Food Deserts a High Concern for Georgia Residents

mgroulx7 · Multimedia

 Food Deserts a High Concern for Georgia Residents

By: Jordan Hauser and Eden Hodges

            According to the USDA, more than 2 million Georgians are living in a food desert and Bulloch county is one of the many struggling with this issue.

Food deserts have been a pressing issue in the state of Georgia for many years. Residents are struggling to travel to grocery stores to get fresh produce, meats and other healthy options.

            According to the USDA, a food desert is where a large number of residents live in an area where they do not have easy access to a grocery store or supermarket.

“My family would have to travel around 10 miles from our home to reach a grocery store, said Schulz. The closest store we had to us was the Dollar General that carried some items but mainly frozen foods that we had for dinner pretty often,” Daniel Schulz, a northern Statesboro resident said.

To put this in perspective, there are 35 food deserts in the Atlanta perimeter alone.

“Growing up my parents made it a goal to only make a trip to the store about 2-3 times a month,” said Schulz. This meant our more regular food runs were made to the Dollar General. If you’ve never been to one, they sell food items that have a longer shelf life such as frozen foods, canned goods, and other dry foods,” Schulz said.

When looking at a Statesboro map, you will find that most grocery stores are mainly located within the circle of highway 301. Outside of that region, the closest grocery store most people can get too is a Dollar General.

Any Statesboro residents who do not reside near the circle of Highway 301 and over three miles away from a grocery store are considered to be living in a food desert. This leaves thousands of residents without easy access to healthy options.

“In the food pyramid it is very important that everyone is getting in all of the food groups, fruits and vegetables, meats, and milk and cheese are all key to a healthy diet,” Taylor Johnson a intern nutritionist in Atlanta said. “Residents who are located in food deserts need to make it a priority to receive these nutrients in some way.”

According to the CDC, a healthy diet contains 40 percent bread and pasta, 35 percent fruits and vegetables, 20 percent protein, and 5 percent fats.

“It would be ideal for grocery stores to begin spreading their locations to more rural areas, but this is not realistic,” Johnson said.

 

For many residents in food deserts, the main issue is the travel time and transportation. Many residents have hard times when rain storms come through and flood the dirt roads and some of them lack a method of transportation altogether.

Even in city areas in Statesboro a grocery store can still be several miles away from residential districts, making it difficult for those without transportation to find healthy foods for themselves or their growing family.

            Over the summer, Councilwoman Paulette Chavers implemented a community garden off of South College St. so that families in the surrounding neighborhoods could tend to crops that would eventually make it to their dinner tables. 

            The community garden allows for residents to have easier access to healthy options and create a better diet for themselves. This is an alternative way for residents who do not have access to a grocery store to get their fruits and vegetables.