food desert

a geographic area where residents’ access to affordable, healthy food options (especially fresh fruits and vegetables) is restricted or non-existent due to the absence of grocery stores within convenient traveling distance.

According to Food Empowerment, "the other defining characteristic of food deserts is socio-economic: that is, they are most commonly found in black and brown communities and low-income areas (where many people don’t have cars). Studies have found that wealthy districts have three times as many supermarkets as poor ones do, that white neighborhoods contain an average of four times as many supermarkets as predominantly black ones do, and that grocery stores in African-American communities are usually smaller with less selection."

Further Reading

• Food Empowerment Project: Food Deserts