A "food desert" is as a place where 50 percent or more of the population has low access to a supermarket. In the United States, a widespread proliferation of convenience stores and gas stations have arisen where people can purchase food. However, the food that can be purchased there and the quality of it varies. Typically the consumer is forced to chose from a small variety of food products, most of which are not a part of a healthy diet.
The distribution of retail food stores is smaller in rural areas. The main food shopping choices for those not living near big cities are high priced convenience stores, gas stations and restaurants, most of which offer little food that would be considered healthy. The rural poor end up paying more for groceries due to a lack of access to large supermarkets that offer competitive or lower food prices than that of small grocers. "Food deserts" provide poorer dietary intake than other areas. Residents of "food deserts" are 23.4 percent less likely to eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables.
In August 2010, the Feeding America group listed Arkansas as the state with the highest level of healthy food "insecurity" in the country. According to a study done by Troy Blanchard and Thomas Lyson from Mississippi State University and Cornell University respectively, Arkansas is one of the southern states that has the highest percentage of non-metropolitan counties that are food deserts. Four Arkansas counties, Benton, Craighead, Sebastian, and Washington, have the highest population without access to fresh, low cost, healthy foods. Washington county has only 1.83 percent of the population living a mile or more away from a supermarket and lacking access to a car or other transportation. Phillips county is the worst, with 14.76 percent lacking easy access to healthy, reasonably priced food options.
The most vulnerable of the populous, such as the poor, low-income families and the disabled take up a greater majority of the population in "food deserts." This is mainly because it is just not monetarily feasible for them to shop at a large retail food store. Those who live in "food deserts" have to travel quite far to reach a supermarket or grocery store. Many of these people cannot afford to pay for transportation. Others with disabilities may not be able to travel to them as the far distance may be too long of a ride for them to handle.
