food desert

American  

noun

1. an area, usually low-income, in which many residents cannot easily get to stores that sell affordable, healthful foods.

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Etymology

Origin of food desert

First recorded in 1995–2000

Example Sentences

Union is also what is termed a "food desert", where many residents live far from the nearest supermarket.

From BBC • Mar. 1, 2025

In another study, Tallamy and his co-authors likened the ecological effect of nonnative plantings to that of a food desert.

From Slate • Mar. 16, 2024

As a result, as NPR reported in 2020, about 19 million people, or roughly 6% of the population, live in a food desert where access to fresh, healthy food is limited.

From Salon • Nov. 5, 2023

I can tell you from growing up there, with all the things that we went through in the ’80s and ’90s, that Crenshaw Boulevard has never been a food desert.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 29, 2023

That was before South Shore became a food desert, before eviction and crime rates rose, before the pandemic drove even more businesses and people from the area.

From Washington Post • Apr. 3, 2023