When I first moved to Cannington 4 years ago, I was faced with the fact that having moved to a smaller town meant that I had fewer options for purchasing food. While working here at The Nourish and Develop Foundation, I came to learn I was now living in a rural food desert.
What is a food desert you might ask?
Food deserts are regions or communities where residents have little to no access to stores or restaurants that offer fresh, healthy, affordable food options. They are often areas limited to only fast-food restaurants and convenience stores. The possibility of finding a grocery store within walking distance is low.[i] Canadians living in rural regions, such as Brock Township, experience food desert conditions because there is often long-distance travel to locate affordable, nutritious food.[ii] Access to these healthy options is low because of several different factors including income, location, as well as the time and ability to travel to a grocery store. Finding reliable public transportation, or extra time in a busy schedule, places barriers on providing yourself and your family with a nutritious lunch or dinner.
Unfortunately, rural food deserts often lacking affordable and nutritional options for residents can lead to long-term nutrition and health issues.[iii] Recently, studies have linked certain symptoms of mental health challenges, such as anxiety and depression to undernutrition.[iv] Mental energy is a key component of making healthy choices.
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People all over the country are organizing and creating innovative solutions to provide better access to healthy food. One of the beneficial initiatives being introduced to solve the puzzle of food deserts is allowing temporary farmers’ markets and more mobile healthy food vending,[v] much like The Nourish and Develop Foundation’s Mobile Food Market program! The goal of our Mobile Food Market is to provide better access to fresh, locally grown produce and meals at an affordable price, in various rural communities throughout Brock Township. We are currently visiting 11 locations with the intention of serving rural communities experiencing a lack of access to food, typically found in food deserts. These locations are within walking distance of highly populated areas, and we are open to the public during hours that meet the needs of the surrounding residents. In addition, we offer a variety of different vegetable and meal options each week, at prices that are affordable.
As individuals, we can support local farms and projects such as community gardens and mobile farmers’ markets to work towards minimizing the effects of living in food deserts. One step at a time we can help create a path to a world with accessible, healthy, and sustainable food options for all.
[i] 2. Luan H, Law J, Quick M. Identifying food deserts and swamps based on relative healthy food access: a spatio-temporal Bayesian approach. Int J Health Geog. 2015;14(1). Available from: http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/ pmcc/articles/PMC4696295/
[ii] Inaker LM, Shuh A, Olstad DL, Engler-Stringer R, Black JL, Mah CL. Retail food environments research in Canada: a scoping review. Can J Public Health. 2016;107(Suppl. 1). Available from: http://journal.cpha.ca/index. php/cjph/article/view/5344.
[iii] Wrigley N. “Food deserts” in British cities: policy context and research priorities. Urban Stud [Internet]. 2002 [cited 2017 Mar 14];39(11):2029-40. Available from: http://usj.sagepub.com/content/39/11/2029.full.pdf
[iv] Khalid S, Williams CM, Reynolds SA. Is there an association between diet and depression in children and adolescents? A systematic review. Br J Nutr. 2017;116(2097-2108). https://www.ncceh.ca/sites/default/files/Food_Deserts_Food_Swamps_Primer_Oct_2017.pdf#:~:text=Food%20deserts%20are%20geographic%20areas%20that%20have%20limited,desert%20conditions%2C%20requiring%20long%20maintain%20a%20healthy%20diet
[v]https://www.ncceh.ca/sites/default/files/Food_Deserts_Food_Swamps_Primer_Oct_2017.pdf#:~:text=Food%20deserts%20are%20geographic%20areas%20that%20have%20limited,desert%20conditions%2C%20requiring%20long%20maintain%20a%20healthy%20diet
