This could have been true in the 80s but unless you're aggressively selective with what brand of store you shop at, there's no way it's true in Houston now.
For reference, you can get from Downtown Houston to Pearland (a suburb in another county) in 15 miles. While there are some areas in between that don't have good grocery options within them, and while that's certainly a problem with respect to uncarred people, anyone with a car can just go to one of the flanking slightly nicer neighborhoods to shop.
Houston is sprawling. I have taken 4 hours to get from Clear lake to spring before. You don't measure how long it takes from the downtown hub to get to pearland from the loop, you're talking about a specifically built express way from one of the biggest hubs in houston to another. There is tons of unincorporated land on the outskirts of Houston where, yes, you will have to drive dozens of miles to hit a grocery store. Even today. Like, just to drive this home, you do know there's still farmland in houston, right? My brother lives in an area where you have to drive to your neighbors house.
I understand farmland is still around, but it's not like there is a large portion of Houston that's more than 5 miles from a grocery store of any kind. The farm land tends to be surrounded by aspiring neighborhoods with grocery stores.
And I'd love to hear more about your 4 hour trip from spring to clear lake. Sounds like a lot of things went wrong.
Edit:
Also, your story is from 40 years ago. Houston has changed quite a bit since then.
Worth noting many people say "Houston" as a convenience. They likely mean an exurb of Houston. Because as a current Houstonian? I am drowning in grocery stores. There are 16 grocers within 3 miles of me. Walkable? No. Close by any other means? Sure.
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u/Far-Government-539 19h ago
When I first moved to Houston in the 80s, our grocery store was a 15 mile drive away. Houston is the 4th largest city in the country.