, burglary, and armed robberies made it too expensive to have stores in these area.
The only goal of this program is to retain the ‘obama’ vote.
Food marketing is highly competitive. If there is a market for supermarkets and healthy food stores, it would most likely be there already. The problem is a lot of food deserts are in urban areas where it is dangerous to operate a business, particularly the type which is open 24-7. Are those funds going to pay insurance premiums for supermarkets or farmer’s markets in high-crime areas? For security? Are they willing to put local small markets out of business because they don’t carry the “right” healthy foods for the majority ethnic group in the area?
If they want people to eat more healthy foods, they could start by controlling what kind of food is paid by welfare benefits. Our church maintains a type of grocery store for helping those who are in need to financial help to buy food. It doesn’t cost those people anything but the selection is quite limited. There are some convenience foods such as soups, pasta and bread but only rarely anything in the way of junk food. It stocks meat, milk, fresh and canned vegetables and fruits, staples. The food they take home is healthy and no-nonsense.
When you try to go to the atlas the page is not found. LOL Site does not work.
I live in “the,” desert. MO can take a hike, we will starve before we take anything from chewbacca.
A whole mile from a supermarket! How do they survive?
I know a guy who researches this problem. He’s talking about people who live over an hour’s drive from any supermarket. But who knows what a government bureaucrat will do with this.
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