Some of the most harshly affected parts of the United States (by food deserts) are the areas filled with middle to low-income families. There are many factors that affect food choice and availability and taking an in-depth look at each one is very important for the identification of food deserts. Food deserts have many great effects on a person's life including health problems and in some cases increased rates of poverty. .
It is possible to see correlations between poverty and poor food choice, in terms of nutritional values, and it seems to create a cyclical unbalance between the two where people with low income tend to purchase foods with low nutritional values. This leads them to suffer from increased rates of health problems which include diabetes and cardiovascular problems. Food deserts are evident in local mini-marts and convenience stores known to many as "bodegas" or corner stores. These stores have an abundance of heavily preserved foods filled with sodium and other unhealthy chemicals. The foods found in these stores are usually heavy on sugars, fats, and oils that are unhealthy to the human body. Food deserts primarily affect neighborhoods with young families. They are heavily affected mostly because of development as opposed to the elderly who are for the most part retiring or found in neighborhoods that do not suffer from food deserts.
What exactly is a Food Desert?.
Food deserts is an umbrella term that houses the basics of lacking adequate amounts of healthy foods in an area, but it is mostly seen in the middle or low-income neighborhoods. We see many of the general aspects of food deserts in the problem of food availability. Accessibility is also studied as a contributor to food deserts (abilities to take transportation to stores if necessary). But when we take a much broader view, we find that there are many factors that are left behind by many of the studies that have been conducted until today.
