The food desert simulation was one that really allowed me to experience what a food desert is on a personal level. I had been aware of this concept on an intellectual level because I have organized a Griswold-Zepp project that assisted the Community Garden of Westminster, which provides low-income individuals with healthy fruits and vegetables that they otherwise would have trouble obtaining. By personally going to both a traditional grocery store and a convenience store, I was able to see how living in a food desert severely affects both the wallet and nutrition of an individual. Furthermore, this experience allowed me to take the theoretical knowledge gained in the classroom and use it in practice. I was able to see first hand how economic
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The American Nutrition Association states that the lack of fruits and vegetables in a food desert is primarily due to a lack of grocery stores and farmer’s markets. The documentary “A Place at the Table” (2013) explains that food deserts developed because of how the United States government prioritizes its subsidies. The government began subsiding the agricultural business in the 1930s to support farmers through the Great Depression. Currently, the subsidies benefit agribusinesses, not family farms. Moreover, 70 % of agriculture subsidies go to 10 % of farms. It is politically beneficial for lawmakers to pass subsidy budgets that favor large corporations who grow grains for processed foods. Most fruits and vegetables are grown by small business, and these companies do not have the political clout that large agribusinesses have. It is therefore cheaper to produce grains for processed foods than fruits and vegetables. Also contributing to the development of food deserts is the tendency for grocery stores to leave impoverished areas. The documentary, “A Place at the Table,” explains that if population has a high number of people who do not have the economic resources to purchase a large variety of the foods that a grocery store has to offer, than the store will leave the area for one that provides a higher profit yield. This allows convenience stores, with cheaper unhealthy processed food to move into the
The American Nutrition Association states that the lack of fruits and vegetables in a food desert is primarily due to a lack of grocery stores and farmer’s markets. The documentary “A Place at the Table” (2013) explains that food deserts developed because of how the United States government prioritizes its subsidies. The government began subsiding the agricultural business in the 1930s to support farmers through the Great Depression. Currently, the subsidies benefit agribusinesses, not family farms. Moreover, 70 % of agriculture subsidies go to 10 % of farms. It is politically beneficial for lawmakers to pass subsidy budgets that favor large corporations who grow grains for processed foods. Most fruits and vegetables are grown by small business, and these companies do not have the political clout that large agribusinesses have. It is therefore cheaper to produce grains for processed foods than fruits and vegetables. Also contributing to the development of food deserts is the tendency for grocery stores to leave impoverished areas. The documentary, “A Place at the Table,” explains that if population has a high number of people who do not have the economic resources to purchase a large variety of the foods that a grocery store has to offer, than the store will leave the area for one that provides a higher profit yield. This allows convenience stores, with cheaper unhealthy processed food to move into the