Over time, the habit of eating these damaging foods can cause detrimental effects to one’s health. Being so far away from fresh foods has very harmful effects on the community. As cited on Bonton’s website, a former food desert in south Dallas, the cardio-vascular disease rate is 54% higher and the diabetes rate is 45% higher than the city of Dallas. Based on disease rates this high, simply living in a food desert could shorten a person's life. This fatal outcome applies to as many as 19 million Americans, as claimed by the United States Department of Agriculture. Food deserts must be put to an end because the harm that they cause is far too much. Some may think that food deserts are not their problem, however, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Those living in food deserts develop many severe illnesses that need medical attention, but they cannot afford to pay for the expenses. According to The National Library of Medicine, the average lifetime cost to treat type two diabetes for the ages of 25 to 44 is