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Indianapolis Ranks Lowest In Country For Food Access

A new report says Indianapolis is one of the worst cities in the nation for what are known as food deserts - areas that don‘t have easy access to fresh, healthy foods.

The web site Walk Score ranked cities based on whether residents lived within a five-minute walk of a grocery store.

While 72 percent of people in New York City met the criterion, ranking it number one in the survey. Only 5 percent of people in Indianapolis were that close to a grocery store.

Nic Mink with the Center For Urban Ecology at Butler University says many low-income people in Indy are also not close to decent restaurants or well-stocked convenience stores.

"They're left with food access options that are basically just non-existent and more importantly are going to affect Indianapolis for years to come," Mink said.

Indianapolis was tied with Oklahoma City for having the worst food access.