A problem facing over 41 million Americans today is food insecurity [15]. The root of this problem lies in the inequitable distribution of healthy and affordable food to low-income neighborhoods because of an industry that is profit-based and lacks a physical connection between the production and consumption of food. Even though 82 percent of consumers live in cities, food is produced in rural areas and transported several times before arriving in the consumer’s hands [03]. Grocery stores are profit-based and invest in locations with higher buying power, resulting in a lack of access to food in low-income areas. In order to create a new attitude around providing food for underserved neighborhoods, the design of a new, highly-visible, sector of food processing must be independent from the existing profit-based food industry. This consolidated and localized system should not only serve as an equitable distributor of food but also as the beacon of security and example of efficiency that the contemporary food system lacks. This thesis explores the utilization of urban resources, in the physical reconfiguration and consolidation of the elements of the contemporary food chain. The resulting solution aims to create an efficient, self-sustaining, and accessible source of nutrition in low-income neighborhoods. / 0 / SPK / specialcollections@tulane.edu

archives@tulane.edu / 1 / Keelia O'Malley

The continued growth of the nation’s older adult population will bring many societal challenges. One of these challenges deals with meeting this population’s basic needs. Among the most crucial basic needs in older adulthood is proper nutrition, which is heavily impacted by one’s ability to access adequate amounts of healthy foods. Extensive research has been conducted on low food access among diverse populations, but opportunities remain to expand upon this research by concentrating on the food access challenges facing the older adult population. The current study had a twoold purpose. First, this study aimed to serve a basic academic purpose by integrating key elements of theories related to environmental gerontology and ecological models of aging and human development to explain the relationship between summary-level conditions and the food environments of older adults, particularly as they were related to food access in nonmetropolitan counties. Second, this study aimed to serve an applied-evaluative purpose by utilizing the results of the quantitative analysis to serve as an initial needs assessment that identified the characteristics of nonmetropolitan counties that were associated with higher levels of senior low food access. It was argued that the ability to identify counties facing high levels of senior low food access would aid in the development of interventions to help address this social problem. To this end, this study’s concluding sections proposed an initial logic model, which outlined an intervention designed to address low food access among older adults residing in nonmetropolitan counties. Support was found for several of the research hypotheses, with results indicating that a county’s proportion of minority residents and status as a high outmigration county were the two strongest predictors of a county’s status as a senior low food access county. Based on these results, an intervention was proposed that concentrated on educating older adults on the importance of nutrition in older age and facilitating more convenient access to food outlets for older adults in nonmetropolitan counties. Practical implications for this study and suggestions for future research related to this topic also were discussed.

Research suggests that the connection between poor diet and obesity among rural residents may be partially explained by limited access to healthy foods including fruits and vegetables (F&V). Based on federal suggestions to improve access, the purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between food shopping habits food venues and dietary intake of residents in rural counties of Kentucky. In May, 2013, a telephone survey was conducted using random-digit dial methods among n=149 participants in all three counties. Results showed that grocery shopping at supermarkets had a moderate positive correlation with F&V intake (r=.357, .348). These findings suggest participants who shop at supermarkets also consume F&V. Our study’s findings did not give a strong correlation between F&V consumption and farmers’ market use, which could be due to the locations of these markets, price of produce, or other environmental barriers that were not looked at in this study. Although the results from our study do not show a correlation, the majority of previous research supports the need to improve farmers’ market locations to help increase accessibility for groups with low F&V consumption and emphasize the importance of addressing economic barriers to food access.

abstract: Research related to food deserts, areas with limited access to healthy and affordable food options, has focused primarily on issues of healthy food access, food quality and pricing, dietary outcomes, and increased risk for chronic diseases among residents. However, upstream challenges that might play a major role in the creation and perpetuation of food deserts, namely problems in the supply chain, have been less considered. In this qualitative study, researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with local produce supply chain representatives to understand their perspectives on the barriers to, and potential solutions for, supplying affordable produce to underserved areas in Phoenix, AZ. Through industry and academic experts, six representatives of the supply chain were identified and recruited to take part in one-hour interviews. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded into categories using a general inductive approach. Using the qualitative analysis software NVIVO to assist in data analysis, themes and subthemes emerged. Results suggested that considerable barriers exist among the representatives for supplying fresh, affordable produce in Phoenix-area food deserts, including minimum delivery requirements beyond the needs of the average small store, a desire to work with high-volume customers due to transportation and production costs, and the higher price point of produce for both store owners and consumers. Conversely, opportunities were identified that could be important in overcoming such barriers, including, tax or economic incentives that would make distribution into food deserts financially viable, infrastructural support for the safe handling and storage of fresh foods at existing retail outlets, and the development of novel distribution mechanisms for producers such as mobile markets and food hubs. Future research is needed to determine if these findings are representative of a larger, more diverse sample of Arizona produce supply chain representatives. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Nutrition 2015

The current public food assistance system in the United States depends primarily on delivery through vouchers provided to families who cannot afford adequate food due to economic hardship that they can use in retail markets to purchase food. However, how to conceptualize, define, measure, and determine the importance of access to food retail for the nearly 50 million food insecure people in the U.S. remains a challenge. These three papers provide three different methods for measuring food access in the rural context with diverging purposes and applications, moving from simple conceptions of access to more complex approaches that combine quantitative and qualitative measures. I seek to answer the question: How can critical GIS be used to better understand the relationship between access to food retailers, public nutrition assistance programs, and food shopping patterns in rural Arizona? This question is further refined by three sub-questions: How can GIS be used to develop a better measure of physical access to food retail for nutrition assistance recipients in rural areas? What are the barriers to food access for recipients beyond physical access, and how can these be incorporated into measures of accessibility? How does accessibility of food retail affect recipients’ food shopping habits? Through using a grounded mixed-methods approach, I hope to integrate quantitative measures of access with qualitative insight into individual intentions and lived experience in using public assistance benefits to shop for food. Taken together, these papers provide a broad view on how to better quantify and measure food access in the rural setting, as well as avenues for further development of access measures and interventions to ensure equity in food access for all.

No description available.

Differences in the prevalence of obesity are generally associated with disparities in the food environment which partially determine diet quality. In this research, I examine the relationship between the local food environment and the consumption of fruit and vegetables among individuals living in the Mississippi Delta region using survey and store availability data for individuals living in seven counties with the highest obesity rates in the state. An ordered probit model with an endogenous covariate is used to assess the marginal effect of food environment variables on the frequency of fruit or vegetable consumption. I find that longer distance traveled to the nearest full-service grocery store is associated with lower frequency of vegetable consumption, while access to public transportation is generally associated with a higher frequency of consumption. Insights from this study could prove helpful for health officials and policymakers tasked with designing and implementing localized interventions that improve the food environment and increase healthy food access.

Seventy five percent of older adults are affected by multiple chronic diseases. Consuming a high quality diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein assists with chronic disease prevention and management. Healthful food availability is a major determinant of individual eating behaviors. The purpose of the current study was to describe the types, variety, and density of food outlets and to estimate access to a high quality diet for older adults in an urban setting. The Community Nutrition Environment Evaluation Data System (C-NEEDS) survey and restaurant menus were used to determine availability of healthful food in thirteen neighborhoods in Springfield, Massachusetts. A "Dietary Guidelines for Americans Adherence Index Food Environment" (DGAIFE) algorithm was created to estimate access to a high quality diet based on the stores and restaurants within the study area. Environmental characteristics that are recognized as facilitators or barriers to a high quality diet were added to the DGAIFE algorithm to calculate a "Dietary Guidelines for Americans Adherence Index Food Environment plus Environmental Characteristics" (DGAIFEC) score. The DGAIFE and DGAIFEC score ranges for all study areas were 1.53-2.25 and 1.38-2.50, respectively (possible range 1.00 higher to 5.00 lower access). Access to a high quality diet is within reach but not equal across the thirteen study areas. The findings can be used by Registered Dietitians to guide clients to make healthful food choices in urban neighborhoods and provides information to improve public health policy to increase access to healthful foods.

Dollar General has seen massive growth, opening almost 1,000 stores per year for ten years. Executives attribute the company's success to their attention to the expanding poverty class in low-food-access urban and rural areas. Central Appalachia in particular -- which has one of the highest rates of low food access and poverty in the nation -- has been a growth center for Dollar General stores. Has the growth in Dollar General stores in Central Appalachia affected residents' food procurement patterns? Through an analysis of USDA data on food access and by conducting interviews with 11 people living in Central Appalachia, I find that Dollar General stores are most frequently found in low-income and low-food-access counties and that Central Appalachian people perceive the chain as a necessary evil. I argue that the complicated relationship between Dollar General and Central Appalachian people is an example of David Harvey's theory of accumulation by dispossession. Neoliberal globalization created the conditions that allow Dollar General to thrive in the region – in particular, the corporate enclosure of the commons, the decline of the coal industry, and the new economy which has forced many people to travel hours a day for work. / Master of Science / Dollar General has seen massive growth, opening almost 1,000 stores per year for ten years. Executives attribute the company's success to their attention to the expanding poverty class in low-food-access urban and rural areas. Central Appalachia in particular -- which has one of the highest rates of low food access and poverty in the nation -- has been a growth center for Dollar General stores. Has the growth in Dollar General stores in Central Appalachia affected residents' food procurement patterns? Through an analysis of USDA data on food access and by conducting interviews with 11 people living in Central Appalachia, I find that Dollar General stores are most frequently found in low-income and low-food-access counties and that Central Appalachian people perceive the chain as a necessary evil. I argue that the complicated relationship between Dollar General and Central Appalachian people is an example of David Harvey's theory of accumulation by dispossession. Neoliberal globalization created the conditions that allow Dollar General to thrive in the region – in particular, the corporate enclosure of the commons, the decline of the coal industry, and the new economy which has forced many people to travel hours a day for work.