But https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_desert is a thing, especially in poorer, less densely populated areas. The problem is not just the absence of nicer options to normally nutritional food like rice or beans; it's also the prevalence of high-carb foods with very intense taste that pander to cravings and actively form them, while providing a wrong caloric balance (plentiful but very fast carbohydrates).
https://moveforhunger.org/harsh-reality-food-deserts-america
One mile? With such a definition of the term “food desert”, no wonder so many people are defined as being in one. Living more than one mile from a grocery store is hardly a “desert”. Most grocery stores deliver food now too, so even lack of ambulatory faculties is a poor reason to not cook wholesome meals for one’s family.
This study appears to have been created to create alarm about a possibly nonexistent or virtually nonexistent issue.