Project

The phrase 'food desert' generally conjures up thoughts of urban or inner city populations who do not readily have access to fresh produce. The stark reality though is the lack of nutritious foods is very much a rural problem too. According to the USDA Economic Research Service, several things can contribute to food deserts, including income level, distance to supermarkets, and vehicle access.

The 2008 Farm Bill defined a food desert as an “area in the United States with limited access to affordable and nutritious food, particularly such an area composed of predominantly lower income neighborhoods and communities” (Title VI, Sec. 7527).

Despite the implementation of food assistance programs, such as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and WIC (Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children) many low-income and rural communities are still lacking adequate access to nutritious food, and residents live in food deserts. This is the situation nationally and even internationally. For the purpose of our project we will focus on food desert trends in Ohio, and in particular the Cleveland area (Cuyahoga County).