Food stamp use is highest in rural Georgia. So are grocery prices. [View all]
DAWSON — Rural Georgians are more likely to need the help of food stamps to pay for their groceries, but that public help probably doesn’t stretch as far as it does in places such as Atlanta because of higher food prices in small-town stores.
Poor, rural Georgians pay more for fresh lettuce, macaroni and cheese, and other foods in part because there is so little competition for their business, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution review.
Georgia’s lawmakers have spent the past several years focusing on ways to boost the economy in rural areas, but little has been done to address the emergence of food deserts across the state as grocery stores go out of business.
It’s a trend occurring across the country. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that about 5 million people in rural areas have to travel 10 miles or more to buy groceries.
Read more: https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/food-stamp-use-highest-rural-georgia-are-grocery-prices/7RNmDJUynvycInEwfEGH1J/
(Atlanta Journal Constitution)
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