Food Deserts and the Sociology of Space: Distance to Food Retailers and Food Insecurity in an Urban American Neighborhood
Authors: Brian J. Thomas
Abstract:
Recent changes in food retailing structure have led to the development of large supercenters in suburban areas of the United States. These changes have led some authors to suggest that there are food deserts in some urban areas, where food is difficult to access, especially for disadvantaged consumers. This study tests the food desert hypothesis by comparing the distance from food retailers to food secure and food insecure households in one urban, Midwest neighborhood. This study utilizes GIS to compare household survey respondent locations against the location of various types of area food retailers. Results of this study indicate no apparent difference between food secure and insecure households in the reported importance of distance on the decision to shop at various retailers. However, there were differences in the spatial relationship between households and retailers. Food insecure households tended to be located slightly farther from large food retailers and slightly closer to convenience stores. Furthermore, food insecure households reported traveling slightly farther to their primary food retailer. The differences between the two groups was, however, relatively small.
Keywords: Food desert, food retailer, food security, sociology.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1076064
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6177References:
[1] M.M. Zimmerman, M.M. (1941). "The Supermarket and the Changing Retail Structure." Journal of Marketing Vol. 5, no 4, pp. 402-409.
[2] P. Kaufman (1995). "Fewer But Larger Supermarkets." Food Review Vol. 18, no 2, pp. 26-30.
[3] J.E. Tillotson (2005). "Wal-Mart and Our Food." Nutrition Today, Vol. 40, no 5, pp. 234-237.
[4] N. Wrigley, D. Warm, B. Margetts, and A. Whelan. (2002). "Assessing the Impact of Improved Retail Access on Diet in a 'Food Desert': A Preliminary Report." Urban Studies Vol. 39, no 11, pp. 2061-2082.
[5] A. Ehrenhalt, Alan. (2006). "The Grocery Gap." Governing, Vol. 19, no 7, pp. 9-10.
[6] T. Lang and M. Caraher. (1998). "Access to healthy foods: Part II. Food poverty and shopping deserts: What are the implications for health promotion policy and practice?" Health Education Journal, Vol. 57, pp. 202-211.
[7] S. Cummins and S. Macintyre. (2002). "Food deserts"--evidence and assumption in health policy making." British Medical Journal Vol. 325, pp. 436-438.
[8] A.J.M. Donkin, A.J.M., E.A. Dowler, S.J. Stevenson, and S. Turner. (2000). "Mapping access to food in a deprived area: The development of price and availability indices." Public Health Nutrition Vol. 3, no 1, pop.33-38.
[9] K. Morland, S. Wing, A.D. Roux, and C. Poole. (2002). "Neighborhood Characteristics Associated with the Location of Food Stores and Food Service Places." American Journal of Preventative Medicine, Vol. 22, no 1, pp. 23-29.
[10] A. Whelan,, N. Wrigley, D. Warm, and E. Cannings. (2002). "Life in a 'Food Desert'." Urban Studies Vol. 39, no 11, pp. 2083-2100.
[11] T. Blanchard and T. Lyson. (2002). "Access to Low Cost Groceries in Nonmetropolitan Counties: Large Retailers and the Creation of Food Deserts." in Measuring Rural Diversity Conference Proceedings. Washington, DC: Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture.
[12] S. Furey, C. Strugnell, and H. McIlveen. (2001). "An investigation of the potential existence of "food deserts" in rural and urban areas of Northern Ireland." Agriculture and Human Values Vol. 18, pp 447-457.
[13] C. Guy. (1985). "The Food and Grocery Shopping Behavior of Disadvantaged Consumers: Some Results from the Cardiff Consumer Panel." Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, New Series Vol. 10, no 2, pp. 181-190.
[14] B. Hall. (1983). "Neighborhood Differences in Retail Food Stores: Income Versus Race and Age of Population." Economic Geography Vol. 59, no 3, pp. 282-295.
[15] L.F. Alwitt and T.D. Donley. (1997). "Retail Stores in Poor Urban Neighborhoods." The Journal of Consumer Affairs Vol. 31, no 1, pp. 139-164.
[16] R. Cummins and S. Macintyre. (2002b). "A Systematic Study of an Urban Foodscape: The Price and Availability of Food in Greater Glasgow." Urban Studies Vol 39, no 11, pp. 2115-2130.
[17] G. Clarke, H. Eyre, and C. Guy. (2002). "Deriving Indicators of Access to Food Retail Provisions in British Cities: Studies of Cardiff, Leeds and Bradford." Urban Studies Vol. 39, no 11, pp. 2041-2060.
[18] S.A. French, M. Story, and R. Jeffery. (2001). "Environmental Influences on Eating and Physical Activity." Annual Review of Public Health Vol. 22, pp. 309-335.
[19] J. Sobal and B. Wansink. (2007). "Kitchenscapes, Tablescapes, Platescapes, and Foodscapes: Influences of Microscale Built Environments on Food Intakes." Environment and Behavior Vol. 39, no 124, pp. 124-142.
[20] K. Morland, S. Wing, and A,D. Roux. (2002). "The Contextual Effect of the Local Food Environment on Residents' Diets: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study." American Journal of Public Health Vol 92, no 11, pp. 1761-1767.
[21] M. Nord, Mark, M. Andrews, and S. Carlson. (2006). "Household Food Security in the United States, 2005." Food and Rural Economics Division, Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Washington DC.
[22] B. Cohen, Barbara. (2002). "Community Food Security Assessment Toolkit." Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.
[23] K. Pothukuchi, J. Hugh, H. Burton, and A. Fisher. (2002). What's Cooking in Your Food System? A Guide to Community Food Assessment. Venice, CA: Community Food Security Coalition.
[24] V. Iannoaccacchione, J. Staab, and D. Redden. (2003). "Evaluating the Use of Residential Mailing Addresses in a Metropolitan Household Survey." Public Opinion Quarterly Vol. 67, no 2, pp. 202-210.
[25] J. Jenness. (2004). Nearest features (nearfeat.avx) extension for ArcView 3.x, v. 3.8a. Jenness Enterprises. Available at: http://www.jennessent.com/arcview/nearest_features.htm.
[26] J. Jenness. (2004). Distance and bearing between matched features (distbyid.avx) extension for ArcView 3.x, v. 2. Jenness Enterprises. Available at: http://www.jennessent.com/arcview/distance_by_id.htm.
[27] J. Jabs and C.M. Devine. (2006). "Time scarcity and food choices: An overview." Appetite Vol. 47, pp. 196-204.