Food Deserts and Food Insecurity: Even in Minnesota

—by Rachel Fang

What are food deserts?

Imagine not being able to walk or drive to a grocery store for fresh milk or produce; imagine taking two bus rides to get the fruit, bread, or eggs you need for your family. When I first heard the term “food desert” I thought someone had misspelled the final course of a meal. You know, where cake and pies and ice cream are served. But a food desert is an area, sometimes urban sometimes rural, where good quality, affordable, and healthful food is not available. Areas where people are forced to travel long distances to find grocery stores or farmers' markets and pay high prices at small convenience stores where fresh fruits and vegetables are of marginal quality are all too common, even in Minnesota.

Not surprisingly, urban food deserts tend to be located in poor innercity neighborhoods. In these communities, large grocery stores and supermarkets have closed and smaller convenience stores and fast food restaurants often have taken their places. Food in convenience stores tends to be highly processed: frozen burritos, pizza, salty snacks and candy. Fresh produce and meat are rarely available and when they are, are likely to be expensive and of low quality. The lack of availability of culturally specific food items also prevents some poor families from accessing healthful, affordable food.

Rural areas can be food deserts as well. An example is the Red River Valley of Minnesota and North Dakota, home to some of the most fertile farmland in the United States. According to Dr. Abby Gold, Extension Specialist at the University of Minnesota and North Dakota State University, farmland in the Red River Valley is largely owned by large-scale farming operations that grow soybeans, sugar beets, and corn, which are often shipped to other states for processing. Foods that can be readily eaten are not produced on these large farms. Instead, backyard gardens supply rural families with fruits and vegetables, but only enough for their own families. So, what if you don’t have the land or the skills to grow your own food? Then you have to rely on grocery stores that can be 20 miles away and may not have the freshest foods at affordable prices.

Why do food deserts exist?

In urban environments, food security activists say that food deserts are largely the result of redlining. Decades of racist lending practices have created areas of concentrated poverty primarily populated by people of color. The National Black Economic Justice network reports half of all black neighborhoods in the United States don’t have full service grocery stores or supermarkets. In poor neighborhoods, grocery stores and supermarkets have had difficulty developing and sustaining their businesses. Instead, snack foods and highly processed meals at convenience and fast food restaurants are frequently all that are available.

Poor families are most at risk in food deserts and, while community food assistance such as food shelves and other emergency food programs exist, they often have limited resources and are able to help only a limited number of families. In rural areas where income and transportation are limited, seniors and low-income families are the most affected by lack of access to affordable, high quality food. Grocery stores and supermarkets are located in urban centers, often many miles away, and while there are food shelves in rural areas, they are also located primarily in larger towns, and, like their urban counterparts, suffer from lack of resources. The high cost of gas is also a significant barrier for poor rural residents in accessing affordable, high quality food.

Health concerns

Residents of poor neighborhoods have a higher incidence of diet-related health problems such as obesity and diabetes. Heart disease and high blood pressure are also related to lack of access to healthful foods. It is generally accepted that a healthy diet is critical for children to grow and succeed in school. Without adequate resources, poor families experience significant difficulties in providing healthful food for their children.

Addressing the problem of food deserts

Lack of resources is a significant barrier to accessing high quality food. The Food Support Program (the new name of Minnesota’s version of the federal food assistance program, formerly called “Food Stamps”) provides an average of only 78¢ per person for each meal.

According to the USDA, only 12 percent of low income households that receive federal food support are able get their recommended dietary allowances for 11 key nutrients. Most recipients must supplement their benefits with other resources throughout the month. In addition, purchasing foods for a nutritious diet requires adequate food preparation facilities, extensive time for food preparation, and knowledge about cooking food from scratch. Improving access to healthy, affordable food is not just a matter of addressing poverty, though this is a worthy goal. A number of methods of providing healthy food options exist but it is important to recognize that what works for some people may not work for many others. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and farmers’ markets are two strategies that are often touted as solutions to the problem of food deserts. But with CSA memberships costing hundreds of dollars, this is not an option for most poor families. The Twin Cities has a number of farmers’ markets, but most are not open daily and are not sited in the poorest neighborhoods. Community gardens are also a popular option, but again, there are a limited number of gardens and many poor families aren't able to access them.

Education can help families learn about healthful food options and preparing locally-produced food. Public education that is culturally appropriate could go a long way towards addressing some of the barriers to accessing healthful food, but many local food programs are under-funded and located in predominantly affluent areas.

But all is not lost. We can work together to improve access to high quality, affordable food for all by supporting our local economy and by eating locallyproduced food. We can donate to food shelves and other programs that build connections in our communities and in all communities. And we can advocate for improved food programs that teach children and families how food is produced and provide access to a wide variety of healthful, affordable food.

To read more about food deserts:

Raja, Samina, Changxing Ma, & Pavan Yadav. “Beyond Food Deserts: Measuring and Mapping Racial Disparities in Neighborhood Food Environments.” Journal of Planning Education Research, 2008.

Smith, Chery, and Lois W. Morton. “Rural Food Deserts: Low-income Perspectives on Food Access in Minnesota and Iowa.” Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 2009.

For more about food activism:

Guthman, Julie. “Bringing Good Food to Others: Investigating the Subjects of Alternative Food Practice." Cultural Geographies, 2008.