Food Deserts?

Food deserts (not to be confused with desserts) are defined as urban neighborhoods and rural towns without access to fresh, healthy, and affordable foods. Low access to healthy foods can cause or exacerbate numerous health problems. In urban areas, the USDA states food deserts are areas at least 1-mile from a healthy affordable food source (e.g. supermarket), and they qualify as low-income communities (i.e. poverty rate of 20% or greater or 80% of median family income). In rural areas, where vehicle ownership is high, the USDA defines food deserts as 10-miles away from a healthy, affordable food source, with the same stipulations on low-income.  For the purpose of this study, I chose to look at Spokane County, a place I've called home since 2004. I should add, I've publically berated the USDA before during my thesis defense, so there is no love loss between me at the USDA recommendations. I call bullshit on the USDA's food desert idea, and attempt to make my point using a series of GIS maps below. The idea that USDA food deserts in rural areas are misleading came during a recent trip to my sisters homestead in Bonners County, ID. Although the area would be classified as a food desert, I noticed my sister and her neighbors eating MUCH healthier and fresher food than their more urban counterparts (i.e. Spokanites). Just doing a brief survey of the families who lived in the same valley as my sister, I noticed ALL of the houses had gardens (some of which were over 1/2 acre), and ALL of the families hunted (and harvested yearly).  In Spokane, I aim to systemically dissect the "food deserts" and tell you why much of the food deserts could be eliminated if we taught people to actively grow or forage for a portion of their calories.

Map of the official USDA Food deserts. 

First and foremost, let's get the egregious errors out of the way. The Air Force base is listed as a food desert. The commissary is not listed as a source of "fresh, affordable, healthy food". I think we can all agree this "food desert" isn't accurate.  

Many of the more urban food deserts have access to community gardens and farmers markets. Using these gardens and markets to recalculate from the center points of these tracts would change the food deserts. Not listed is any personal gardens, which I would argue could change the food deserts as well. Why isn't the USDA encouraging people to produce their own food or to utilize farmers markets?












Foraging is one method of producing healthy nutritious food. Many of the areas listed as deserts have access to public land  within 1 mile, where foraging is permissible. Should we be teaching people how to forage?

Just for fun - Everyone in Spokane has access to public lands within 10 miles from their home. 

Maps from WDFW - 2012 Deer / Elk Harvest. Are people in the rural food deserts really eating poor quality, expensive food? Quite a few game animals harvested in some of the "deserts" and we aren't accounting for non-reported kills, small game, waterfowl, etc. 

Lastly, I'm supposed to believe that the people who GROW our food are eating McDonalds? The "food desert" in the southeast of our county is almost exclusively agricultural land. I'm no expert, but....