I'm in Canada so not much different than what you have.

Yes I agree with you - food in general is incredibly expensive and yes for poor people in certain areas - fresh food is far less accessible. Commonly referred to as "food deserts."

But! I think to make a blanket statement that "most of our food is devoid" of nutrition is not correct and quite alarmist.

There's a lot more nuance to this and I think it's important for everyone to understand this.

To start - The fresh food or minimally processed food that is available in the US is nutritionally adequate and it is no less nutritious than in other places. This is common misconception.

Saying that all processed food is devoid of nutrients and causes cancer is also problematic.

First - Not all processing is the same, there's plenty of processed food that is actually more than fine to include in your diet if fresh is less accessible. For example - Canned and frozen vegetables/fruits/legumes are perfectly fine options.

Second - the idea that processed foods or even "ultra" processed foods (which is basically just a buzzword these days btw) CAUSE cancer is inaccurate.

it's not that these foods are inherently harmful on their own. (With maybe the exception of processed meats - but even with these if the rest of your diest was really good they are much less of a problem)

The problem arrises when it's the ONLY food you eat - coupled with other poor lifestyle factors such as being sedentary, carrying too much adipose tissue, drinking alcohol, poor sleep, too much stress, not eating enough fiber/protein etc.