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can somebody ELI5 how "food deserts" work (or don't) in the USA? (lemmygrad.ml)

submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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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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[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months 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.