Produce & Health

Matthew Yglesias' intern points to an initiative by First Lady Michelle Obama who is working with a number of supermarket chains to bring fresh food options to what are called "food deserts."  Food Deserts are places-typically inner-city-that has no easy access to grocery stores, and thus, no healthy options such as fruits & vegetables.  Often the only access is either a long trip or the local gas station or corner store.

He wonders if simply bringing those options to areas will result in actual improvements in the number of produce consumed.  I had similiar thoughts; after all, studies (that I'm not going to bother trying to find and link to) have shown that as matter of economics, especially for low-income people with a limited budget, food typicaly found in the middle aisles of a grocery store make more sense financially than fresh produce.  Not only is a Mac & Cheese cheaper, it's more filling compared to a similar cost in produce.  And it's nowhere as perishable. 

Fortunately, he was able to find a study that indicates that, yes, having easy access to grocery stores does result in better food outcomes.

After controlling for confounding variables, easy access to supermarket shopping was associated with increased household use of fruits (84 grams per adult equivalent per day; 95% confidence interval).  Distance from home to food store was inversely associated with fruit use by households. Similar patterns were seen with vegetable use, though associations were not significant.