Welcome to the Food Desert Website
Feeling
hungry? No proper food in the house? Can't face that trek to the shops? Tempted
by a burger and some chips from the local takeaway, or a chocolate bar, but
it's not really healthy, is it? You may be living in a food desert.
The food desert website tells you all about food
deserts, why they affect everybody, the links to globalisation and
social exclusion, and how the effects of food
deserts may be alleviated or eliminated.
Click here to see
how many people have visited this site, by country, annual figures from 1
December 2008
Part 1 - What are Food Deserts and How to Measure Them?
NEW !! Try out our new Food Desert Finder ©2013. Click here for the map (25 February 2013) (at present covers mid Wales and Midlands – to be extended soon). This map shows which areas, by distance, are Food Oases (500 metres from a fruit and vegetable shop), which are Food Savannahs (500 – 1,000 metres) and which are food deserts (over 1,000 metres from a fruit and vegetable shop). More to come on socio-economic factors and food deserts.
What is a food desert (27 July 2010) Original use of the term 'desert' in an urban context, 1990s definitions of 'food desert', food deserts as seen in other countries.
How did food
deserts develop (18 May 2009) Development of grocery shopping in the UK
from the 17th century (see Part 4 UK
small shops) for the most recent developments concerning the
independent retailing sector. Links to economic, technological, social,
and political / planning factors that have impacted on the UK grocery retail
sector during this period
Where are the food deserts (5 August 2013)? Welcome to Desertia City, see what sorts of places may be food deserts - do you live in one? See pictures of typical food desert areas.
Measuring
Food Deserts (27 July 2010) quantifying their extent and intensity. See this page for distance-to-food-retail
measures, and changes over time
Part 2 - Combating obesity and improving diet (back to top)
Obesity
figures for the UK (6 December
2013) Definition of obesity, obesity and social factors, and the
financial costs of obesity and poor diet
Obesity,
causes and medical effects (1 May 2012) the biology of obesity, and its
medical effects and links to disease
Obesity levels worldwide (non-UK) (6 December 2013)
Table of Food Desert Research - 239 food access - related articles listed here (26 February 2013) .....If you know of a publication that you would like to appear in this section, please email Dr Hillary Shaw (hshaw@fooddeserts.org) or hillshaw@aol.com), with a copy of the article if possible
Part 3 - UK Supermarket development (back to top)
UK supermarket sales and profits. ( 2 June 2013). Annual financial figures for UK grocery retailers.
Non-Tesco - UK Supermarket timelines and
store numbers (6 December 2013). Details key events, such as takeovers,
new product development, new area penetration, in the development of UK grocery
retailers, and the number of outlets operated in various years.
Tesco
- Supermarket timelines and store numbers (6
December 2013). Details key events, such as takeovers, new product
development, new area penetration, in the development of UK grocery retailers,
and the number of outlets operated in various years.
UK Supermarket
market share, and size of total UK grocery
market (6 December 2013)
Current trends
and issues in food retailing, for supermarkets (6 December
2013)
See also PART XII, World Socio-Demographic Data Maps, below
Part 4 UK small shops (back to top)
Current trends and issues in food retailing, for UK small shops ( 6 December 2013)
Current trends in Post Offices, as relating to small shops (15 May 2011)
Part 5 - World (non-UK) grocery retailing. (back to top)
Non UK retailing situation, supermarkets and small shops, brief history of selected retailers
European countries (6 December 2013)
Countries from Asia, Africa, and the Americas (6
December 2013)
See also PART XII, World Socio-Demographic Data Maps, below
Part 6 - food retailing maps, UK (back to top)
Click here for
page linking to retail / food desert maps, UK and non-UK
Click here for INDEX MAP of UK - has
your area been mapped yet?
Click here
for INDEX MAP of EUROPE
Key to maps; map
symbols this links to a page explaining in more detail the map symbols shown on the maps. For supermarket
codes see supermarket code
list
Part 7 –World Socio-Demographic Data Maps (back to top)
Click here for
index page linking to world socio-demographic maps – find out which country had
TV first? Which country has caught up
most with America’s GDP? Which country
locks up the most people? Where are the
world’s underground metro systems? And
much more......
Now see the 3-colour dimensional world maps; compare and contrast the
national rankings, for all world countries, of three different socio-economic
indicators simultaneously.
Click here for explanation
of maps
Click here for index page linking
to the 3-C-D maps
Part 8- Historical Events (back to top)
Click here for events 1 January 1980
– present
Click here for events 1 January 1950
– 31 December 1979
Click here for events 1 January 1930
– 31 December 1949
Click here for events 1 January
1900 - 31 December 1929
Click here for events 1 January 1800
– 31 December 1899
Click here for events 1 January 1600
– 31 December 1799
Click here for events up to 31
December 1599
Part 9- Global Economic Indicators (back to top)
Click here for a
page linking to essential economic data for the world’s major national
economies
This link takes you to a page where you will find
graphs showing trends in principal economic indicators (e.g. retail price
inflation, unemployment, GDP growth) for the world’s largest economies, from
1982 to the present day.
Part 9- Google Earth changes over time (back to top)
OK, this doesn’t have a lot to do with Food
Deserts, but still interesting (2 June 2013) 143
sites listed here – click here for the co-ordinates
Part 10- related sites (back to top)
Useful web links
(22 August 2009)
This website is owned and hosted by Shaw Food Solutions Ltd, registered in
England no. 07406670
©Shaw
Food Solutions 2003 - 2012. The
material on this site is open access and may be freely cited, so long as www.fooddeserts.org is acknowledged as
the source.
If you have any comments or suggestions
regarding this site, please contact the Directors of Shaw Food Solutions Ltd,
Dr Hillary J Shaw: hshaw@fooddeserts.org
or hillshaw@aol.com
Dr Julia J A Shaw: jshaw@dmu.ac.uk