Is Healthy Food Hard to Come By?

An interesting piece in the Santa Cruz Sentinel concludes that obesity in poorer areas may be due to lack of access to good foods.

"There are some poor neighborhoods where you can walk into a grocery store and you'll have a hard time finding fruits or vegetables or milk," said Gonzalo Coronado, director of the diabetes center. "But it's packed with junk food and alcohol. Overall, poor neighborhoods don't have the same accessibility as other neighborhoods might."

Although he is only 7, Jason Jimenez knows what he likes: Fritos, Cheetos and Doritos. His father, Isaac Jimenez, 45, said many children often resort to junk food because their families sometimes can't afford the staples, like meat and potatoes, especially when they're working at minimum wage.

"When you're only making $6.65 an hour, and you've got a family of four to support, it can be difficult," said Jimenez, a manager of a convenience store on East Beach Street in Watsonville. "And if you're away from the house and your kids are left alone, they're going to buy the fastest food they can eat: junk food."

I'm not sure if it's so much about money - but convenience and re-education. Oats, tinned tuna, water won't break the bank - but fresh fruit and vegetables will.

There is also the anomaly of the incredible low cost of some fast food - Pizza Hut comes to mind. How some of these fast food outlets can manufacture their food at such low-cost is astounding. Is it a loss leader? For what?

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