Food deserts and their disproportionate effects on rural areas

Food deserts are both an urban and rural problem, but rural communities are disproportionately affected by a lack of access to food. Food deserts and their effects have been discussed before on this blog, but food deserts and food insecurity remain a persistent problem. Food insecurity affects millions of people in the United States. As of July 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that a staggering 27 million Americans are affected by food insecurity or a lack of access to food. In many instances, food insecurity comes from persistent poverty, but other times, food insecurity is caused by a lack of access to grocery stores. The latter disproportionately affects rural areas.

Food deserts are a form of food insecurity. Put succinctly, a food desert is an area where people do not have immediate access to a grocery store to purchase food. The United States Department of Agriculture has defined an urban food desert as one where 33% of the population is further than one mile from a supermarket and a rural food desert as one where 33% of people are more than 10 miles from a supermarket.

People in food deserts are faced with a lack of options as well. A local grocery store or supermarket may not have the variety or options that a large grocery store can provide. This limits people's access to fresh produce as well, which is a crucial part of a healthy diet. Instead, the few grocery stores located within a food desert may only have shelf-stable, processed foods. This further compounds the health issues that many communities, particularly rural communities, already face.

Rural areas are disproportionately affected by food deserts. A CoBank Study found that “rural communities comprise 63% of all U.S. counties but 87% of counties with the highest food insecurity rates.” Another study by Verwell Health found that “over one-fifth of people living in urban areas and one-third of people in rural areas are in food deserts.” The numbers show that food deserts disproportionately affect rural communities. Food insecurity in rural areas is due in part to food deserts.

A lack of access to grocery stores or supermarkets plays a major role in the formation and perpetuation of food deserts in rural America. Many rural individuals have to travel long distances to get to grocery stores. This travel can become even more difficult and dangerous during winter months when weather can impact travel. Furthermore, when people in rural communities get to their local grocery stores, they find themselves faced with a lack of options. Many rural grocery stores do not provide people with “access to a wide range of food and beverage options.”

As mentioned above, many local grocery stores or supermarkets in rural areas only have processed foods available to customers. Processed foods are cheaper and easier to transport compared to fresh produce. Typically, processed foods are higher in sodium, fat, and sugar. This leads to an unhealthy diet which has further health consequences outside of food insecurity.

There is a direct correlation between food deserts, unhealthy diets, and health issues related to poor nutrition. Diets that are high in sodium, fat, and sugar lead to an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and other health issues. Furthermore, a diet that lacks proper nutrition can also lead to complications during pregnancy.

Solving the food desert crisis is a complicated issue as well. One suggestion is that food delivery services may be able to fill the void of food deserts. A study from the Brookings Institute found that 90% of people living in food deserts could potentially have access to food delivery services such as Amazon, Instacart, Uber Eats, or Walmart. The study also acknowledges that a lack of internet access could make it difficult for rural areas to access food delivery services. Lack of internet access in rural areas, which has been discussed here, is not only a technological limitation but can also limit rural area's access to food.

Food deserts and food insecurity affect many millions of people in the United States but disproportionately affect rural communities. While there is no readily apparent solution to the food desert problem, hopefully, more people will be aware of how prevalent food insecurity is in the United States, particularly in rural areas.