Posted on 06/25/2011 8:57:50 AM PDT by don-o
Portions of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia find themselves in the middle of a vast desert. The climate has not turned these geographic regions into sand-filled valleys full of dunes. It does fit the description of consumers cut off from nutritious meals and the means to get to them.
According to a map and study supplied by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Census Bureau, there are nine counties in those two states where the only food sources are either fast food restaurants or small scale convenience stores — a classification considered an unnutritious choice by the Obama Administration and federal nutrition experts. Those localities include: in Tennessee, Hawkins, Hancock, Greene, Washington and Sullivan; and, in Virginia, Wise, Lee, Washington and Scott. The Department of Health and Human Service announced earlier this month the allocation of over $10 million to help projects in more than 6,500 locations who received the designation get nutritious, more vegetable- based items to their residents.
“These grants will put resources into rural and urban economies to create and support direct marketing opportunities for farmers,” said Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan. “Consumer and farmer enthusiasm for direct marketing has never been greater. This year we will place emphasis on food deserts because America’s low income and underserved communities need greater access to healthy, fresh food.”
(Excerpt) Read more at timesnews.net ...
Complete title
Feds name Northeast Tenn., Southwest Va. as part of 'food desert' or lack of nutritious meal choices
It IS NOT the business of government to monitor food distribution. We ARE NOT a centrally planned economy.
This is yet another program wasting money. FUBO
We need to go back to a day when we all had a garden, and some chickens and had livestock to keep our grass mowed.
But Monsanto and the factory food producers would make sure that they bought off our Congresspeople so that a national law was passed outlawing such activity as unhealthy.
I saw their food desert map a while back. Huge swaths of virtually uninhabited lands were shown as food deserts.
Just maybe they don’t have grocery stores where few people live. My tiny town isn’t a food desert and I have to drive 10 miles to a grocery store.
True.
We ARE NOT a centrally planned economy.
Less true every day.
I think we need first hand reports on this, what’s for supper?
Such a stupid waste of money.
Link to the actual subject of the article but not given in the article...
http://www.ers.usda.gov/data/fooddesert/fooddesert.html
It sounds like another program to create victims where there are no victims.
I'll make a fortune!
Regards,
No one has a kitchen or a garden in nine counties?
BS.
Government:
If a problem does not exist, create one and fund solutions for it.
We don't need their stinking government handouts.
“what’s for supper?”
That sounds like the lead in to a Grampa Jones comedy routine!
Sound like good places for Super Wal-Marts.
Well, breakfast consisted of some greens with garlic from Mr's D's plantings; along with some noodles and smoked oysters from the grocery.
Supper dessert (here in the desert) will be Key Lime Pie - don't know about nutritious, but I know tasty.
Y'all getting any rain, ST? We have had showers of blessing the past week or two.
There's three of 'em within ten miles of where I am sitting. Two or three more within 20 miles.
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