Capturing Food Policy and Access

What If the Nearest Grocery Store Was Miles Away?

Understanding limited food access through the lens of corporate power

Alice Yang

August 30, 2025

Ultra-processed foods are significantly cheaper to produce than fresh alternatives. This is largely because many of their base ingredients, such as corn syrup, are subsidized. In contrast, small farms growing fresh fruits and vegetables usually rely on private funding. Fresh produce also requires refrigeration, frequent restocking, and faster distribution, adding to its cost. By comparison, ultra-processed foods are designed for efficiency. They can be mass-produced at scale, shipped long distances, and stored for extended periods due to preservatives. While a typical grocery store operates on a razor-thin margin of about 1%, major packaged food companies including Kraft Heinz, General Mills, and Nestlé made an average operating margin of 17% over the past five years.

This affordability incentivizes low-income household consumers to favor frozen foods over fresh produce. For example, frozen pizza qualifies as ultra-processed food as it is packed with additives like stabilizers and artificial flavoring. A typical frozen pizza costs around 3 to 6 dollars, which could feed a household of three. Hot Pockets, another common ultra-processed meal sold at convenience stores, runs about $6 for a four-pack. In contrast, a home-cooked dinner with fresh meat and vegetables for a household of three typically costs between $11 and $23, depending on the market.

A bar graph shows the low estimate and high estimate for the cost of meat, vegetables, and other ingredients for a homemade meal

A graph created by the author illustrating the cost of a homemade meal

While grocery stores face low profitability in low-income communities, making them reluctant to open in the first place, this competition further exacerbates the food desert problem by pushing existing ones to close. In 2023, Aldi closed a key location for Black and impoverished Minneapolis neighborhoods.

Meanwhile, dollar stores — known for offering low-cost, highly processed foods — have exploded in number. Since 2011, the number of dollar stores nationwide has climbed from 20,000 to over 30,000, surpassing the combined number of McDonald’s and Walmart locations, according to a report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

Source: author.

The disparity in food access across Washington, D.C.’s eight wards is a good illustration of the disparity of food resources even for areas that are next to each other. Wards 7 and 8, located east of the Anacostia River, are both considered food deserts. Together, they serve approximately 148,000 residents with only three grocery stores.

These two wards are predominantly home to African American residents, and many households fall below the low-income threshold, with Ward 7’s median household income being $39,828 and Ward 8’s being $31,642. In contrast, Ward 3, which is made up of an almost 3 times higher household income with a majority of white residents, has nine grocery stores, serving only 83,000 residents.

The contrast highlights the critical role that economic and demographic factors play in corporate decisions about where to open food stores. It also underscores the truth that the free market does not distribute resources equitably. When grocery chains follow profitability, communities of color and low-income neighborhoods are often left behind.

A graph showing District of Columbia’s overview on demographics for racial composition, median household income, and access to grocery stores

Graph showing 8 wards statistics – Source: https://www.scribd.com/document/350532395/Closing-the-Grocery-Store-Gap-in-the-Nation-s-Capital.

While for Melissa Kaemingk, living in a food desert is not extremely hard because she is young and has adequate transportation, many people living in the area are struggling to secure stable food, especially with limited access and financial means for healthy and quality food. People are constantly facing mental pressure due to food insecurity and physical health deterioration from the consumption of ultra-processed foods.

According to Mark Gottlieb, executive director at Northeastern Law’s Institute, “Unhealthy food consumption leads to half a million premature deaths annually in the United States, which surpasses the tobacco mortality rate.”

Ultra-processed food contains enormous unhealthy ingredients, including large amounts of added sugars, sodium, saturated and trans fats. Excessive sugar intake spikes blood glucose levels and raises the risk of type 2 diabetes, while the calorie density of these foods contributes to weight gain and obesity.

As a consequence, 11 to 19 percent of people who live in a food desert are more likely to be obese. High levels of saturated and trans fats in these products also raise cholesterol and blood pressure, increasing the risk of heart disease. Our bodies respond differently when processing natural food and ultra-processed foods. For example, studies have shown that our body absorbs less fat when eating nuts as whole than when nuts are ground down. Since highly processed food has undergone many modifications, our bodies are more likely to rapidly absorb higher concentrations of unhealthy ingredients.

Moreover, ultra-processed food tends to contain all sorts of preservatives and additives to extend shelf life and enhance flavors. The common additives, including artificial colorants, benzoate preservatives, and non-caloric sweeteners, can negatively impact health by increasing risks of mental health disorders, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and potential carcinogenic effects. Some food additives common in ultra-processed foods (such as emulsifiers and artificial sweeteners) are also increase inflammation in the gut by causing changes to the gut microbiome, and inflammation is closely tied to an increased risk of colon cancer.

“Unhealthy food consumption leads to half a million premature deaths annually in the United States, which surpasses the tobacco mortality rate.”

Taking Hot Pockets for example. One sandwich contains 25% daily recommended fat, 27% daily value of sodium, and less than one gram of fiber. It also contains more than 20 types of chemicals. Perhaps more shockingly, an eight-ounce bag snack such as Doritos, Cheetos, and Sun Chips has about 120 ingredients, and some of which contain known cancer-causing compounds. However, these foods are the most accessible option for people in food deserts. Even when people aware of the health risks, they often have no real alternatives.

Scientific research continues to confirm the dangers of ultra-processed food. A 2023 study presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress followed 10,000 Australian women over 15 years. It found that those with the highest intake of ultra-processed foods were 39% more likely to develop high blood pressure.

Other studies have shown that high consumption of these foods increases the likelihood of heart attacks, strokes, and angina by 24%. A 2022 study published in the journal Neurology found that a 10 percent increase in ultra-processed food consumption could raise the risk of dementia.

The absence of fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole foods also contributes to deficiencies in essential vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber, undermining immune function and overall health. Therefore, malnutrition caused by unhealthy food consumption leads to a loss of productivity. Stress and anxiety tied to food insecurity can worsen mental health, increasing the risk of depression and further reducing workplace productivity. Therefore, a healthier diet for communities in food deserts would create a healthier economy because we would have a more productive labor force.

In addition to the negative impact on human health, ultra-processed foods are also highly addictive. Studies show that refined carbohydrates and fats can stimulate dopamine responses in the brain similar to those triggered by nicotine and alcohol. The modification process, such as refined carbohydrates, involves removing the bran and germ of the grain, leaving a product that is less nutritious and more addictive.

Moreover, due to a lack of fiber, ultra-processed foods are absorbed quickly and trigger a rapid release of dopamine in the brain. The salt, sugar, fat, and preservatives in the processed food create a combination of different sensations in people’s mouths that overstimulate the taste buds and make the brain addicted to it.

Foods that rapidly vanish or ‘melt in your mouth,’ such as chips and ice cream, trick the brain into underestimating how much you’re eating, leading to overconsumption and undernourishment. These foods also impose a huge burden on the body to metabolize them. Mark Gottlieb explained that “complex designs with additives and flavors in ultra-processed food do not allow people to reach satiation as fats and fibers would in natural food.”

And the industry isn’t stopping there. In the race for profits, food companies are investing millions to make their products even more addictive. In order to increase sales, the food industry is constantly experimenting to create products with increasing addictiveness.

“Complex designs with additives and flavors in ultra-processed food do not allow people to reach satiation as fats and fibers would in natural food.”

According to Shayna Komar, a licensed and registered dietitian at Thomas F. Chapman Family Cancer Wellness at Piedmont, “Food companies will spend millions of dollars to discover the most satisfying level of crunch in potato chips, and their scientists will test for the perfect amount of fizz in a soda.”

As a result, having a predominantly ultra-processed food diet for people living in food deserts exposes people to a high risk of chronic disease and mental disease, while the addictiveness makes people feel unsatiated and overconsume.

One of the promising solutions to food deserts is through municipal grocery stores — markets that are owned and operated by a municipality, typically a city or town. This kind of store could lower costs by using city land or buildings, buying food wholesale, and being exempt from property taxes. As a result, it can gain a competitive advantage with convenience stores in food deserts.

Chicago is one of the leading cities in the project. In Chicago, half a million people are living in food deserts. Between 2021 and 2023, at least six major grocery stores closed on Chicago’s poorer south and west sides. In response, Mayor Brandon Johnson in 2023 announced a partnership with the Economic Security Project, a national nonprofit that focuses on building economic power for all Americans, to start the project of opening a municipally owned grocery store in Chicago.

A photo shows a shelf of fresh vegetables

Source: author

HR&A Advisors conducted a 200-page report, affirming Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to open a city-owned grocery store as “necessary, feasible, and implementable.” Due to the city’s lack of in-house experience in the grocery industry, the study recommends the city to partner with an outside operator that would run a municipally owned store. The city could act as a landlord and offer rent or utility subsidies to the independent grocery operator.

This funding is crucial because grocery stores are typically unwilling to take the market risk that food desert communities impose. Without private sector action or commitment to provide sustainable grocery options, the city has to play a role in creating and sustaining grocery services in neighborhoods that lack grocery access.

The study suggests that opening three municipal stores could yield long-term cost savings due to economies of scale because a network of stores could improve the overall profit margin of the project. Moreover, investing in municipal stores to provide healthier food to the communities results in longer life expectancies and lower rates of chronic disease. This return is exponential compared to the up-front cost of opening these stores. However, last December, the city failed to apply for a state grant that would have helped launch a municipal grocery store.

But even if new grocery stores open, changing the consumption behavior of ultra-processed food won’t be easy. These products are cheap, addictive, and deeply involved in the diets of many low-income communities. The failure of attempts to tax ultra-processed food to deter consumption shows the possibility that even if people have more access to nutritious food, they might still stick to their previous diet.

Statistics from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, reveal that so-called sin taxes, including those on sugary drinks, are often ineffective in deterring consumption. Philadelphia began enforcing a new 1.5-cent-per-ounce tax on soda in 2017. But according to a study by Drexel University, the tax had little to no impact on Philadelphians’ drinking choices. Instead of cutting back, consumers simply absorbed the cost. Those who drank more soda bore a greater financial burden, and many residents began buying untaxed sugary beverages outside the city.

This unsuccessful attempt at taxation illustrates the challenges policymakers face in trying to deter people from consuming highly addictive ultra-processed food. The addictiveness of the food makes consumption inelastic, meaning consumers are willing to stay in the current demand despite paying higher prices. For communities living in food deserts, where ultra-processed foods make up a significant part of the diet, taste, convenience, and habit often outweigh health concerns.

Efforts to impose stricter regulations, such as banning certain additives, face fierce resistance from the food and beverage industries that have an influential lobbying power to direct food policy.

According to Daniel Aaron, a professor at the S.J. Quinney College of Law, University of Utah, soda companies are able to influence food policy through financial support for many health organizations. One study found that the Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo sponsored a total of 96 national health organizations from 2011 to 2015, including many medical and public health institutions. During this period, these two soda companies lobbied against 29 public health bills intended to reduce soda consumption or improve nutrition.

Tackling food deserts and food swamps is no simple task, but it’s essential to improving public health and equity. In a society where corporate profits often come before public welfare, people with less financial means are paying the price for these industries to advance profits. While there is no perfect solution, awareness is always the first step in action. Be aware of the corporate power behind the scene.