Three Buses Away from Fresh Food in Kansas City

This is a fictionalized story based on real experiences, data, and community realities.

When Mrs. Green opens her refrigerator, it’s almost always the same scene: a jug of water, a few condiments, and whatever she could carry home that week. At 71 years old, she lives alone in the Ivanhoe neighborhood of Kansas City, a community long impacted by disinvestment. Her fixed income doesn’t stretch far, and neither does her transportation. To get to the nearest full-service grocery store, she has to take three buses, over an hour each way, for a bag of groceries.

The corner store two blocks from her house sells chips, soda, and frozen pizza, but nothing fresh. “Sometimes I just give up and buy canned vegetables,” she says. “They’re too salty, but they’re cheap. And they’re here.”

Mrs. Green lives in what’s called a food desert, a neighborhood where residents have limited access to affordable and nutritious food. According to the USDA, food deserts are defined by two key things: distance from a grocery store and low income. In Kansas City, over 44,000 residents live in areas that qualify as food deserts. These neighborhoods are concentrated east of Troost Avenue, where decades of redlining, segregation, and economic neglect have left lasting scars.

The effects of food deserts go beyond inconvenience. They directly impact health. In zip codes where fresh food is hardest to access, rates of diabetes, hypertension, and obesity are significantly higher. Families often rely on dollar menus and convenience food not by choice, but by necessity. The cost of eating healthy, when it’s even possible, is too high.

For families like the Thompsons, who live near 39th and Prospect with two kids under age 10, the decision often comes down to groceries or gas. “We want to eat better,” says Mr. Thompson, who works full-time in maintenance. “But after rent and bills, we do what we can. Sometimes we hit up the food pantry if the timing works.”