USDA Maps Food Deserts

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has built a new interactive map illustrating the nation’s “food deserts,” a term the USDA explains as “a low-income census tract where a substantial number or share of residents has low access to a supermarket or large grocery store.” According to the map, roughly 13.5 million Americans (82 percent of whom live in urban areas) live in food deserts, with little access to fresh fruits and vegetables. The map, and the resulting effort by the Healthy Food Financing Initiative to provide fresh food to those living in food deserts, are both part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign.