Chicago is one of many cities that contains food deserts which fuel the greater problem of inequality on many different levels. Food deserts are primarily found low income minority areas on the South and West Sides. These areas lack grocery stores that sell fresh fruit and vegetables. Instead these areas are served by corner stores that primarily serve junk food and liquor in addition to an overabundance of fast food restaurants.
The food and drinks sold in these stores and restaurants is often a major part of local residents' diets which leads to health problems like heart disease, stroke and diabetes. These health problems occur in rates significantly higher than those in areas with access to healthy food. Many major grocery stores refuse to locate in these areas due to concerns about crime and making a profit.
Many of these stores are also not ascetically pleasing due to their location in areas that are often heavily blighted and have a high crime presence. They often feature fences and bars over the doors and windows to prevent break ins, protective barriers over the counter to protect the clerk in holdups as well as mirrors and security cameras everywhere.
If people in these areas want to get fresh food they have to spend time and money sometimes traveling great distances in order to shop at a grocery store and often end up paying higher prices than what they can afford. If corner stores in their area carry fresh food, residents will often end up paying outrageous prices for small quantities of food. These prices are often higher than what it would cost to buy the same product at a supermarket.
Map of Chicago Food Deserts at the Museum of Science and Industry's "YOU: The Experience" exhibit on the Human Body and Health, a photo by Zol87 on Flickr.
*Map of Chicago Food Deserts in 2010 from Mari Gallagher Research and Consulting Group
*Map of Major Grocery Stores in Chicago from CityNews Chicago
Great photo essay on food deserts! The images really tell a great story.Is this a specific neighborhood in Chicago or a broad look? I wonder if there is anything these communities are doing to fix this problem (community gardens?). Also, it might be neat to compare and contrast it with another neighborhood that has nice supermarkets, to get a feel for how things are different. Keep up your great work! Look forward to your next photo essay.
ReplyDeleteThere pictures were all taken on the South and West sides of Chicago in low income neighborhoods. I will soon do a follow up post on how these problems are being addressed. I will also be doing a piece on unequal development across the city so stay tuned for that as well.
ReplyDeleteNice! Looking forward to it.
ReplyDelete