Disparities in access to healthy food are a key public health concern in the United States (U.S.) Food access is considered as a critical element of food insecurity. Food insecurity can often be prevalent in a region due to lack of healthy food outlets as well as inequitable access to healthy food outlets. A large body of literature pertaining to access to healthy food has reported that conventional food outlets such as supermarkets and large grocery stores may not be equitably distributed across different neighborhoods in a region. There has been limited research on local food access patterns. Despite the few studies focused on access to individual types of local food outlets, such as farmers markets, little is known about whether such access varies among different types of local food outlets and how such access patterns compare with the uneven access to conventional food outlets. This study uses Maricopa County, one of the largest counties in Arizona, as a case study to examine the spatial patterns of access to conventional food markets (i.e. supermarkets or large grocery stores) and four different types of local food outlets, including farmers market, community garden, community supported agriculture (CSA) and mobile food markets. By analyzing the association between healthy food access and neighborhood characteristics, the study suggests that the local food system has a great potential in providing healthy food access to low-income and minority populations of the County than conventional food outlets. The study provides important insights into the way different types of local food outlets offer their availability in space and whether they are more equitable in serving underserved neighborhoods. The findings from this study can assist both government agencies and city planner formulate strategies to improve access to healthy food in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Optimization Models and Algorithms for Wildlife Corridor and Reserve Design in Conservation Planning
Beginning in March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a sudden and severe economic downturn and led to disruptions in domestic and international food systems and supply chains. Over the first few months of the pandemic, in the United States, many stores had empty shelves, bars and restaurants closed, and children could no longer go to school. The unemployment rate increased from 3.5% in February 2020 to 14.8% in April 2020, leading to economic instability for many households. As a result, household food insecurity, defined as having limited or inconsistent access to nutritious and affordable food, increased rapidly.
During the first months of 2021, vaccinations began rolling out, more individuals returned to in-person work, children to schools, and restrictions were gradually phased out. Unemployment has decreased since the April 2020 peak to 5.4% in July 2021, but remains above pre-pandemic levels. This brief describes the prevalence of household food insecurity, job disruptions, and food-related behaviors as reported by a nationally representative sample of 1,643 U.S. adults, both in the year prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2019 – March 2020) and during the first four months of 2021 (January – April 2021), a period representing approximately one year since the onset of the pandemic.
Background: Food access is a global issue, and for this reason, a wealth of studies are dedicated to understanding the location of food deserts and the benefits of urban gardens. However, few studies have linked these two strands of research together to analyze whether urban gardening activity may be a step forward in addressing issues of access for food desert residents.
Methods: The Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area is used as a case to demonstrate the utility of spatial optimization models for siting urban gardens near food deserts and on vacant land. The locations of urban gardens are derived from a list obtained from the Maricopa County Cooperative Extension office at the University of Arizona which were geo located and aggregated to Census tracts. Census tracts were then assigned to one of three categories: tracts that contain a garden, tracts that are immediately adjacent to a tract with a garden, and all other non-garden on-adjacent census tracts. Analysis of variance is first used to ascertain whether there are statistical differences in the demographic, socio-economic, and land use profiles of these three categories of tracts. A maximal covering spatial optimization model is then used to identify potential locations for future gardening activities. A constraint of these models is that gardens be located on vacant land, which is a growing problem in rapidly urbanizing environments worldwide.
Results: The spatial analysis of garden locations reveals that they are centrally located in tracts with good food access. Thus, the current distribution of gardens does not provide an alternative food source to occupants of food deserts. The maximal covering spatial optimization model reveals that gardens could be sited in alternative locations to better serve food desert residents. In fact, 53 gardens may be located to cover 96.4% of all food deserts. This is an improvement over the current distribution of gardens where 68 active garden sites provide coverage to a scant 8.4% of food desert residents.
Conclusion: People in rapidly urbanizing environments around the globe suffer from poor food access. Rapid rates of urbanization also present an unused vacant land problem in cities around the globe. This paper highlights how spatial optimization models can be used to improve healthy food access for food desert residents, which is a critical first step in ameliorating the health problems associated with lack of healthy food access including heart disease and obesity.