The rural Midwest produces much of our nation's food supply, and yet small towns in the heartland and around America are increasingly and ironically becoming food deserts - places where citizens have little access to fresh, healthy foods.
The term "food desert" might conjure up images of inner-city Detroit or L.A., where the only groceries are Twinkies at the mini mart. But urban areas aren't the only places where access to fresh, healthy food is an issue.
Steph Larsen writes: "The paradox of our unhealthy food system is that many rural towns lack healthy food access, even as the food we eat is grown in rural places. To put it simply, our current food system is failing the very communities that grow our food."
Small towns might only have one grocery store, if they have one at all. The next town - and the next store - might be fifty miles away, with no public transportation.
Larsen points out a number of linked issues that fuel the problem - poverty, race, geography, community support, the economy, land tenure - and a handful of ideas and solutions.
Read the full story: Welcome to the food deserts of rural America
New Report Proposes Ways to Combat L.A.'s "Food Deserts"
A new report from The Los Angeles Food Policy Task Force calls for the government to take steps to increase accessibility to local, healthy food in urban areas.
Do You Want Fries With That? Exploring the Intricacies of Food Systems Planning
Food systems expert Maggi Adamek talks with The Planning Commission Podcast about the complexities of food policy, from local zoning ordinances to international trade agreements.
The Legacy of Structural Poverty in Alabama
In rural Alabama, a long history of racial inequality and poverty has left people struggling to survive in uninhabitable housing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
US buildings threatened, destroyed by fires set to triple by 2060
Researchers found a high fire risk for socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods in the American West.
LA residents may be allowed to paint their own crosswalks
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky put out a motion instructing the Los Angeles Department of Public Transportation to study the feasibility of allowing volunteers to paint crosswalks.
Dallas moves to overhaul its zoning code
The city's zoning reform will allow more multi-family and mixed-use developments.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority