{"word_count": 108, "character_count": 754}
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today introduced an Internet-based mapping tool that pinpoints the location of &#34;food deserts&#34; around the country and provides data on population characteristics of census tracts where residents have limited access to affordable and nutritious foods.The online Food Desert Locator, developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture&#039;s (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS), is a tool that can be used to assist efforts to expand the availability of nutritious food in food deserts, or low-income communities that lack ready access to healthy food. Expanding the availability of nutritious food is part of First Lady Michele Obama&#039;s Let&#039;s Move! initiative to address the epidemic of childhood obesity.