Food deserts aren’t natural—they’re mapped by policy. Neighborhoods saturated with fast food and liquor stores, yet miles from a grocery, aren’t accidents of geography. They’re the result of decades of decisions that decide who eats well and who struggles to eat at all.

My first post on Food Insecurity in the richest country in the world. This one touches on how the amount provided by benefits like SNAP are only a drop in the bucket for need.

I. Introduction: Two Californias The cold arrives before the sun in the Central Valley, a damp chill that seeps through layers of worn clothing. It is 4:30 a.m. In a small, overcrowded house just outside of Fresno, Elena pulls on a pair of stiff work boots, her movements quiet so as not to wake her two children. Outside, the headlights of a labor contractor’s van cut through the darkness, one of dozens fanning out across the sleeping landscape to collect the hands that will h