USDA Releases Report on Food Deserts

The study resulted in many key findings, including:

· 11.5 million low-income Americans live in 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.