They really need to try harder

From The Food Deserts of West Knoxville by Steve Esposito.

Seems that the First Lady is making a bunch of hay about "food deserts" in America. I was wondering if there are any around where I live, and just exactly where they were.

He goes to the USDA Food Access Research Atlas to look up his location. In the "food deserts" near him there are Walmarts, Sam's Clubs, the Far East Asian Market, a Mall, and a Food City grocery store. He then discovers:

It turns out that we live right in the middle of one too, the next one east of the two mentioned earlier. Notable destinations in this area are the Timbercrest subdivision, Pilot Oil headquarters, and the Bush Beans headquarters, along with numerous other businesses and single family homes. There are a few apartment buildings in the area, and they are located on the edge closest to the Oriental Supermart, and the Knox Plaza Kroger supermarket.

Turns out there is a Trader Joe's as well.

I had read a couple or three research studies indicating that the whole food desert meme was essentially unsupported by easily obtainable data. But dry research isn't quite as effective as this approach.

We live in an era where it is way too easy to act out a fantasy of doing good while actually simply wasting everyone else's time and money and often-times inflicting unintended consequences on those we are putatively helping. Good intentions are not enough. By-and-large everyone is well intentioned. We ought to be celebrating those that make a real difference and shunning those who are more interested in their own image than in the consequences of their actions. It is especially egregious when they seek to bolster their image by wasting tax payer money rather than their own time and money. Faux altruism - the bane of our times.

Esposito has it right:

If the federal government wants to be taken seriously, they really need to try harder.