On Black Awareness Day, November 20, the Center of Excellence draws attention to the issue of race and the concepts of food deserts and swamps. The Black population, historically marginalized and concentrated in peripheral territories, is one of the most affected by food inequalities.
Food deserts are areas where there is a shortage of fresh and nutritious food, while food swamps are regions with an excess of ultra-processed products and fast food, as well as few healthy options. Both directly impact the health and quality of life of the populations living there.
Lack of access to adequate food is not only an economic issue, but also a reflection of the structural racism that permeates the organization of cities and public policies. This reality contributes to higher rates of chronic diseases, such as hypertension and diabetes, among Black people.
A recent study conducted in Brazil and published in the international journal BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth entitled “Association between food environments and fetal growth in pregnant Brazilian women” shows that black women living in areas with a high presence of ultra-processed products are about 9% more likely to have babies that are smaller for their gestational age, while brown women are 17% more likely to have babies with low birth weight.
These data show how food inequality, marked by food deserts and swamps, is directly linked to structural racism and impacts health from pregnancy onwards. Racial equality policies, from a food perspective, need to be implemented to improve the conditions of all black people in Brazil and around the world.
To address this scenario, the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance (MDS) launched the Alimenta Cidades Platform, which provides a georeferenced map of food deserts and swamps in the main Brazilian municipalities.
This tool supports public policies to transform vulnerable territories into spaces that promote adequate and healthy food, prioritizing low-income families and peripheral regions.
In addition, the MDS, in partnership with the WFP Center of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil, created AlimentaLAB, a platform where experiences and best practices for strengthening sustainable food systems are shared through South-South cooperation to address challenges such as hunger, poverty, and climate change.