Food Deserts In Appalachia: A Socio-Economic Ill and Opportunities for Reform

Abstract

Food deserts constitute a public health phenomenon in which communities lack sufficient access to nutritious whole foods. The U.S. Appalachian region currently faces a food desert crisis of problematic proportions: this crisis stems from neoliberalism’s dire legacy and a rapidly transitioning energy sector, which have left the region devastated. To combat food deserts, the Appalachian citizenry has cultivated nascent, sustainable local food systems. As viewed through an ecofeminist lens, such local systems serve as a potentially potent reform model for reconstructed “living economies” based on collective cooperation and egalitarian co-ownership.

Keywords: Food deserts, food democracy, Appalachia, ecofeminism, systemic change

JEL Classification: K