Food deserts are defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as low-income communities located more than one mile from a reliable source of fresh produce and other healthy whole foods.
That’s a new term to me. “Food desert.” lol.
Naturally, we’re inclined to hear the word “desert” and naturally visualize harsh terrains of flat land, high heat, sand everywhere, and the sun beating down unmercifully. Contextually, it makes sense what a food desert should be, but it’s still amusing to me that my particular area would likely be considered one.
This isn’t to say that I’m personally of low income living, although I’d hardly consider myself to be of an upper-class echelon of earning, but there’s absolutely no way to deny the fact that the people that live surrounding me are mostly of obvious lower incomes.
Granted, the interesting thing to me is that the only criteria that separates an area from being a food desert to not being a food desert is the income. So basically, someone who happens to live more than a mile away from the nearest reliable source of fresh produce and other healthy whole foods, but it also happens to be an affluent neighborhood, then it’s not technically a food desert?
Seems silly. And subjective.
Then again, it’s pretty much the oldest pastime of Atlanta media, to talk about what they really, really want to talk about, but without using any actual terminology to specifically address it.
So let’s add “desert” to the growing list of fake names for my part of the town, with “Zombieland,” “the sticks,” and of course, “Guam.”
