Abstract A25: Evaluation of the food environment in rural towns in eastern Washington

Abstract

Introduction: Hispanics are at increased risk for obesity, which places them at increased risk for a variety of health conditions, including cancer. Risk factors for both obesity and cancer include limited access to healthy affordable foods. This problem is especially prevalent in low-income communities such as rural towns. This study assessed the availability of healthful foods and food environment scores in two rural towns with large percentages of Hispanic residents in Eastern Washington State. Experimental Procedures: Store inventories were collected in 14 food stores (3 grocery and 11 convenience stores) from July-August 2013 using the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey. We recorded data on availability of a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grain bread, lean ground beef, low-fat hot dogs, baked or low-fat chips, and low sugar cereal. Food environment scores were generated for stores, which consisted of a composite score of availability of healthy food, quality, and price. Results: Convenience stores comprised 79% of food stores. Availability of specific healthful items differed between grocery and convenience stores with all the grocery stores (100%) selling at least 1 fresh fruit compared to 27% of the convenience stores. More grocery stores also had fresh vegetables (100% vs. 18%), whole grain bread (100% vs. 36%), lean ground beef (100% vs. 9%), low-fat hot dogs (100% vs. 9%), baked or low-fat chips (67% vs. 0%), and low sugar cereal (67% vs. 18%). Grocery stores, however, were slightly less likely to be stocked with 100% fruit juice (67% vs. 73%), while more stocked with diet soda (100% vs. 91%) than convenience stores. Out of a possible maximum food environment score of 62, grocery stores scored 29 while convenience stores scored 3.64. Conclusions: Convenience stores make up a large proportion of available food sources in rural towns and have limited stocks of healthful foods. The low food environment scores of both grocery and convenience stores are indication that stores have room for improvements. Increasing the variety of healthy food offerings in food stores could be the first step in improving the food environment in rural towns. Citation Format: Linda K. Ko, Cynthia Perry, Norma Mariscal, Edgar Rodriguez, Catherine Duggan, Mario Kratz, Beti Thompson. Evaluation of the food environment in rural towns in eastern Washington. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Sixth AACR Conference: The Science of Cancer Health Disparities; Dec 6–9, 2013; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2014;23(11 Suppl):Abstract nr A25. doi:10.1158/1538-7755.DISP13-A25