Five Years and $500 Million Later, USDA Admits That 'Food Deserts' Don't Matter

Reason ^ | 6/13/2016 | Elizabeth Nolan Brown

[RightGeek]

For several years, so-called "food deserts"—low-income neighborhoods devoid of nutritious food options—were an oft-cited culprit for America's high obesity levels. Everyone from state senators to Michelle Obama had ideas about how to fix the issue, from launching new farmer's markets in these neighborhoods to state grant programs designed to entice more fruit-and-veggie offerings to bans on new fast-food restaurants opening in these areas. The kicker was a multi-million dollar federal initiative, spearheaded by the First Lady, to promote farmer's markets and attract more grocery-store chains to food-desert neighborhoods.

"Since 2011, the Federal Government has spent almost $500 million to improve food store access in neighborhoods lacking large, well-stocked grocery stores," according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). [SNIP]

The theory was simple: poor people simply lacked easy access to healthy food options. If you put fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in front of them, they would soon be singing the praises of Michael Pollan, too. And voila: no more obesity epidemic in these neighborhoods.

But of course things didn't work out that way. As many business owners in these neighborhoods and other food-desert skeptics have pointed out, the problem wasn't that they simply hadn't thought to offer more wholesome items. The problem was that these items just didn't sell. You can lead human beings to Whole Foods, but you can't make them buy organic kale there.

The USDA just admitted as much, with a new report on food deserts. Highlights note that proximity to supermarkets "has a limited impact on food choices" and "household and neighborhood resources, education, and taste preferences may be more important determinants of food choice than store proximity."

[RightGeek]

Lots of details by following the link.

Yet another stupid idea brought to us by the Mooch and her wingmen.

[wastoute]

Food deserts...more global warming. I would bet Auswitczh was a food desert. I don’t recall any obese folks in the photos from Belsen or Dachau. Only a libtard can see the logic in correlating obesity with a lack of food.

[BenLurkin]

Americans enjoy meat, salt, fried foods and sweets.

That’s just who we are. Food desert or not.

[Objective Scrutator]

Producers of fruits and veggies realize that they can make far greater profits by labeling their crap as “organic” and massively jacking up the price to sell to deluded environmentalists. Liberals are surprised to learn that environmentalists and minorities do not usually overlap, and are thus forced to resort to racism.

[boycott]

Wait a minute .... Moosechelle knows everything.

All they’ve done by subsidizing food for non-contributors is made it increase in price for the rest of us.

[Right Brother]

If the gov’t wants to fight obesity, they should require fat people to have a picture of Michelle Obama posted on their refrigerator door. That will curb anyone’s appetite.

[Mr. K]

YET ANOTHER stupid government waste of money

[grania]

I shop in a local chain grocery store which serves a lot of lower income and immigrant customers. Many take the bus from where they live, so shopping is a major endeavor.

This store is terrific. It has a nice selection of very fresh fruits, vegetables and meats. It has a terrific array of lower cost healthy grocery choices. I look around me and see this very diverse shopping population filling their carriages with mostly healthy foods.

Here's my hypotheses. When folks from "food deserts" go shopping away from home and buy food for a week or so, they get a lot of healthy foods, with the best of intentions. But when the store is just a short walk away, and they're buying food for immediate consumption, they choose junk.

Does my hypothesis make any sense?

[Boomer One]

I blame the obesity crisis on lack of sleep and exercise. Take away addictions to the Internet and television and I think people will sleep better. As kids we ate plenty of most anything but walked everywhere, played outside and in gyms almost constantly. Only those not participating in sports were truly obese, and that paled in comparison to today’s standard.

[lurk]

Govt should stay out of food & 10000 other industries.

[AndyJackson]

Because of my dyslexia I read desert as dessert and was trying to figure out what they were saying - that obesity is a result of “food desserts.” Now that I have figured out that they are talking about deserts - places with little rain and lots of cacti and succulents - the entire subject makes makes even less sense.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Food deserts can be summed up in two words.

Shoplifting and SNAP.

Whenever the shrink numbers from shoplifting get too high, a low-margin grocery business can’t survive, and the store closes. Likewise when the vast majority of customers are using benefit programs like SNAP and AFDC the added administrative burdens eat-up the grocer’s margins, and the store closes.

You can’t drop below a certain percentage of full-retail cash customers and survive in the grocery business.

[rdcbn]

What exactly did the FDA spend $ 511 million on?

Mostly “consulting” fees to Obama cronies

Just another blank check for Obama to use to steal taxpayer money and give it to cronies

[A_perfect_lady]

We ate a lot as kids in the 60s and 70s, but I don't think we ate as much junk food. I know my Grandma made sure I had three square meals in me every day, the old school stuff, you know: bacon and eggs, or oatmeal, soup & sandwiches, & meat, potatoes and beans, and all three served with whole milk straight from our own cows.

Now, she DID make cookies, and doughnuts, and fresh bread, and I did get candy bars from the store pretty regularly (which did my teeth no good) but kids today (I'm a teacher) are wolfing down potato chips and soda and fast food for breakfast, snack, lunch, snack again... I don't know when or if they ever eat real food.

[FreedomPoster]

Why should economic reality intrude on this?

Do I really need to add the < /s> ?

[Albion Wilde]

"Arabbing" (pronounced "A - rabbing") is how Baltimore manages food deserts, very effectively and efficiently, although it has been threatened by government and now has a Arabber Preservation Society in Baltimore. Instead of helping these entrepreneurs thrive, the helpful Democrats of Philly, DC and NYC have halted arabbing although it once flourished, gave employment to blacks and was patronized by whites as well as blacks :

Video: Watch: Baltimore's Last Arabbers Selling Fruit From Horse and Buggy

Article: Arabbers: An Endangered Species

[Lurker]

$500,000,000 million dollars pissed away....

Paul Ryan and the Republicans signed off on this. Remember that.

L

[Calvin Locke]

Sam Kinison did a piece on deserts and food.

He was pretty much stating the obvious in that case.

In the Muchelle desert cases, the deserts are pretty much self-made by the undesirable actions of the inhabitants.

[leaning conservative]

When I have early bus duty little kids get off w/ suckers, gum & eating hot cheetohs. (Before I corrected it it said they were eating hot cheetahs!). Then they give them frosted portrays & chocolate milk. Gag!

[grania]

That’s real interesting. The grocery store I go to is nicely positioned to get that balance in customer base. Come to think of it, most of their stores that serve the inner city are.