The likelihood of one spending $20 on just two items from Trader Joe’s simply because it is a “healthier choice” seems highly unlikely in comparison to their greasier “fast food” competitors like McDonald’s, Popeye’s, Wendy’s and Burger King, where one can pig out and still have money in their pocket for more.

This mentality for some, if not most, of the population in America rings true. The idea that wealth supersedes health is the reason why many continue on this destructive path that leads to many heart-related illnesses and, inevitably, death. What makes this all the more shocking is some of these people are financially stable enough to make better food choices and buy their way out of the consequences.

Meanwhile, there are other groups of people–the poor (or economically disadvantaged, on more appropriate terms)–who are not able to have that choice in whether or not they can sacrifice their health for death on a bun or a hamburger, so to speak. This raises the question: How fair is the representation and availability of healthy foods in the more marginalized communities, and how can we reverse the curse?

To answer the first question, not that much; in fact the rarity of supermarkets that caters only to the health of the people surrounding it is little to none. This then creates the idea of a food desert. According to the American Nutrition Association, food deserts are defined as parts of the country vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables and other healthful whole foods, usually found in impoverished areas. Keeping this in mind, it is almost impossible to avoid the fast food lifestyle, especially with its convenience and such large portions for a small budget.

To add on the idea of the immense gap between health and economic status, the difference is quite high. Digging deeper in terms of the health disparities in poorer communities than in more affluent neighborhoods, it becomes a generational pattern of health issues that is both vicious and unrelentless to the lives it affects. It is so much so that they have to supplement those diseases with medication, which, most times, are too expensive for them to afford. One can most undoubtedly see that the correlation of living in areas that are both poverty stricken and underrepresented with healthier living styles are in fact more prone to health problems in the long run.

However, this does not have to be set in stone. One of the most obvious answers to this increasing issue would be to build a supermarket. Sure, that solves the crisis of there being none at all to begin with, but let us not forget that regardless, the prices would still be too high for the people living in those communities to afford.

The next step would be to match or get as close to pricing these healthier items on the basis of the finances of the specific community as a whole. With this method of thinking, people in the neighborhood are able to spend in accordance to their needs while also being able to save a significant amount of money. Hopefully, this will circumvent years of destruction and lack of acknowledgement that the poor needs to eat healthy too for sustenance and a better means of living just like those who can afford it. It just simply starts by thinking about them, too.

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