Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works a brain Stuff Lauren Volke bomb here. The United States still struggles to feed people adequately. According to a new analysis by the nonprofit organization Reinvestment Fund, seventeen point six million Americans lack access to healthy food. It's not all bad news. They analyzed limited supermarket areas or l says, often called
food deserts. Their analysis shows that in most states, access to healthy food has improved overall during the past several years. Even in states with significant population growth, such as Florida and Arizona, the percentage of people who lived in alisas decreased from six point eight percent to five point six percent in six That means three point one million people have better access to fresh foods than they used to,
but progress hasn't been consistent across the country. Even though grossery stores aren't the only places to get fresh food. Other retailers in hooting drug stores and corner stores. Health experts note that food prices at grocery stores are lower than those at smaller stores, and that large clubs like Costcode Sam's typically require membership fees that may be a barrier for some families. Plus, when there are fewer grocery
stores in a given area, food prices are typically higher. Additionally, the analysis found that ls as are disproportionately found in areas where the demographics include more people with low incomes, people in poverty, and people of color. For example, food access improved overall in Rhode Island, the number of people living in alisas they're dropped thirty eight percent between twenty six but of Rhode Islands remaining ALISA population is low
income residents. Access to healthy food is key for good health and quality of life. People who live in areas with poor access to healthy food are fifty percent less likely to have a good quality diet. In communities with good access to healthy food, there's a reduced incidence of diabetes, for example. Food access also impacts other health conditions, such
as cardiovascular disease and even some types of cancer. The Reinvestment Fund analysis identifies low supermarket areas by looking at criteria such as income, car ownership rates, and the distance to existing grocery stores, making adjustments for differences in rural and urban areas. Still, residents of lsays travel almost twice as far to get to grocery stores as residents in places with good access to healthy food even when there
is a similar population density and car ownership. Retailers typically place stores in areas where there's enough demand to sustain operations, such as a denser population with a higher income. Low income or rural areas don't offer those characteristics to attract retailers without other incentives, and in urban areas, retailers face barriers such as real estate costs, limited parking space for customers, and traffic issues which can make it hard for large
trucks to enter and make regular deliveries. The LSA analysis by the Reinvestment Fund will help direct government assistance to communities to help bring grocery stores and healthy food retailers to underserved communities through the government's Healthy Food Financing Initiative.
In the past ten years, drug stores such as Walgreens have made efforts to stock limited grocery items including milk, eggs, and fruit, calling these efforts a food oasis to combat limited access in food deserts, and some communities address food access through grassroots efforts such as mobile grocery stores, community gardens, and farmers markets. For example, in Chicago, an urban farming program that started back in sen with just a few acres of land and a converted bus served its ten
thousand customer As of August. The program, called Fresh Moves Mobile Market, serves senior centers, schools, and other locations on Chicago's South and West sides weekly, focusing specifically on areas with no access to fresh foods. Today's episode was written
by Sean Chavis and produced by Tyler Clang. Check out our online shop at t public dot com slash brain stuff to find sweatshirtswanesies, notebooks, and stickers, and every purchase helps support our show, and of course, for more on this and lots of other social topics, visit our home planet, how stuff Works dot com