Random Largest Food Deserts In The US (10 items)

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  (#1) New York City

  • New York, USA

  Cause of the food desert: A combination of factors cause food deserts in New York. Grocery stores often have small profit margins, especially when competing with high numbers of surrounding fast food chains, and space constraints are also an issue in the city. Rising rent prices also make it difficult to operate full-service supermarkets.  

  Size of the population affected: In recent years, research has shifted from studying food deserts specifically to other factors that affect nutrition, as well as the underlying causes of deserts, so recent statistics are hard to come by. In 2008, however, the New York Department of City Planning found that 3 million city residents live in a food desert. Also, from 2000 to 2014, there was a sharp rise in the presence of fast food restaurants across New York, particularly in Brooklyn. The term "food swamp" is becoming increasingly common, referring to areas with a disproportionate ratio of fast food and convenience stores to grocery stores. While it's hard to quantify the current size of New York's food desert, general trends show a rise in unhealthy food options over conventional grocery stores. 

  The effects: The Bronx is the area most affected by New York food deserts. The Harlem River is the only thing that separates the Bronx, one of the poorest areas in the country, to Manhattan, which is one of the richest. Most Bronx residents are forced to shop at local corner stores with a very limited selection of fresh vegetables and fruit. The health statistics reveal the disparity between the boroughs. Residents of the Bronx suffer from the highest rate of deaths related to diabetes in all of New York City.

  Efforts to improve: One Bronx-based organization called MomsRising.org is trying to provide children with easy access to healthy food. Two of the group's main goals are to make sure that schools provide healthy meals and to improve fresh food availability. Additionally, the city has started programs like "Moooove to 1% Milk” and “Move to Fruits and Vegetables." Since so many residents get their entire food supply from bodegas, these groups advocate for corner stores to carry fresh food and 1% milk.
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  (#2) Atlanta

  • Georgia, USA

  Cause of the food desert: Starting in the late 1990s, smaller grocery store chains that dominated the market in Georgia began to lose business when chains like Walmart and Publix moved in. These establishments offered lower prices and bigger selections. Big retailers drove many of the smaller grocery stores in poorer neighborhoods out of business and ultimately those residents out of local healthy options. 

  Size of the population affected: As research shifts to studying causes over size, statistics are usually from 2015 to 2016, but still give some sense of the size of the desert A 2015 investigation performed by the Atlanta Journal Constitution determined that almost 2 million Georgia residents (about 500,000 children) reside in what can be classified as a food desert. In 2016, a study revealed a total of 35 food deserts in and around the city of Atlanta.

  The effects: Fast food restaurants took the place of grocery stores in poor neighborhoods. Joints like McDonalds became the standard meal replacement for urban residents who had issues with getting to a grocery store out of walking distance. Without the option for affordable healthy food, Georgian residents are more likely to be severely overweight. Obesity rates rose from 30.7% to 31.4% between 2016 and 2017 and deaths from obesity-related conditions like cardiovascular disease were also on the rise. 

  Efforts to improve: It's not enough to simply add a grocery store to these food deserts as people have to learn how to eat healthy. There have been several initiatives to change the way the people of Atlanta think about food. In the late 1990s, there was a community garden movement that resulted in 300 community gardens all around the city area. Many residents learned how to grow their own vegetables and fruit.

  Another solution was to bring in nonprofit organizations that provided Georgians with fresh food at fair prices. These nonprofits aimed to try to make healthy food available to everyone in the state. Additionally, local grocery stores began offering more organic products. 
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  (#3) Detroit

  • Michigan, USA

  Cause of the food desert: There is a serious lack of public transportation options in Detroit, making it difficult to travel out of your way to access a grocery store if you don't have a car. While Detroit's economy has seen some improvement in recent years, poverty rates are still high. This makes it difficult to support large scale grocery stores throughout the city. 

  Size of the population affected: In 2018, the Michigan Department of Agriculture reported that there were 19 neighborhoods in the city of Detroit that could be classified as a food desert. In addition to this, a 2017 study found over 30,000 residents have no access to a full-line grocery store. 

  The effects: Obesity rates in Detroit are higher than average, with 30.8% of adults in the city being obese. Low-income individuals, those most likely to live in food deserts, are most likely to be overweight. Diabetes rates are also rising in the city. 

  Efforts to improve: Detroit has become a hot spot for dining options, so much so that some even think that the label of food desert should be dropped. 

  The city has seen a large increase in planting farms in urban neighborhoods. Several successful city farm programs such as Michigan Farming Initiative and Keep Growing Detroit and Detroit Black Community have given lower income residents the availability of fresh food at affordable prices.  

  There are also a plethora of food assistance programs available for qualified residents of Detroit. Many of these programs have been set up to help the people who need them. Additionally, the reported number of grocery stores in 2017 was between 77 and 155. Although the city may not have any huge chain stores, there are currently several smaller food stores thriving in urban areas, which could help reduce the number of food deserts in coming years. 
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  (#4) Chicago

  • Chicago metropolitan area, Illinois, USA

  Cause of the food desert: Many large grocery stores and other food businesses have had to close their shops in many Chicago neighborhoods because of poor economic conditions.

  Size of the population affected: With shifting research focusing on causal factors over the size of deserts, as well as evolving definitions of the term, the precise number of current Chicago food deserts remains unclear. Studies from 2006 indicate over 500,000 (mostly African Americans) Chicago residents lived in food deserts with one third of those residents being children. A 2011 study indicated the nearest grocery store was almost twice the distance as the closest fast food restaurant. By 2017, a total of 22 Chicago communities had been officially declared a food desert. 

  The effects: According to a 2017 study, Illinois has the 18th highest adult obesity rate in the country and Chicago obesity rates are over 30%. Obesity-related health issues, like diabetes and high blood pressure, are also common in Chicago. 

  Efforts to improve: Food justice activists have opened more food co-ops in areas of the city where supermarkets have not been able to stay in business. The co-ops sell fresh organic fruit, vegetables, and whole grains. Some of the co-ops even offer classes that specialize in nutrition and how to cook healthy meals.

  Additionally, Chicago's governor Bruce Rauner signed House Bill 3157 in 2017. The legislation made it a law that the state Department of Agriculture must perform a full analysis on the health effects of all the food deserts in the state of Illinois. 
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  (#5) San Francisco

  • San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA

  Cause of the food desert: Big food retailers go for profits and these urban areas in and around San Francisco do not bring in the same dollars as the suburbs. 

  Size of the population affected: Recent data on San Francisco food deserts have been somewhat sparse and unreliable. In 2013, however, it was estimated that over 125,000 people living in the Bay Area reside in food deserts. In 2011, in the Bay Area urban town of Hunters Point, 40,000 residents had to travel several miles to the nearest major food store. However, the area is rich with fast food restaurants.

  Effects: Despite the abundance of food deserts, obesity rates in San Francisco remain low, residents often have to make difficult choices about purchasing food. According to the previously mentioned 2013 study, about 20% of the area's residents have to skip purchasing food all together if they want to pay their bills, likely due to the notoriously high cost of living in San Francisco. 

  Efforts to improve: There have been several efforts made to assist residents who live in Bay Area food deserts. Two of the hardest hit areas of San Francisco include the Bayview and Hunters Point neighborhoods. The organization HealthyRetailSF donates between $15,000 and $20,000 to several local stores in an effort to make more shelf space for healthy food options. The money also helped to stock local corner shops with fresh food. Local accessible stores that used to sell just the routine fare like candy and junk food are now being stocked with fruits and vegetables. 

  In 2002, a couple of determined citizens started the Quesada Gardens Initiative in the Bayview area. They planted vegetables and flowers wherever they could, allowing community gardens and and naturally grown plants to feed citizens. The project is ongoing today. 
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  (#6) Seattle

  • Washington, USA

  Cause of the food desert: As is the case with many food deserts, certain neighborhoods are hit harder, usually due to an inability to support large grocery stores. In some Seattle neighborhoods, convenience stores are more common than grocery stores. In addition to this, there often isn't adequate public transportation in these areas, making it difficult for residents without cars to access quality food. 

  Size of the population affected: There has not been a lot of recent research on food deserts in Seattle but, in 2011, the U.S. Department of Agriculture determined that there were 125,000 residents across 17 areas in and around the city lived in food deserts. The University of Washington performed a 2012 study and found that only 3% of the "vulnerable populations" throughout King County could walk to an affordable supermarket. 

  The effects: One out of five adults in King County is obese. High school and middle school students in King County have high rates of obesity as well, with one in 10 students in 8th, 10th, and 12th grades being obese. 

  Efforts to improve: There have been measures taken to widen access to affordable healthy food throughout the city. One idea has been to build small, local stores by a company called Stockbox Grocers. The startup was founded by two female entrepreneurs who came up with the idea to bring food directly to the people of Seattle most affected by the dearth of supermarkets. They built their prototype small food store in 2011 by remodeling a 160 square foot shipping container. In 2018, the company had one opened store in Seattle's First Hill neighborhood. It is a 2,000 square foot grocery store stocked with fresh food staples. 
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  (#7) Camden

  • New Jersey, USA

  Cause of the food desert: Poor government planning and a lack of spending on food resources seem to contribute. In 2013, it was announced that a ShopRite would open along Camden's Admiral Wilson Boulevard. In 2016, there was still no ShopRite and the major grocery store announced that it would not be opening a location in Camden after all. No reason was given for the decision, but the lack of a second supermarket prevented the area's issues with food deserts from being solved. 

  Size of the population affected: In 2016, there was only one supermarket for Camden's almost 75,000 residents, Cousin's Supermarket. Cousin's would not be considered a large grocery store in comparison to most of the places that one would find in the rest of the state. Hurting Camden residents even more is that the area lacks a decent transportation system, meaning many citizens can't access the grocery store at all. It's not just Camden that is affected, either. A survey performed in 2011 by Reinvestment Fund found that about 10 percent, or about 900,000, Jersey residents, did not have reasonable access to fresh food. In 2011, the federal government considered 134 places in NJ food deserts.

  Effects: Obesity rates are generally higher in Camden County than elsewhere in New Jersey. Unsurprisingly, poverty rates and unemployment rates are also higher. Food deserts are often located in low income communities that cannot afford to support large scale grocery stores.  

  Efforts to improve: TOUCH food bank provides fresh food for the residents of Camden. Additionally, there is a non-profit called the Food Bank of South Jersey. The organization does not just hand out food, but it provides instruction on how to cook healthy meals. It's also a training ground for jobs and provides an opportunity for the poor people in the area to earn a decent living. The goal of the Food Bank of South Jersey, and other non-profits like it, is to not just give away food but teach people how to provide for themselves.
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  (#8) New Orleans

  • Louisiana, USA

  Cause of the food desert: Hurricane Katrina continues to devastate the city of New Orleans, especially the area's poorest residents. Prior to Katrina in 2009, there were 30 grocery stores in New Orleans. By 2011, there were only 20. The dramatic drop off is not only a loss of accessible healthy food, but it also means less local jobs.

  Size of the population affected: In 2017, nearly 50,000 New Orleans residents did not have a single supermarket in their neighborhood. There are only 20 supermarkets for 350,000 residents in the New Orleans area. Depending on the neighborhood, some residents have to drive over one mile for fresh food. 

  Effects: Obesity rates in New Orleans, and Louisiana in general, are high. In addition to this, the state has generally high rates of diabetes. 

  Efforts to improve: In 2017, New Orleans mayor Mitch Landrieu put forth a $14 million Fresh Food Retail Initiative that provided supermarkets financial perks for setting up a retail outlet in neighborhoods that lacked a grocery store.

  Convenience stores and gas stations in the area have also made meat and fresh food available to buy. Those retailers cannot offer the same low prices as a major supermarket but at least it's available. Additionally, public schools must make fresh fruit and vegetables available for students. 
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  (#9) Minneapolis

  • Minnesota, USA

  Cause of the food desert: The Twin Cities fell victim to many of the common causes of food deserts. Urban areas mean tougher zoning laws and more expensive rent. 

  Size of the population affected: Recent statistics on the Twin Cities specifically are sparse, but studies done in 2016 indicate Minnesota in general has major issues with food deserts. A 2016 study indicated nearly a third of the population lives in a food desert. In 2006, it was estimated that almost one third of the population of St. Paul and nearly one half of Minneapolis citizens lived in food deserts, so it's likely a lot of deserts exist within these cities. 

  The effects: Minnesota's obesity rate increased in 2016, going from 2015's 26.1% to 27.8%. 

  Efforts to improve: In the early 2000s, farmers markets began popping up in Twin City food desert locales along with public assistance programs to make those markets affordable for the poor. 

  In 2009, an estimated 36 percent of small local stores had little to no fresh produce. To combat this lack of healthy food, in 2010, Minneapolis started the Healthy Corner Store Program. The initiative helped to make fresh fruit and vegetables available at local convenience stores and has seen some success. In 2013, corner stores that took part in the program raised their percentage of produce sales by 155 percent and continue to see a consumer demand for fresh healthy food. 
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  (#10) Memphis

  • Tennessee, USA

  Cause of the food desert: Large grocery store chains, like Kroger, closed many of their stores in poor neighborhoods in Memphis. Many of those residents do not own a car and therefore do not have access to fresh food. A lack of city funding towards low income neighborhoods also makes it difficult to support new businesses like grocery stores.

  Size of the population affected: According to a 2010 Gallop poll, 26% of Memphis residents were not able to buy fresh food for their families. The state of Tennessee as a whole is not much better, with 13% of the state garnering the food desert label. Overall, the same 2010 survey ranked Tennessee second in the country in terms of low income residents not having access to healthy fresh food. Food deserts were reportedly still an issue in 2018 according to the United States Department of Agriculture and were exasperated by a lack of public transportation. 

  The effects: In 2018, a research study performed by personal finance website WalletHub found that Memphis ranked third in the country for "obesity and overweight rank." The area's children are particularly affected, with 22.6 percent of students at one school considered obese. 

  Efforts to improve: Several local organizations have brought farmers markets to the poorer Memphis neighborhoods. In Binghampton, one of the areas hit hardest by the lack of a local grocery store, an organization called the Urban Farms Memphis in Binghampton has a three acre area that grows and provides fresh vegetables and fruit.

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