What are food deserts?

• A. Regions with no grocery stores due to zoning
• B. Areas with limited access to affordable, nutritious food due to market gaps and urban planning
• C. Areas with high food prices
• D. Regions where farmers markets are abundant

Answer: (B)

Food deserts describe places where people don’t have easy, affordable access to nutritious food because major grocery stores are scarce or located far away, and urban planning and market patterns have left neighborhoods underserved. It’s about more than just whether stores exist; it’s about distance, transportation, and the affordability of healthy options. In many urban or rural areas, low-income residents face barriers to reaching supermarkets with a full selection of healthy foods, so they rely on smaller stores with limited healthy choices. That combination of geographic distance and cost is what characterizes a food desert. The option that suggests no grocery stores because of zoning is too absolute, while focusing only on high prices or on abundant farmers markets doesn’t capture the access-and-affordability aspect that defines food deserts.