There are a wide range of models such as non-profit, corporate, charitable, and governmental programs that have been employed in trying to tackle urban food deserts. Working together with the communities, I believe there are a couple of measures that real estate developers can also help alleviate the problem.

1. URBAN FOOD DESERTS
AND HOW REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS
CAN HELP ALLEVIATE THEM
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2. WHAT IS A
FOOD DESERT?
The U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) defines a
food desert as a part of the
country where it’s difficult to
buy fresh fruit, vegetables,
and other healthy whole
foods.

3. An area is considered a food desert if 500 people
or more, or 33% of the population in the area live at
least one mile away from a supermarket or large
grocery store. If that distance is 10 miles or more,
the area is described as a rural food desert.
According to a recent report by
the Economic Research Service
of the USDA, about 2.1 million
households i.e. 1.8% all
households live at least a mile
away from a supermarket and
don’t have a car, making
accessibility harder.

4. Food deserts are common in
impoverished areas, and the
dilemma too often ends
residents foregoing healthy
eating entirely, and eating
sugary and fatty foods
instead––leading to another
epidemic: Obesity.

5. There are a wide range of models such as non-profit, corporate,
charitable, and governmental programs that have been employed in
trying to tackle the problem. Working together with the communities, I
believe there are a couple of measures that real estate developers can
also help alleviate the problem.
WHAT CAN DEVELOPERS
DO ABOUT IT?

6. COMMUNITY
GARDENS
A community garden is a piece
of land gardened or cultivated
by a group of people in the
same locality, usually for
domestic consumption. To
encourage growth of food in
communities, developers need
to take the center stage by not
just allowing people to farm in
their communities but also
designing those spaces and
even funding them.

7. FARMER'S
MARKETS
Instead of developing a whole
area, one could decide to
leave out sufficient space for
the development of a farmer’s
market where farmers can
easily sell their produce and
consumers can access foods
without having to travel for
miles.

8. EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUITIES
Hiring local skills provides
employment and a source of
income to the people.
Employees get to learn from
the masters, especially where
the project is about
sustainable food production
in the community, and are
then able to use skills learned
to grow their own food at
home.

9. “GIVING UP” LAND
Instead of constructing parks
and public structures some
land given to the city by
developers should be turned
into a food production area,
with the added benefit of
raising the value of the
project in the long run.

10. As retailers and the government continue looking for ways
to address the situation, real estate developers must also
chip in and do their best to utilize their knowledge, access,
and tools to ensure that even the low-income residents are
able to eat healthy through convenient access to
supermarkets and grocery stores.

11. THANK YOU!
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