4 ms·

Living in the suburbs means people often aren't super close to grocery stores.

war1025 7y ago
Must be different sorts of suburbs than the ones I'm familiar with. Most of the bedroom communities around here have grocery stores, restaurants, etc. since that is where people are when they aren't at work. I always heard it was the inner city people and the rural people that didn't have grocery stores easy to get to.
- JoeAltmaier 7y ago
  Its half an hour for met to get the a grocery on the edge of the next town. But really, it is any easier to get across midtown for a city dweller? Congestions drops geometrically with distance from the city center, at least in Midwestern towns. So I barely see a car until I'm almost to the store.
  - adrianN 7y ago
    In all cities where I have lived there were several supermarkets within walking distance.
- Loughla 7y ago
  Rural living here: I always find the conversations around 'meal planning' or just trip planning in general fascinating. We're 30-45 minutes away from the nearest store, let alone grocery store or supermarket. We make 1 trip every 2 weeks to stock up on groceries, and often plan the entire month in advance. We grow and can our own vegetables, because fresh vegetables are too far away and don't store as well long-term. The push for meal planning, I'm now realizing, is weird to me because we've always done that. That it is a function of the physical space I occupy has never occurred to me.
  - novaRom 7y ago
    Where do you live? 45 minutes is like 50-100 km up to a nearest store?
    - sp332 7y ago
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert In 2010, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that 23.5 million Americans live in "food deserts", meaning that they live more than... 10 miles from a supermarket in rural areas.
      - esotericn 7y ago
        That's not really the definition of 'food desert' that I think about when I hear the term. I always figured it applied more to super-poor city dwellers. 10 miles in a rural area is nothing. Like, I'm 10 miles from the nearest town right now, and that feels pretty close.
        Loughla 7y ago
        I'm with you on that 10 miles is nothing. I would love to have a store within 10 miles - that's biking distance even. But to me - because food deserts have a larger impact on low-income folks, I think about it in their context. If I didn't have access to a reliable form of transportation, 10 miles would be a super long way to have to travel.
        esotericn 7y ago
        Right. I mean it's basically that the distance here is defined quite strictly when it really depends on the individual. I could be 200km from the nearest grocery store, and it'd just mean I need to stockpile a bit more, because as you say, assuming there are roads etc, I can jump in the car whenever and go there. By contrast someone who's poor and severely disabled might feel they're in a 'desert' if the nearest store is 200m away and they can't walk.
    - 7y ago
wil421 7y ago
Suburbs are the exact places that have grocery stores everywhere. Some urban places have them spread out between business or factory districts and residential districts. Suburbs usually have them every few miles.

Must be different sorts of suburbs than the ones I'm familiar with. Most of the bedroom communities around here have grocery stores, restaurants, etc. since that is where people are when they aren't at work. I always heard it was the inner city people and the rural people that didn't have grocery stores easy to get to.

JoeAltmaier 7y ago
Its half an hour for met to get the a grocery on the edge of the next town. But really, it is any easier to get across midtown for a city dweller? Congestions drops geometrically with distance from the city center, at least in Midwestern towns. So I barely see a car until I'm almost to the store.
- adrianN 7y ago
  In all cities where I have lived there were several supermarkets within walking distance.
Loughla 7y ago
Rural living here: I always find the conversations around 'meal planning' or just trip planning in general fascinating. We're 30-45 minutes away from the nearest store, let alone grocery store or supermarket. We make 1 trip every 2 weeks to stock up on groceries, and often plan the entire month in advance. We grow and can our own vegetables, because fresh vegetables are too far away and don't store as well long-term. The push for meal planning, I'm now realizing, is weird to me because we've always done that. That it is a function of the physical space I occupy has never occurred to me.
- novaRom 7y ago
  Where do you live? 45 minutes is like 50-100 km up to a nearest store?
  - sp332 7y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert In 2010, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that 23.5 million Americans live in "food deserts", meaning that they live more than... 10 miles from a supermarket in rural areas.
    - esotericn 7y ago
      That's not really the definition of 'food desert' that I think about when I hear the term. I always figured it applied more to super-poor city dwellers. 10 miles in a rural area is nothing. Like, I'm 10 miles from the nearest town right now, and that feels pretty close.
      - Loughla 7y ago
        I'm with you on that 10 miles is nothing. I would love to have a store within 10 miles - that's biking distance even. But to me - because food deserts have a larger impact on low-income folks, I think about it in their context. If I didn't have access to a reliable form of transportation, 10 miles would be a super long way to have to travel.
        esotericn 7y ago
        Right. I mean it's basically that the distance here is defined quite strictly when it really depends on the individual. I could be 200km from the nearest grocery store, and it'd just mean I need to stockpile a bit more, because as you say, assuming there are roads etc, I can jump in the car whenever and go there. By contrast someone who's poor and severely disabled might feel they're in a 'desert' if the nearest store is 200m away and they can't walk.
  - 7y ago

wil421 7y ago

Suburbs are the exact places that have grocery stores everywhere. Some urban places have them spread out between business or factory districts and residential districts. Suburbs usually have them every few miles.