Comment by oliv__ | Hacker News Reader

Comment by oliv__ | Hacker News Reader

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> The underlying factors are deeper: in many places (read: along racial and other lines) it is difficult to get fresh fruits, vegetables and other healthy food

I've heard this argument a lot, but personally I've never been to an area in the US where you couldn't get to a Walmart or similar "cheap" supermarket in a reasonable drive and where you couldn't find basic fruits/vegetables.

Sure, it might not be your fancy organic bodega but they've got everything you need to eat right and it's not that expensive.

I mean, hell, even without fresh produce, you can buy rice, canned beans (black, pinto, garbanzo) and (non-syrup) canned fruit and that will be some of the cheapest food in the store.

It's really not that hard to eat healthy for cheap if you know what to buy.

Note that you said "car" and that's not a given. Nor is the time to go shopping and cook if you need to work multiple jobs or take care of kids or etc. It is not impossible, but there are a number of barriers that shouldn't be there.

Those can certainly be barriers but it's not the same argument as arguing there are "food deserts".

? There certainly are, and it is a well-studied topic. Maybe you want to quibble on the definition or how large a role it plays, but it is well established (and also pretty obvious for anyone that has lived in one, which is millions of people).

(Edit: perhaps misunderstood what you were referring to, but if a food desert is say 10 miles without access to fresh groceries, not having a car makes that much more difficult. Even with a car, that means a larger time commitment. So I see that as part of the reasoning of what a food desert is and why that is a barrier to access to healthy food.)

I grew up in one, the closest store with any food at all was an hour drive way. Both parents worked, and still managed to put healthy meals on the table ever day because they were willing to cook and the family meal was a sacred thing. It’s not about access, it’s about priorities.

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