Assessing changes in food pantry access after extreme events

Abstract

Food pantries play a growing role in supporting households facing or at risk of food insecurity in the United States. They also support emergency response and recovery following disasters and extreme weather events. Although food pantries are often placed in close proximity to communities with the highest rates of poverty and risk of food insecurity, access to these facilities can be disrupted during and after extreme events. Decreased access to food pantries following disasters can be particularly problematic as the need for these services is also likely to grow after such events. Despite the vast body of research on food retail access and food environments, relatively little research has utilized spatial analysis to understand food pantry access, particularly after extreme events. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), we characterize changes in access to food pantries following flooding events in Harris County, Texas—a highly populated and flood prone region with high levels of food insecurity and poverty. Specifically, our study models disruptions in road networks due to flooding and assesses the impacts of these disruptions on proximity to food pantries. The results reveal that much of Harris County sees only small increases in travel distance to food pantries due to extreme flooding, but some areas may be unable to access food pantries at all. This research highlights the potential and some of the limits of private food assistance networks to support emergency response efforts.

Cross-boundary risks of hinterland hazards to city infrastructure

“…Damage to or impairment of hinterland water infrastructure, either by fire or precipitation, also threatens urban food supplies. Reduced water supply availability can prevent sufficient irrigation of crops and impact food processing, leading to reduced hinterland crop yields (Zimmerman et al 2016, Casellas Connors et al 2023. These various impacts on agricultural production, storage, or transportation can negatively impact urban food supply.…”

Food retail environments, extreme weather, and their overlap: Exploratory analysis and recommendations for U.S. food policy

“…[11][12][13][14][15] with a recent study in Australia finding that fruit, vegetables, and livestock sectors are most likely to be impacted post-extreme events, with rural communities being more impacted [16]. Literature discussing consumer impacts focuses on post extreme event food-related concerns, covering a variety of topics including the role of social capital in event related food insecurity mitigation [17], emergency food reserves [18], access to food assistance networks (pantries) post event [19], food safety hazards associated with extreme weather event types [20], and even risk of food poisoning during power outage events [21]. While these are critical for post-event management and recovery, to date, there has been little discussion about postevent impacts across traditional food retail environment (FRE) dimensions, such as the availability of stores and households' ability to access them.…”