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can somebody ELI5 how "food deserts" work (or don't) in the USA? (lemmygrad.ml)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/asklemmygrad@lemmygrad.ml
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I've heard this term a couple of time but never actually looked into it, and it is such an alien concept to me right now. I apologise in advance for sounding dumb here.

I can understand slums and favelas having a harder time getting access to fresh food, but how come entire government-recognised and incorporated neighbourhoods with electricity, water and all those more complex services can't have small grocery stores for basic healthy things like rice?

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[–] [S] 8 points 2 years ago* (3 children)

What is stopping people from turning empty lots in those poor communities into small food-growing plots or growing chickens? Is it some kind of regulation? Some fruits are very easy to grow and iirc they're expensive in there, so I can't see how there'd be a lack of incentive for plant-only shops. I've seen even places with lawns in some videos about food deserts, and one could definitely grow some orange trees or a couple chickens in those and even supplement income that way by selling to neighbours.

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  • [–] 18 points 2 years ago

    Laws.

    In the same way that you said you could see it happening in favellas and slums. In those places in non 1st world countries the rules are so unenforced its probably easier to get access to fresh food because all you need is some guy with a pickup truck to.drive to the market every day, load up, drive back and set up a stall.

    Doing anything permanent or even semi permanent in a 1st world country involves insurances, permits, vehicle inspections, taxes, zoning, city council...

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  • [–] 15 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    There’s laws. There are farmers markets, but they’re often overpriced. There are community farms, and some good work I’ve heard being done with that and trying to get people to have plants like blueberries, but there’s also a stigma in the black community because they see farming as reminiscent of slavery.

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  • [–] [S] 9 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Thanks, I think I get it a bit better. One more for my list of "US quirks to tell aspiring expats about to ruin their hype," alongside the existence of the KKK, ICE and lack of state healthcare among other things. What a strange country, invading Caribbean nations to keep rice prices down, but then feeding their people on burgers and cheetos.

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  • [–] 9 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

    If you want to shock someone while talking about the KKK, tell them about the PATCON (patriot conspiracy) operation where the FBI infiltrated far right groups and instead of trying to sow division or shut them down, they used it as a way to covertly fund them.

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  • [–] 12 points 2 years ago*

    One encouraging trend I've been noticing lately is immigrant communities moving into poor neighborhoods and setting up ethnic groceries in low-rent buildings or lots . Because immigrant communities tend to concentrate in areas, that guarantees a market for what would otherwise be a niche product. Then other poor US-born neighbors start shopping at those stores simply because they're local and sometimes even walkable.

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