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The Daily Wildcat

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The Daily Wildcat

The Daily Wildcat

 

    This is the food insecurity sidebar Sarah requested

    The UA campus is one of many areas in Tucson that falls into what is known as a food desert. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines this term as “urban neighborhoods and rural towns without ready access to fresh, healthy and affordable food.”

    The UA campus falls into a low-income area with grocery stores located more than half a mile away.

    “There are maps that show areas where there isn’t fresh fruits and vegetables or full service grocery stores within a certain diameter,” Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild said. “Trying to find ways to get healthier food into those areas is a real challenge.”

    In order to combat the problem of food deserts, Rothschild said he wants to utilize community gardens to bring people together and teach them how to eat healthy. Rothschild estimated that there are 33 active community gardens throughout Tucson, and said he hopes that number will increase.

    As of now, food insecurity is a significant enough problem to attract the attention of city officials.

    “You could have an economy doing better but if a larger population is getting poorer it’s going to increase your food insecurity,” Rothschild said. “I don’t know that I’m seeing the problem get bigger, but I’m seeing a big enough problem already that we need to address it.”

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