Food Deserts

Have you ever heard of this term before, "food desert?"  A food desert is an area (primarily low income neigborhoods) where it is difficult to access nutritious and healthful food items. These areas are usually littered with fast food restaurants and convenient stores yet very little to no actual grocery stores.

Food deserts are truly a disservice to it's communities as the people living there are just like the rest of us, over worked, underpaid and busy with regular life and school activities. And when it's meal time and the closest grocery store is a 20-45 minutes drive away compared to a fast food joint on every corner, which option would you choose? Now consider that you did not meal plan, nor go make it to the grocery store the previous weekend and only have $10 to feed your entire family. That is an even bigger motivator to drive through.

In Chicago, they are FINALLY addressing this issue. Now, to just get Seattle on the bandwagon.

Emanuel steps up battle against city's 'food deserts'

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-emanuel-food-desert-20111025,0,555386.story