New Report: Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food

Posted by on July 20, 2009

USDA Releases Food Desert Study

The USDA has recently released a report to Congress entitled, “Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Measuring and Understanding Food Desserts and Their Consequences: Report to Congress.”

The study resulted in many key findings, including:

·      11.5 million low-income Americans live in low-income areas more than 1 mile from a supermarket;

·      Low-income people with less access to supermarkets and transportation spend significantly more time traveling to a supermarket or grocery store.

·      Higher rates of obesity and higher BMI’s may result from lack of access to all food, not just specific healthy foods.

Additionally, the study asserts the need to recognize market conditions that lead to differential food access and to target policies accordingly. Many community development projects with goals of increasing food access are in existence across the country and are also recognized in the report.

For more information, please consult the complete USDA report: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/AP/AP036/AP036fm.pdf