Healthy Food Access in Low-Income High-Minority Communities: A Longitudinal Assessment—2009–2017

Ohri-Vachaspati, Punam; DeWeese, Robin S.; Acciai, Francesco; DeLia, Derek; Tulloch, David; Tong, Daoqin; Lorts, Cori; Yedidia, Michael J.

doi:10.3390/ijerph16132354

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Healthy Food Access in Low-Income High-Minority Communities: A Longitudinal Assessment—2009–2017

Punam Ohri-Vachaspati

^1,*,

¹,

^2,3,

⁴

⁵,

⁶ and

⁷

College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA

MedStar Health Research Institute, Hyattsville, MD 20782, USA

Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC 20007, USA

⁴

Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis, Department of Landscape Architecture, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA

⁵

School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA

⁶

Department of Nutrition, Northern Arizona State University, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA

⁷

Center for State Health Policy, Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, & Aging Research, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(13), 2354; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16132354

Received: 24 May 2019 / Revised: 27 June 2019 / Accepted: 28 June 2019 / Published: 3 July 2019

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neighborhood Environmental Influences on Health and Well-Being)

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Abstract

Disparities in healthy food access are well documented in cross-sectional studies in communities across the United States. However, longitudinal studies examining changes in food environments within various neighborhood contexts are scarce. In a sample of 142 census tracts in four low-income, high-minority cities in New Jersey, United States, we examined the availability of different types of food stores by census tract characteristics over time (2009–2017). Outlets were classified as supermarkets, small grocery stores, convenience stores, and pharmacies using multiple sources of data and a rigorous protocol. Census tracts were categorized by median household income and race/ethnicity of the population each year. Significant declines were observed in convenience store prevalence in lower- and medium-income and majority black tracts (p for trend: 0.004, 0.031, and 0.006 respectively), while a slight increase was observed in the prevalence of supermarkets in medium-income tracts (p for trend: 0.059). The decline in prevalence of convenience stores in lower-income and minority neighborhoods is likely attributable to declining incomes in these already poor communities. Compared to non-Hispanic neighborhoods, Hispanic communities had a higher prevalence of small groceries and convenience stores. This higher prevalence of smaller stores, coupled with shopping practices of Hispanic consumers, suggests that efforts to upgrade smaller stores in Hispanic communities may be more sustainable. View Full-Text

Keywords: food environment; food access; low-income communities; supermarket; grocery store; convenience store

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Ohri-Vachaspati, P.; DeWeese, R.S.; Acciai, F.; DeLia, D.; Tulloch, D.; Tong, D.; Lorts, C.; Yedidia, M.J. Healthy Food Access in Low-Income High-Minority Communities: A Longitudinal Assessment—2009–2017. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 2354. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16132354

AMA Style

Ohri-Vachaspati P, DeWeese RS, Acciai F, DeLia D, Tulloch D, Tong D, Lorts C, Yedidia MJ. Healthy Food Access in Low-Income High-Minority Communities: A Longitudinal Assessment—2009–2017. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019; 16(13):2354. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16132354

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ohri-Vachaspati, Punam, Robin S. DeWeese, Francesco Acciai, Derek DeLia, David Tulloch, Daoqin Tong, Cori Lorts, and Michael J. Yedidia. 2019. "Healthy Food Access in Low-Income High-Minority Communities: A Longitudinal Assessment—2009–2017" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16, no. 13: 2354. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16132354

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Healthy Food Access in Low-Income High-Minority Communities: A Longitudinal Assessment—2009–2017

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