By: Alison Dirr
Amber Canto, poverty and food security specialist with Cooperative Extension
Canto is part of the Wisconsin Food Security Project. The project’s website features an interactive map, giving visitors a better understanding of Wisconsin’s food security infrastructure. The map divides Wisconsin into counties and locates farmers’ markets, food pantries, summer meal sites, SNAP retailers (formerly known as food stamps) and public schools serving and not serving breakfast.
The term “food desert” has come into question because it does not cover enough of the issue [of food security]. Is that your perception too, or how would you characterize the way it’s been talked about?
Canto: Some people have not liked the term “food desert,” because it suggests total lack of any assets or total lack of any resources. Others say we really need to be talking about “food oasis,” where we have this over-abundance of fast food. And there is increasing research coming out that suggests maybe it’s not about how far you are from an actual supermarket or grocery store, what that actual distance is, but what other not-so-good-for you choices do you have available?
I don’t know that I have a strong opinion one way or another. It’s a name you can put on a concept…“Food desert” is a way for us to define the concept, but…it’s not going to take into account everything that’s actually going on.
I was looking at the [Wisconsin Food Security Project] map, and I noticed there were a couple counties that seemed to have either no food pantries or just one in the entire county—especially in the northern areas. When you’re living in those counties, what are the options?
Canto: If we think about risk for food security or food insecurity, the North is certainly at greater risk. We see lower incomes up there, we see higher rates of poverty. We know poverty is one of the greatest risk factors for food security. We also know that transportation is an extreme barrier for getting food on the table, so if you don’t have a car, you don’t have a bus line—which, many of our rural communities do not have buses—you’re going to have even more challenges for getting to the grocery store to get food.
Have you talked to families up there? What does their [situation] look like?
Canto: Some families will just share rides and will go together to the grocery store. Some individuals are dependent on KwikTrip or the local convenience store, which provides a lot of that food.
It seems like there are systems in place [to assist those with limited food access]. How well do you think they’re working overall and what do you think could be done to alleviate the problem to a greater extent?
Canto: There are certainly systems in place. Sometimes the functioning of the systems are disjointed, and I would say that’s where the biggest improvement could likely occur.
You’ll notice the food desert definition is tied to supermarkets or grocery stores. The reason they do that is research has shown that supermarkets and grocery stores offer a greater amount of fresh fruits and vegetables and other healthy foods like whole grain products or low-fat dairy, and at lower prices than, say, a convenience store or liquor store.
There are some communities that simply will not support a grocery store. There’s not enough people, there’s not enough business. It’s not going to thrive. So then you need to think creatively about what other system support structures exist. That’s where maybe a farmers’ market comes into play. That could be where a community garden comes into play.
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