22SP_SO205A-Sociology of the Family

Food deserts are generally in urban areas where fresh and affordable food, like fruits and vegetables, are difficult or almost impossible to find, making it extremely difficult for individuals and families to access healthy and clean foods on a regular basis. The appearance of food deserts can be seen as both the product of purposeful intent by companies, but also can be seen as a product of accidental appearance in certain areas due to its lower SES. Generally, a market or store would chose to establish its company in an areas where business would be promised and stable. Builders and companies would most likely chose a location that strays away from uncertainty in its customers, and rather chose to build in a more populated area with higher SES. Through this producer-selection, it therefore puts a strain and limitation on its consumer-selection, making them most available to the areas that populate higher SES neighborhoods and businesses. An alternate solution to areas that do appear in food deserts and in lower SES would be too not necessarily stray away from fresh produce, but rather shift towards, not only a cheaper option but longer-lasting option, of canned fruits and vegetables. Ideally, these might not be as fresh and good for you as fresh produce, however, it still allows individuals to eat vegetables and fruits and stray away from processed and fatty foods. While this is a step in the right direction of helping families and individuals in lower SES communities attain better heart healthy and sustainable foods, there does reach a certain point where government assistance is be needed, and a shift towards stronger and more beneficial policies should be enacted to ensure individuals (especially children) are receiving the nutrients and food they need to grow and survive.

I do not believe or would at least not like to believe that food deserts are created purposefully. When people are looking to sell their products or services, they are looking to sell their services in an area that can readily pay for them. This discourages companies from settling in poorer communities. Unfortunately, grocery stores are the same way. This is why we do not see any grocery stores on Arkadelphia, but drive 10 minutes into town and you can find them aplenty.

There are ways for people with low SES to eat healthier. Obviously, it will still not be as easy for them as more wealth off people, but it can be achieved with better budgeting and understanding servings vs. cost. For instance, you can make a variety of meals with rice and beans and those are both very cheap but provide many servings. This can also go with potatoes and broccoli. However, learning how to most effectively spend money on food is a skill very few people have and is not the easiest thing to learn. Government policies are not the most effective oftentimes. If there was a way to better educate people on how to buy food or even budget their money in all aspects, this could really help people of any SES.

There are a lot of different factors going into the creation of food desserts. For one, corporations main priority is to profit maximize. Most of our grocery stores are corporations: Publix, Walmart, Target, Piggly Wiggly, etc,. Therefore, their corporate office is not going to put a franchise in a low-income or low populated neighborhood due to risk of not profit maximizing. This creates a concentration of grocery stores in middle to high income populated areas because of sufficient demand. Aside from lack of grocery stores, areas with food deserts lack nutritional foods as a whole. What I mean by that is that places with food deserts are not going to have Panera's, urban cook houses, or Tazikis. Rather they have WhataBurger's, McDonalds, and Zaxbys. Until our government steps in to ensure low-income neighborhoods receive proper nutrition, it will not happen because corporations will always follow the money. The government could fix this by incentivizing or subsidizing grocery stores in low income areas.

There are a number of answers to the second question as well. I do not think eating healthy is entirely a matter of money, rather time and access. In reality, eating healthy is cheaper because produce is not that expensive and portions become much smaller. The largest issue is time. Often, those with a lose SES are working over 40 hours a week and do not have time to grocery shop frequently or to meal prep. Fast food is, well, fast... and cheap! Aside from time, low SES Americans often have limited access to healthy options. Food deserts are mostly in low SES neighborhoods, so it is safe to assume low SES Americans are victim to food deserts. The government could step in by launching a federal campaign promoting healthier diets. They could also mandate that fast food restaurants lower portion sizes and have more healthy options on their menu. Citizens of other developed countries lose weight eating the same junk food we have in America because their countries banned certain ingredients from the food that are harmful to consumers. We could hop on this train! Governments could subsidize grocery stores and incentives them to move into low SES neighborhoods. Last, it would be awesome to see fitness centers become more accessible to all Americans for a really low cost (if not free).

Food deserts were not created on purpose at least in my mind. Most companies try to advertise their products in areas where people can not only afford them but will sometimes overpay to receive a product if it can benefit them greatly. I feel as if food deserts became an accidental appearance in lower SES because the people of these lower SES didn't have the resources to obtain healthy foods leading them to choose the least healthy options because that's all they had. Individuals who are in a lower SES can obtain healthier foods through things already in place by the government such as food stamps, or meal vouchers, but I know these aren't always easy to achieve. So, I do believe the government could devise a more promised plan that allows people of lower SES access to some of the things they are not able to receive. People in a lower SES can also learn the value of budgeting and understanding cost analysis on certain items that are healthy and cheap but would last you while. Examples could be chicken and rice or rice and beans, etc.

I do not think that food deserts are created on purpose. If you look at the perspective of the grocery stores, they want to be located in the best area for their company. They are concerned with gaining the most income that they can by strategically placing their stores. This may be a good strategy for them since they are located in good areas of town and produce a high income because of this. However, it is unfortunate that low-income areas are not being provided close access to healthier foods provided at these grocery stores.

I believe that there are strategies to gaining healthier food options. Overall, it is cheaper to get groceries from the store for the week than it is to eat out at fast-food restaurants everyday. I understand that eating healthy is expensive and time-consuming. I also understand that it is hard to go grocery shopping every week especially when there are families that are living paycheck to paycheck. I would hope that these families are grocery shopping in the ways that they can afford, and hopefully, they are shopping in a healthy manner. I would recommend to these families that fast food is not overall the cheaper option, and that there are ways to budget in a healthier option at the grocery store. That way at least some of the days out of the week are dedicated towards being healthy, if these families cannot afford to be healthy every day.

I do not think that food deserts are purposefully created, i think they are a created due to the demand for cheap, fast, and easy food options. Accessibility to fresh an nutritional food is difficult in urban areas because they are removed from local food supply chains, and often workers in these communities do not have ample time to plan out meals due to their busy schedules balancing home life and work. Fresh foods go bad quickly, take additional preparation, and are more expensive than their fast food or preserved alternatives (canned, frozen), this is a logistical issue lower SES individuals and communities face. I think that individuals in lower SES could lessen the detriments of their diet by investing in local gardens if possible, and buying the fewest processed foods as possible (avoiding fried foods containing lots of industrial seed oil), i don't think that it is governments place to enact policies on personal health choices, however they could definitely incentives communities to localize their diets, as i mentioned earlier local gardens, maybe giving tax breaks to butchers that sell locally, etc.

I do not think food deserts were purposefully created, but created because grocery stores are only going to pop up in areas where people can pay for their goods and services. I think the main reason individuals with low SES eat unhealthy is because they do not have access or the money for healthier options like fruits and vegetables, but also it is quicker, cheaper and easier to just eat fast food. Canned fruits and vegetables are an easier and healthier option and in my opinion, would not be too difficult to make available for individuals with low SES. I do think the government needs to enact policies to correct malnutrition.

I think that food deserts were both purposefully created and appeared because of lower SES because in these lower SES areas there were people who noticed that they were not receiving good food and started bringing in trucks full of fresh foods to these areas such as Woodlawn, like twenty or so minutes out. I feel like it could be a purposeful thing because these lower ses areas can be given grocery stores but the ‘funding’ isnt avaible.

Like most people, I do not think that food deserts are purposefully created. I think the creation of them comes from a mixture of corporations trying to make smart business ventures and areas of lower socioeconomic statuses just getting left out. For the second question, yes I do think there are many ways both from an individual and government level that can help correct issues of malnutrition. One thing would be better public education about nutrition in schools and in communities. Because I feel like it usually is not that people do not want to eat healthy, but rather they do not know how or do not have the means to do so. The next thing would be extending WIC/EBT/SNAP to be more beneficial to those who use those services. Food assistance programs have limitations on what and where food can be bought. People relying on those services are more likely focusing on making purchases that will feed their family cost-effectively for the month rather than the most healthy options. Another way the government could help the situation is by making some kind of rule that for every certain number of fast food places, there needs to be a grocery store within that area. This way it at least evens things out a little more and gives people in food deserts more of a choice.

I think food deserts were not purposefully created, but appeared due to areas of lower SES. While I don’t think they were intentionally created, I do believe they are not intentionally getting rid of food deserts in these areas. I do not think that there is another way for individuals that are lower SES status to eat healthier. They not only do not have access to these healthier foods based on area, but also the price difference can make it also an impossible choice to make. I think government policies could help to correct the issues of malnutrition in these areas.

I've heard of the example of food desert even in Japan. It makes negative cycles within the family. To get more food, they have to work more, but it makes it more difficult to get enough food for the lower-class family in Japan. The social system is made for an upper-class person to get more money, such as new effective information is available to the only person who already has great wealth and connections with people who like them. It is hard for middle and lower-class people to overcome and reverse that situation with their own power. People start to gather and stay in the same place where they feel comfortable with reasonable food and stuffs, so the dramatic changes are hardly happened.