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The biggest problem is that in poor areas, supermarkets / grocery stores don't set up shop because of crime and the smaller amount of money that they can get fr

The biggest problem is that in poor areas, supermarkets / grocery stores don't set up shop because of crime and the smaller amount of money that they can get from customers. So, in general, poor areas are served by convenience stores. They might have some garbage produce that's going to be not fresh and relatively expensive, and they have a lot of cheap, unhealthy, calorie-rich food. In order to get to the grocery store, it's usually more than half an hour, if not more. And if they don't have a car, they're limited to what they can carry. And if they're living in a cramped apartment, their storage space is really limited. I have none of these problems - I live less than ten minutes from four different grocery stores, (Albertson's, Safeway, Fred Meyer, and Costco) have a freezer chest in addition to a regular refrigerator, and an enormous amount of cabinet space for non-perishable goods. Poor people have none of that. So, they buy shitty food from the bodega and the local Taco Bell so that they don't have to travel long distances and store food.

mhuffman 11y ago
I understand the concept of food deserts, but what about all the poor obese children that do not live in urban areas riddled with crime so bad that stores can't even stay open? The urban areas in the South are few and far between, yet there is an overwhelming number of poor obese people. I agree in some cases it is logistics, but it would seem that in most cases it is just ignorance of dollar-per-nutritive-calorie. Even among well educated groups with money to spend this can be hard to figure out, but it really seems to be devastating the poor.
- Jtsummers 11y ago
  > The urban areas in the South are few and far between, yet there is an overwhelming number of poor obese people. I often drive from middle GA to Raleigh, NC to visit friends by way of state and US highways, rather than the interstate system. The number of poor or low population towns I pass through is quite high. In a similar vein to businesses not wanting to set up shop in poor, crime-ridden urban communities, it's just not economically sound to set up a full-featured grocery store in these small, poor towns.
  - mhuffman 11y ago
    Poor or low population town != food desert Also 90% of people in the US live within 15 minutes of a Walmart. http://www.statisticbrain.com/wal-mart-company-statistics/ http://www.statisticbrain.com/wal-mart-company-statistics/

mhuffman 11y ago

I understand the concept of food deserts, but what about all the poor obese children that do not live in urban areas riddled with crime so bad that stores can't even stay open? The urban areas in the South are few and far between, yet there is an overwhelming number of poor obese people. I agree in some cases it is logistics, but it would seem that in most cases it is just ignorance of dollar-per-nutritive-calorie. Even among well educated groups with money to spend this can be hard to figure out, but it really seems to be devastating the poor.

Jtsummers 11y ago
> The urban areas in the South are few and far between, yet there is an overwhelming number of poor obese people. I often drive from middle GA to Raleigh, NC to visit friends by way of state and US highways, rather than the interstate system. The number of poor or low population towns I pass through is quite high. In a similar vein to businesses not wanting to set up shop in poor, crime-ridden urban communities, it's just not economically sound to set up a full-featured grocery store in these small, poor towns.
- mhuffman 11y ago
  Poor or low population town != food desert Also 90% of people in the US live within 15 minutes of a Walmart. http://www.statisticbrain.com/wal-mart-company-statistics/ http://www.statisticbrain.com/wal-mart-company-statistics/