{"id":4312,"date":"2016-04-07T11:00:36","date_gmt":"2016-04-07T16:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/?p=4312"},"modified":"2017-03-08T13:45:27","modified_gmt":"2017-03-08T19:45:27","slug":"public-health-and-the-problem-of-food-deserts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stgwww.capella.edu\/blogs\/cublog\/public-health-and-the-problem-of-food-deserts\/","title":{"rendered":"Solving the Problems of Food Deserts"},"content":{"rendered":"

You may have heard of \u201cfood deserts,\u201d but do you know the implications of inaccessibility to healthy food on public health?\u00a0Mary-Katherine Smith<\/a>, DrPH, public health faculty member in Capella University\u2019s School of Nursing and Health Sciences, shares more about this public health crisis and what initiatives are in place to help eliminate it.<\/p>\n

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Q. What is a food desert?<\/h4>\n

A. It\u2019s a geographic area where affordable, nutritious food is hard to get. That doesn\u2019t just mean a lack of grocery stores that sell fresh fruits and vegetables, although that\u2019s part of it. It also involves a concentration of fast food restaurants and convenience stores that sell high-calorie, low-nutrition food. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines an urban food desert as a place where concentrations of residents live at least one mile\u2014or in rural areas, at least 10 miles\u2014from a source of healthy food.<\/p>\n

Lack of transportation is also a factor\u2014if individuals don\u2019t have a car or access to convenient public transportation, they may have no choice but to walk to that fast food restaurant or convenience store to buy food. [The USDA has <\/em>mapped food deserts in the U.S.<\/em><\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n

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Q. Who\u2019s at risk in a food desert?<\/h4>\n

A. It\u2019s an uneven distribution, affecting primarily those with lower incomes and minorities.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s prevalent in urban and in rural areas, where under- and unemployment is a factor, or where individuals may not have easy access to nutritious food. And something people don\u2019t always understand is how food deserts affect children\u2014without proper nutrition, they can become malnourished and at greater risk for obesity, even if they\u2019re not missing meals.<\/p>\n

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Q. What is public health\u2019s role in working to eliminate food deserts?<\/h4>\n

A. One way public health officials deal with health disparities is by educating communities, which takes several forms.<\/p>\n