Week 2 post by Kyla Tom

In our society today, many do not bat an eye when they have to drive 10, 15, or even 20 minutes to get to the grocery store. In our ever expanding society, it becomes more and more of a necessity to have a car in order to reach most destinations in our everyday lives. Because many of us are used to taking trips by car, we often do not think of the strain for those without quick and easy modes of transportation. Being without a car for my first year in Portland, I was thankful for the wonderful public transportation system here, but every time I went to the grocery store, I had to keep in mind how much I could carry and buy accordingly. Buying food would take many trips and was exhausting. For some, they cannot afford to ride the bus back and forth to get everything they need and sometimes buying foods poor in nutrition at the nearest corner market is the simplest and most affordable solution. Here are two websites that address the issue of food access and the effects: http://www.project.org/info.php?recordID=73
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/43933.php

The issue of food deserts is not commonly known and it is important to get the message out there so that steps may be taken to assist those who cannot access food easily.

The book "Changing Minds" by Howard Gardner discusses 7 steps that must be taken in order to bring this problem to the public and open their minds. We must use reason and be rational, we must do our research, the message must resound and touch those around us, it must be represented, we must know our resources, we can relate it to world events, and consider the downsides of tackling the issue of Food Deserts. By truly understanding the issue we can successfully approach it. Gardner also discusses the different types of logic that people possess. By understanding how our minds work, we can find the best way, for us, to approach the issue and we can also understand how others may view it as well. Food Deserts are a real and not well-known issue in the United States and in order to successfully get the message out, we must first research and understand the problem and then understand the best way to approach it.