Michelle Obama’s $400 Million ‘Food Desert’ Scam

Study shows lower-income Americans live closer to supermarkets than higher-income Americans.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010
By Terence P. Jeffrey

First lady Michelle Obama discusses the findings of the Childhood Obesity Task Force report in May. (AP Photo)

First Lady Michelle Obama has called on Congress to create a $400 million-a-year program to encourage the establishment of supermarkets in places she calls “food deserts.”

The situation in these “food deserts,” as Mrs. Obama describes it, is quite dire indeed. American children are growing fat because their parents cannot get to a supermarket—to buy fruits and vegetables—without undergoing the hardship of boarding a bus or riding a taxi. As a consequence, food-desert-dwelling children are forced to eat fast food and junk procured at chain restaurants and convenience stores.