food desert

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of food desert¹

First recorded in 1995–2000

Example Sentences

Around the same time, terms like food desert went mainstream, defining the regions within cities where the only available food was the kind that is addictive and might kill you a little quicker.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s the rich and their influencer pals cosplaying as commoners who eat fast food not because it’s the only restaurant available in their food desert of a neighborhood but because, hey, White Castle is good, actually.

From Los Angeles Times

They also live in a food desert; the local grocery store closed a few months ago, and the closest farmers market is at least 45 miles away, leaving their community struggling to access nutritious food.

From Salon

It would also require the court to consider whether a person lives in a “food desert” and whether the store is the only location for necessities.

From Los Angeles Times

That's why some advocates resist the "food desert" phrase: They say the situation is not a naturally occurring phenomenon but the result of deliberate policies; they call it "food apartheid."

From Salon