In a Policy Forum article published in PLOS Medicine, Jason Block and S V Subramanian, from Harvard University, United States, stated that the motivation to put an end to food deserts in low-income, geographic communities that do not have access to a large grocery store, may not have an effect on enhancing dietary quality or lessen the great difference in their diet quality.
Reducing food deserts has been regarded as more important in federal and state governments, many times through public-private partnerships, as well as international groups, such as the specialized agency of the United Nations that is concerned with international public health - World Health Organization.
However, in the article by Jason Block (faculty at the Harvard Medical School/Harvard Pilgrim Health Care) and S V Subramanian (Professor of Population Health and Geography), the authors exchanged opposite views of the evidence supporting the elimination of food deserts as a master plan to reduce disparities in diet quality.
Jason Block and S V Subramanian presented several other strategies, showing the possibility of lowering disparities in diet quality other than getting rid of food deserts.
The duo's strategies include education initiatives, changes in food assistance programs and taxing unhealthy food.
The authors arrived at a judgment by reasoning, "addressing disparities in dietary quality may have important payoffs for the health of the population: people should further the progress of policies and programs to support these changes while studying their effectiveness. These strategies do not prevent from happening the elimination of food deserts, but rather build a necessary infrastructure to promote healthy food consumption, in any neighborhood."
Thry also concluded that many justifications for such an action, such as economic and social justice, exist to hold such initiatives and to address the lack of healthy food available in low-income communities.
