Farmer's Market or Food Desert?

Late afternoon rolls around and hunger strikes. It’s too early for dinner but there is no way you can wait and not have something. Taking an inventory of food locations you glance in the pantry, refrigerator, and freezer. In one half of the pantry there are ingredients such as flour, dried pasta and various cans of soups and vegetables. In the other half there is an assortment of crinkly wrappers containing chips, crackers, popcorn and bars. Moving on to the refrigerator you see some fruits and vegetables (still in their produce bags from the grocery store), uncooked protein selections including ground meat, chicken breasts and pork chops, and finally various drink options. Lastly you peer into the freezer and discover everything in there is indeed, frozen, thus rendering it unable to eat immediately.

So now that the kitchen scan has been completed you tell yourself something like, “I tried but there is nothing fresh, ready for me to eat, and I’m starving.” Next you find yourself walking back to the pantry to grab that extremely accessible, ready to consume, no-cooking-required prepackaged snack. If what you have chosen can sit on a convenience store shelf for an eternity, you can call that area in your pantry your own personal food desert.

Food deserts refer to a geographical location where there is an absence of fresh produce. The foods present are cheap and immediately consumable. They also contain an excess of fats, sugars and carbohydrates. By partaking in this snack you have temporarily satisfied your hunger but left your body full of sugar and depleted of energy.

What if this scenario could be changed though? Maybe you do have some not-so-great items in your pantry but they are at a minimum. When you stroll over to the refrigerator though, you see multiple containers of fresh produce ready to be feasted on. The fruits have been sliced, the vegetables have been grilled and the protein just needs a little warming up in the microwave. The food choices are stacked in individual glass containers so they call to you just like the prepared meals section in the grocery store. Your farmers’ market is in full bloom. You are ready to satisfy your appetite and feel great about it.

Taking control of your kitchen means choosing the look and theme you want. Design an area fresh with colorful foods that do need a little attention to be ready but the payoff is huge. For what may cost more at a farmers’ market in both time and money will sustain you for longer than any food desert item will. Take the challenge to inventory, label, and prepare your kitchen. How would you describe it?