Some Milwaukee residents were left with a void when a grocery store meant to address a food desert abruptly closed.

What happened?

The grocery store Sentry Foods opened in 2023 on Milwaukee's northwest side in response to calls from community members. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Sentry helped bring groceries to one of the city's food deserts, but in January the store announced it would close for good. This is part of a trend across the city wherein grocery stores are closing in areas that already have little access to food, the publication added. 

"This decision was not made lightly," Sentry stated. "Many factors were carefully considered before coming to this difficult conclusion. Saying goodbye is truly painful, and we are deeply sorry to bring this news to the community that has supported us over the years."

Why are food deserts concerning?

An estimated 18.8 million people — or around 6% of the U.S. population — live in areas with scarce access to healthy, affordable food, according to the USDA Economic Research Service. In Milwaukee, experts say food deserts affect around 21% of the population. 

Costs are also rising across the board, deepening access problems in food deserts and beyond. This is due to factors such as inflation and rising global temperatures, the latter of which is making it more difficult to grow crops. For instance, tomato farmers in India have had issues with pests and difficult climate conditions that destroyed most of their crops and drove up prices for consumers.

Despite all these challenges, Americans continue to throw out good food, which also drives up prices — the Department of Agriculture estimates that the United States wastes about 30-40% of its food supply each year.

What can be done about food deserts?

Some organizations and community members are working hard to bring healthy, affordable options to food deserts. For instance, one South Los Angeles man who calls himself the Gangsta Gardener has transformed land in his community into food forests, and his advocacy has led the city to change some of its laws.

People can also fight rising food costs through services such as Martie, which offers highly discounted groceries and essentials at up to 80% off. Martie can do this because it takes overstock and surplus inventory, making sure items don't go to waste.

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