Why Food Deserts ?

       Food deserts occur in poor communities that are extremely underfunded, and I happen to be from that sort of community. Luckily I had parents that worked very hard to keep me healthy and go out of their way to another city's grocery stores, to buy food that positively affect my health. Not everyone has that opportunity ,USDA’s Economic Research notes “23.5 million people live in food deserts. More than half of those people are low-income” (USDA 1).

      The lack of access to grocery stores contributes to a poor diet and can lead to higher levels of obesity and other diet related disease, such as diabetes and heart disease. Instead of supermarkets and grocery stores, these communities may have no food access or are served only by fast food restaurants and convenience stores that offer few healthy, affordable food options. Being from a low income community myself I would feel guilty if I didn't make this knowledge available to people. I no longer live in the projects of Oakland California but my parents still reside there, and when I go for visits all I can see are liquor stores building up on every block and the nearest grocery store is in the next city.

       I believe that the number 1 death in these poor communities is heart disease. This issue is also something that attacks specifically minority groups of people. I need this blog to bring attention as well as create justice for these communities that have now felt voiceless , and not because they lost hope but because they are being fed foods that are affecting their bodies in all the wrong ways. When you eat unhealthy food it is possible for your mind to weaken and your cells began to die off because they aren’t getting the proper immunity that helps them fight off disease.This issue in equitable access to healthy food is a symptom of larger structural injustices such as racism, poverty, lack of community control and representation in local government,inequity in housing and health care, and ecological degradation.