Perpetuating Food Apartheid: New Urban Grocery Stores in Grand Rapids
by Jeff Smith (GRIID)Last week, Rapid Growth Media ran a piece about new grocery store efforts in Grand Rapids. The article, discusses food deserts and the variety of responses that people are involved in. Unfortunately, the article and the new grocery stores will only perpetuate food insecurity in Grand Rapids.
There are several misconceptions that people have about those who experience food insecurity. The first misconception is the very language we use to try to describe the problem – food deserts.
The article states…
READ MORE — https://griid.org/2017/03/08/perpetuating-food-apartheid-new-urban-grocery-stores-in-grand-rapids/
Last week, Rapid Growth Media ran a piece about new grocery store efforts in Grand Rapids. The article, discusses food deserts and the variety of responses that people are involved in. Unfortunately, the article and the new grocery stores will only perpetuate food insecurity in Grand Rapids.
There are several misconceptions that people have about those who experience food insecurity. The first misconception is the very language we use to try to describe the problem – food deserts.
The article states, “Calvin College defines food deserts as large continuous areas within urban areas where healthy and balanced food stores are difficult to access.” While it is true that people living in certain urban neighborhoods are limited in where they can access their food, the definition of food deserts is highly problematic.
Sociologists have been using the term food deserts since the 1970s, but the term is misleading…
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