Delaware Food Deserts?
Presented by:
B.J. DeCoursey, AICP
Nicole M. Minni, GISP
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Past Efforts
www.ipa.udel.edu/healthyDEtoolkit
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Half of the Puzzle
•  Diet
•  Physical Activity
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Diet and the Built Environment
•  Typically seen as
an individual’s
personal choice
•  Many tie-ins to our
environment
–  Transit
–  Roadways
–  Land Use
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The Issue
•  Many poor and rural areas do not have
adequate access to healthy food retailers.
•  Without access to healthy foods, a nutritious
diet and good health are unattainable.
•  Linked to alarming rates of obesity and dietrelated chronic diseases.
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Income and Obesity
Massachusetts Study - Income Related to Obesity
•  Brockton: Median household income, $50,197; obesity rate, 40.3%
–
total students screened, 4,230
•  Stoughton: Median household income, $66,018; obesity rate, 38.7%
–
total students screened, 1,198
•  West Bridgewater: Median household income, $73,271; obesity rate, 36.3%
–
total students screened, 344
•  Plymouth: Median household income, $74,355; obesity rate, 35.5%
–
total students screened, 2,610
• Bridgewater-Raynham: Median household income, $81,976; obesity rate, 32.1
percent; total students screened, 1,803
http://www.enterprisenews.com/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/x1291971400/Study-finds-community-income-related-to-child-obesity#ixzz1NDKPpaht
Source: U.S. Census, 2005 to 2009
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Why Not More Attention Given?
As a result, the then-32-year-old
Spurlock gained 24½ lbs. (11.1 kg), a
13% body mass increase,
a cholesterol level of 230, and
experienced mood swings, sexual
dysfunction, and fat accumulation to
his liver. It took Spurlock fourteen
months to lose the weight gained from
his experiment. – Wikipedia
Substantial numbers of
people live this way
indefinitely
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What s on Delaware s Menu
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•
•
•
•
•
•
95 Grocery Stores
McDonald’s – 37
Burger King – 23
KFC – 19
Wendy’s – 16
Arby’s, Taco Bell, Dunkin Donuts…
Pizza – 130!
http://maps.google.com/maps?um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=Delaware,+Pizza&fb=1&gl=us&hq=Pizza&hnear=0x89c705764d0cd63b:
0x941d2d128c04e878,Delaware&ei=tN7aTff8Gejc0QGihb38Aw&sa=X&oi=local_group&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CAQQtgMwA
A
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Food Deserts
A geographical area in the U.S., particularly
lower-income communities, where access to
affordable, quality, and nutritious food is
limited.
-  U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2008
Farm Bill
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Accessibility
•  Walkability (in urban areas)
– High – if supermarket is within ½ mile
– Medium – if supermarket is between ½ and
one mile away
– Low – if supermarket is further than 1 mile
•  Drivability (in rural areas)
– High – if supermarket is within 10 miles
– Medium – if supermarket is between 10 and
20 miles
– Low – if supermarket is more than 20 miles
•  Density Measures
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Limited Access in the U.S.
•  23.5 million Americans (8.4% of population) lack
access to a supermarket within 1 mile of home.
•  2.3 million live more than one mile away and lack
access to a vehicle.
•  29% of zip codes nationwide do not have any
food retailer, and 74% do not have chain
supermarket.
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Access in Relation To Race & Income
•  African Americans had 1/2 as much access;
Hispanic populations had 1/3 access.
•  Since 1997, African-American neighborhoods
had smallest growth in access and largest
decrease in number of stores.
•  Low-income zip codes have 25% fewer
supermarkets than do middle-income zip codes.
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Urban vs. Rural Food Deserts
•  Urban Areas
–  Contain 50,000 or more people
–  41.5% of low-income urban dwellers have medium
access, 15.1% have low access
•  Rural Areas
–  Less than 2,500 people
–  11.7% live between 10-20 miles, 2.6% live more than 20
miles away
–  Importance of vehicle ownership or affordable
transportation
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How Delaware Compares
•  County Health Rankings
–  NCC is 0.71 standard deviations below state mean
–  SC is 0.44 standard deviations below state mean
–  KC is 1.14 standard deviations above state mean
–  Compare to other U.S. Counties
–  Chambers County, Alabama (2.23 standard deviations below)
–  Baltimore City, Maryland (1.89 standard deviations below)
•  None of our state s farm markets accept EBTs
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Data Collection
•  Grocery Stores
–  Division of Public Health
•  Large chain grocery stores/supermarkets
•  Warehouse stores such as Costco and BJ's
•  Independently run, large grocery stores
•  Did not include smaller retail establishments – site visits
•  Methodology used in food-desert studies conducted in other
states
–  Delaware Economic Development Office (DEDO)
–  Data collected - address locations, geocoded by CADSR
•  Farmers Markets
–  Department of Agriculture
•  Data collected - address or latitude/longitude location
•  Address locations, geocoded by CADSR
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Data Collection (continued)
•  Census Data - U.S. Census Bureau
–  2010 Census
–  2009 American Community Survey
•  Environmental Data
–  Department of Natural Resources &
Environmental Control (DNREC)
•  School Locations
–  Delaware Department of Education (DOE)
•  Food Deserts
–  U.S. Department of Agriculture
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Delaware Healthy-Food Retailers
•  190 healthy-food
outlets in Delaware
–  95 grocery stores/
supermarkets
–  84 farmers markets
–  12 warehouse stores
–  New Castle County
had most grocery
stores = 44
–  Sussex County has
most farmers markets
= 43, seasonal
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2010 Population
•  2010 Population per
square mile
–  60% live in New Castle
Co.
–  22% live in Sussex Co.
–  18% live in Kent Co.
•  Are grocery stores
meeting the needs of
high populated areas?
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Median Household Income
•  Median Household
Income
–  2009 American
Community Survey
–  Lower income
households may not
have access to
vehicle
–  Higher incidences of
obesity
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Households Without a Vehicle
•  Households without
a vehicle
–  2009 American
Community Survey
–  Grouped households
by tenure (rented and
owned) with no
vehicle available
–  Parks and Open Space
–  Trails
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Food-Desert Mapping
•  U.S. Department of
Agriculture - Food
Deserts
•  Mapped by Census
Tract
•  11 in New Castle
County
•  3 in Kent County
•  1 Sussex County
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Delaware Healthy-Food Retailers
•  New Castle County
–  Protected Lands
–  State Trails
–  Communities
–  Grocery Stores
–  Farmers Markets
–  Schools
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Delaware Healthy-Food Retailers
•  City of Wilmington
•  How do we better
serve the people
in these Food
Deserts?
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Future Direction
•  Income levels and childhood obesity rates
Source: TRF Policy Map http://www.policymap.com/
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Thank You
Nicole Minni – nminni@udel.edu
B.J. DeCoursey – decourse@udel.edu
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