The term food desert describes geographic areas with limited access to healthy food because the distance to the nearest supermarket is more than one kilometre. Living far from healthier options forces many Canadians to fall back on higher priced convenience stores or find ways to get to food stores elsewhere. Both options are costly.

But it turns out locating poor food environments is more complex than just identifying food deserts. Food deserts don’t include areas of the country where nutritious options are nearby but poverty prevents people from being able to make better choices.

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