FOOD DESERTS IN URBAN AREAS
REBECCA BRUNT Y, PHILLIP BERRA , STEVEN DYKE, ALLEY SWIGER , ANNA
DANIELS & MELISSA POWERS
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HAVE A HEALTHY COMMUNITY?
WHY IS THIS
IMPORTANT?
Food policy consists of
setting goals for the
sectors of the food
system.
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Saint Louis University
Food System and the Food Cycle
A food system can be judged by whether it:
is technically efficient in
social prices;
supports higher
standards of education;
offers security;
is allocatively efficient in enables people to have
social prices;
status;
reduces vulnerability;
leads to increased
consumption by the
poor;
is good for
environmental
sustainability;
enables people to have
dignity;
leads to increased asset- enables people to have
holding by the poor;
rights;
promotes gender
equality;
is good for health;
promotes equality in
general;
enables people to have
influence;
is good for nutrition;
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promotes social
inclusion
Category
Food Policy “Old”
Food Policy “New”
Population
Mostly rural
Mostly urban
Supply chains
Short – small number of food miles
Long – large number of food miles
Typical food preparation
Mostly food cooked at home
High proportion of pre-prepared meals, food
eaten out
Packaging
Low
High
Food bought in
Local stalls or shops, open markets
Supermarkets
Food safety issues
Pesticide poisoning of field workers
Toxins associated with poor storage
Pesticide residues in food adulteration
Bio-safety issues in processed foods
(salmonella, listeriosis)
Nutrition problems
Under-nutrition
Chronic dietary diseases
(obesity, heart disease, diabetes)
Nutrient issues
Micronutrients
Fat and Sugar
Food-insecure
‘Peasants’
Urban and rural poor
Remedy for
household food shortage
Safety nets, food-based relief
Social protection, income transfers
Fora for food
policy
Ministries of agriculture,
relief/rehabilitation, health
Ministries of trade & industry, consumer affairs
Food activist groups, NGOs
Focus of food
policy
Agricultural technology,
supplementary feeding, food for
work
Competition and rent-seeking in the value
chain, waste management, advertising, health
education, food safety
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WHAT IS A FOOD DESERT?
Food Desert:
FOOD DESERT DEFINITION
To qualify as a "low-income community”, a census tract
must have either:
 1) a poverty rate of 20 percent or higher, OR
 2) a median family income at or below 80 percent of the area's
median family income;
To qualify as a "low-access community”, at least 500
people and/or at least 33 percent of the census tract's
population must reside more than one mile from a
supermarket or large grocery store (for rural census tracts, the
distance is more than 10 miles).
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DIET AND HEALTH
"Substantial current research
emphasizes how urban food
environments affect health
particularly through the
abundance of low-cost fast food,
the death of supermarkets and
fresh food and attendant effects
on nutritional status and obesity.”
–The Contribution of Urban
Foodways to Health Disparities
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DIET AND HEALTH
-Conceptual Framework: multiple contributing factors to diet and health
emphasized in a food desert environment.
-Lack of access to nutritious food or the ability to exercise and practice a
healthy lifestyle.
-Correlation between access to supermarkets and less obesity.
-Similar correlation with convenience stores and fast food: more fast
food and convenience store, greater risk of obesity.
-Increase in healthy options without a limitation of current food options
will likely not have a significant effect.
CONCERNS WITH FOOD DESERT AREAS
Malnutrition
-Obesity paradox – choosing cheaper foods to
stretch budget
 Usually nutrient-poor and energy dense
 Results in overweight/obesity
 Increased risk of chronic diseases
 Diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, some cancers
-Lacking key nutrients due to limited food choices
-Limited options for physical activity
WHY DOES IT MATTER? IS IT JUST?
“The crowds of starving people—children, women, the
elderly, immigrants, refugees, and unemployed—raise
to us their cry of suffering. They implore us, hoping to
be heard.”—Pope John Paul II
--We have an ethical obligation to help others in need -Food and Agricultural Organization estimates that one
billion people suffer from hunger with another one
billion from undernourishment.
SAINT LOUIS FOOD DESERTS
SAINT LOUIS FOOD DESERTS
63108
63103
63110
63104
FOOD DESERT: 63104
FOOD DESERT: 63110
FOOD DESERT: 63103
63108—NON FOOD DESERT
ST LOUIS CITY FOOD ENVIRONMENT
Criteria
Values
Food Access
Households, no car & >1 mile to store
3,498(2.35%)
Food Access
Households, Low Income & >1 mile to store
16,733 (4.87%)
Child poverty rate 2010
40.7% (persistent child poverty county)
Student free-school lunch eligibility
73.9% ()
Child food insecurity 2001-07
8.3%
Household food insecurity 2008-10
15.8%
SNAP benefits per capita 2008-2010
71% increase
Farmers’ markets
6 (no change 2009-11)
Grocery Stores/Convenience Stores/SNAP stores/WIC stores
115 () / 125 () /366 () / 19 ()
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ST. LOUIS DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS
DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS
• Racial Demographic
• Age:
• Majority African American
• 0-4 years old: <10%
• About 40% Caucasian
• 15-24 years old: 12%-17%
• 65+ years old: 10%-25%
• Income
• Food Desert Zip Codes:
$25,000-$40,000
• Non Food Desert Zip
Code:$54,000
• Education:
• High School Graduation:
53%-62%
ST. LOUIS MORTALITY RATES
FOOD DESERT VS. NON FOOD DESERT MORTALITY
•
•
Little variation overall
Infant Mortality
• All food desert zip codes had higher infant mortality rates than the non food desert zip
code
• This could come from a number of birth-related concerns
• For example: 63110 (17th Ward) Birth-Related Conerns
• Mid-high percent for:
• Teen births
• Out of wedlock births
• Mothers using food stamps
• Mothers with less than 12th grade education
• Low birth weight infants
 2,500 grams (5.5 #) or less
• Highest rate for:
• Infant mortality
• Teen abortions
OTHER ST. LOUIS HEALTH FACTORS
FOOD DESERT VS. NON FOOD DESERT HEALTH
FACTORS
• Little variation, but still concerning issues
• Concerning Health Factors
• Food Bourne Illness
• High Birth Weight
• Influenza and Pneumonia
• Low Fertility Rate
VISIONING
• System change keeps the focus on bigpicture thinking and is transformative
beyond small actions.
• Creation of a vision of what a healthy St.
Louis Regional Foodshed would look like
can help lay the pathway to the activities
supportive of a regional food policy.
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SOLUTIONS IN MOTION
The Healthy Corner Store Project
•
A joint effort by the University of Missouri Extension, City of St. Louis, and the St. Louis
Development Corporation aims to tackle the barriers that prohibit access to food retailers and
nutritious, healthy foods in local food deserts.
“The Old North St. Louis neighborhood was able to open a community-run grocery store but not
every neighborhood in the city has the capacity to open grocery stores, nor should they. Another
way to address the issue is to work with stores already in our neighborhoods to help people
purchase the food necessary to live healthier lifestyles”--Kara Lubischer, community development
specialist with UMSL Extension
•
Other Objectives:
• Encouraging aldermanic interest
• instituting grassroots marketing campaigns
• Conducting surveys so researchers can identify what types of produce interest customers most.
OTHER POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
1. Taxation incentives
 Lower sales tax on fresh produce
 Goal: increase profit margins on fresh food
 Which would in turn encourage businesses to sell more fresh foods
2. Rebates
 From municipality to businesses based on the types of food they sold
 For example, if business sold a higher volume of healthy foods, they would receive a larger
rebate
3. Financial Incentives
 Encourage businesses to have a particular business model
 For example: Save-A-Lot’s business model
 Exclusive brands: High-quality, low-priced private label assortment
 Fewer SKUs (stock keeping units) and low prices
 Neighborhood stores: Locating stores in diverse neighborhoods, hiring from within those
communities and stocking product tailored to the neighborhood
 Shopping experience: Smaller stores average 15,000 sq. ft. and allow for a quick and
easy shopping experience
RESOURCES
http://www.whyhunger.org/programs/fslc/topics/nutrition/glossary.html
https://global.slu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackb
oard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_62905_1%26url%3D
http://www.thenorthsider.com/2011/05/corner-store-sells-fresh-produce/
Movoto. Movato LLC, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. <http://www.movoto.com/>.
Asch, David. "The Contribution of Urban Foodways to Health Disparities." N.p., 2010. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2871079/>.
Sodano, Angelo, and John Paul. "WORLD HUNGER A CHALLENGE FOR ALL: DEVELOPMENT IN SOLIDARITY."
N.p., 1979. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.
https://global.slu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fbla
ckboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_62905_1%26url%3D
Sundve, Stacy M., and David A. Harvey. "Public Health Understanding Our Needs." (2007): n. pag. Print.