Michelle Obama calls attention to “food deserts”

This article from the Racewire blog draws attention both to First Lady Michelle Obama’s campaign to reform the American diet.  She does this both by modeling the importance of eating fresh fruits and vegetables and using organic gardening methods, but also advocates structural change by working with America’s food manufacturers to reduce fat and sodium content in their food.  Go Michelle!

As Michelle Obama turns up the heat on food manufacturers, PolicyLink and The Food Trust have released a report that maps America’s “food deserts” and looks at their lasting effects in rural areas and low-income communities of color.

The report culls research from more than 100 previous studies to bring together the best data available on food access. The findings won’t shock anyone living in one of America’s many food deserts, but they prove Obama’s childhood obesity campaign can’t stop with telling parents to feed their kids better:

• 23.5 million Americans lived over a mile away from the nearest supermarket in 2009;
• African Americans were nearly four times as likely to live a food desert as whites;
• 80 percent of nonwhite residents in Albany, N.Y., can’t find low-fat milk or high-fiber bread sold in their neighborhoods;
• More than 70 percent of families eligible for food stamps in Mississippi travel at least 30 miles to reach a supermarket.

Racewire blog article continues here

Report from PolicyLink & The Food Trust here