Hobby Farms Forums / Hobby Farms Forum / Hobby Farms Discussions / Rural Areas=Scarce Healthy Food? / Latest Posts

RE: Rural Areas=Scarce Healthy Food?

Lannie — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:42:33 GMT

I'm coming in a bit late on this discussion (but I'm new, so forgive me!). I wanted to offer a bit of a different perspective to the idea of "rural." There's rural and then there's really rural! LOL! My husband and I live in rural South Dakota, 30 miles from the closest town (which is where our Post Office is). There is one store in that town of less than 500 people and I only shop there if it's an emergency. It's a "market" as opposed to a convenience store, but it's not much bigger, and because it's so isolated most of the food is old and outdated. I kid you not, the produce there is mostly wilted and saggy, and in many instances, actually moldy. If we want fresher groceries, we have to drive 110 miles in the other direction to get to a decent sized city with real grocery stores and edible food. Needless to say, we buy in bulk and only shop once every month or two.

Health food stores are scarce around here. If I want healthy food, I have to raise it myself. The few health food stores we do have are grossly overpriced and I can't afford to shop there anyway.

To my knowledge, there are no farmer's markets anywhere in the area (meaning northwestern SD). If there are, I've never been able to find them. If I want fresh produce, I have to grow it. With luck, I get enough out of my garden every summer to can some for winter, but if the deer win, I have to buy from the store. (We're still working on perfecting a deer and rabbit proof garden...)

I grew up in Oregon, where there was always something within a reasonable distance, so it's been a bit of an adjustment for me, but honestly, I wouldn't trade this lifestyle for the world, now. I love the peace and quiet, the lack of "civilization" and no worries about strip malls or housing developments anytime in MY lifetime. Sometimes you have to have a trade-off.

~Lannie

RE: Rural Areas=Scarce Healthy Food?

Pygmy Princess — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 08:05:13 GMT

I agree with Mare Owner. Just because there is a higher percentage of convenience stores in rural areas, doesn't mean people do their grocery shopping there. I think bad nutrition has more to do with education than access to vegetables. The problem is a lot more complex than number of convenience stores. Marion Nestle has great books on this topic if anyone is interested in delving more deeply into it.

RE: Rural Areas=Scarce Healthy Food?

Mare Owner — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 22:44:55 GMT

I wonder about the conclusion they draw, based on the number of types of stores. We live in a rural area and while there may be more convenience stores than supermarkets, why should that mean people are buying groceries at convenience stores?

We have good farmers markets, and we grow some of our own food. When we go to shop for groceries, we go to the supermarket, not the convenience store.

There are a lot of people that come thru town on the highways, and that may be why there are more convenience stores.

It is an interesting theory, but there are more factors involved than simply the type of stores.

RE: Rural Areas=Scarce Healthy Food?

mystnd — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:21:00 GMT

I am "lucky" enough to work in the "big city" which is 50 miles from where I live and there is a health food store and one of the local grocery chains has some organic items but this winter it was either slim pickins or very expensive. I have to get a garden going out of self defense. I know there will be Farmer's Markets in the summer but that is still a while to wait. I am in NE ND. Most folks still think enriched white bread is health food. Mary Ann

RE: Rural Areas=Scarce Healthy Food?

Sue Weaver — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:05:20 GMT

Well, that's pretty true of the area we live in (northernmost Arkansas). We don't even have a source of healthy bulk foods like organic beans and rice nearby--the nearest store that carries bulk items is in West Plains, Missouri, about 32 miles from where we live and the closest co-op food stores are at least 50 miles away in any direction.

There is a local farmer's market once a week in Thayer, Missouri, just across the state line, but you know, most of what people sell is grocery store produce rather than locally-grown!

Melons are one notable exception. Local sellers often set up along the roadside or in parking lots to sell delicious cantaloupes and Cave City watermelons (mm-mmmmm!).

There are a few you-picks advertised in local papers but when we visited one and spoke with the grower, he told us about all the chemical fertilizers he uses--yikes!

So it does seem bizarre, but I'd (sadly) agree with much of what this article says. It's fairly difficult to find locally-grown produce around here.

Sue

(who lives southeast of Mammoth Spring, Arkansas)

Rural Areas=Scarce Healthy Food?

HFfriend — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:19:14 GMT

We found this article the other day and it got us scratching our heads. I guess they could be right; there are quite possibly no Wild Oats or Fresh Markets in those areas. But what about CSAs? Farmers' Markets? Road-side sales?

What do you all think? How important is this issue to you?

Healthy Food Sources Scarcer in Rural Areas, Study Says
From the “Daily Yonder”

If America's fruits and vegetables are grown in rural areas, wouldn't it just make sense that rural residents would have better access to healthy foods like these? Nope, says a study from South Carolina, which found that the opposite it true.

That's because rural areas tend to have a greater percentage of convenience stores, which offer far fewer choices of fresh vegetables and fruits (unless, of course, you classify watermelon-flavored bubble gum as a fruit).

The study of Orangeburg County, S.C., found that about three quarters of the county's food stores were convenience stores, and only about a quarter were grocery stores or supermarkets. Studies of urban areas have found the percentage of convenience stores ranges from only 8 to 41 percent.

Grocery stores and supermarkets are far more likely to carry healthy foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grain breads. And, when convenience stores do carry healthy food, the items are more expensive, the study found.

Learn more about the study’s results from the Daily Yonder. http://www.dailyyonder.com/healthy-food-choices-scarcer-rural-areas-study-says