THE EPIDEMIC OF FOOD DESERTS

The percentage of food deserts are on the rise in Seattle.

By Asmaa Bah and Amirah Melvin

The epidemic of food deserts has grown tremendously in King County and unincorporated cities. For those unaware of what food deserts are, here is a brief defi nition: a neighborhood, in which it is par ticularly urban, where people experi ence difficulty to afford adequate fresh produce. Residents of these neighbor hoods are usually people of color, those who are living in low-income housing, and those that rely on government as sistance. For families, lack of available produce can be an even larger issue as it’s especially important for children to get sufficient amounts of fruits and veg etables in their day-to-day diet. Many of the grocery stores that carry fresh produce are out of these families’ price ranges. This disparity results in un healthy food options such as prepackaged food and fast food. Generally, fast food is a much cheaper option compared to the rapidly increasing price of produce in most general grocery stores. Seattle community