I have been reading about Michelle Obama’s latest efforts to encourage good nutrition in childhood.
“Executives from Wal-Mart, Walgreens, SuperValu and other stores joined Michelle Obama at the White House on [July 21] to announce a pledge to open or expand a combined 1,500 stores in communities that have limited access to nutritious food and are designated as ‘food deserts.’
“With the pledges, secured by the Partnership for a Healthier America, which is part of Mrs. Obama’s campaign to reduce childhood obesity, the stores aim to reach 9.5 million of the 23.5 million Americans who live in areas where finding affordable healthy foods can be difficult. In those areas, many people turn to fast food restaurants or convenience stores.” Read the New York Times article here.
On a related note, John sent me a really interesting link from photographer Mark Menjivar, who documents the insides of people’s refrigerators. He includes a one-line insight into the person whose food he is photographing. Unsurprisingly, the fridge with the least food in it belongs to a “street advertiser” who lives on a $432 fixed monthly income.
See the fascinating photo essay here.
Suzanne's Mom's Blog 
The article in Communities and Banking on bringing a food co-op to New Haven mentioned food deserts, and I remember being aware of the lack of a good, inexpensive supermarket in Central Square in Cambridge. (At the time we lived near there, there was a Bread and Circus, but that was impossibly expensive! So you had this special, organic, pricey market, but no ordinary, affordable market.)
My older son was aware of the term food deserts from his courses in urban planning.