Barriers to Food Security and Community Stress in an Urban Food Desert

Abstract

By analyzing data from focus groups in a poor, mostly African American neighborhood in a large U.S. city, we describe how residents in urban food deserts access food, the barriers they experience in accessing nutritious, affordable food, and how community food insecurity exacerbates prior social, built, and economic stressors. Provided the unwillingness of supermarkets and supercenters to locate to poor urban areas and the need for nutritious, affordable food, it may be more efficient and equitable for government programs to financially partner with ethnic markets and smaller locally-owned grocery stores to increase the distribution and marketing of healthy foods rather than to spend resources trying to entice a large supermarket to locate to the neighborhood. By focusing on improving the conditions of the neighborhood and making smaller grocery stores and markets more affordable and produce more attractive to residents, the social, built, and economic stressors experienced by residents will be reduced, thereby possibly improving overall mental and physical health.

Food Insecurity Predicts Urban Gun Violence

“…As a result, food stores tend to avoid habitation in urban cities and preferentially establish in suburban neighborhoods, making access for inner-city individuals a challenge. 20 Nevertheless, FI becomes a chronic source of stress, particularly for the economically and socially disadvantaged. 20 Regions with these deteriorating economic conditions and vast inequalities between groups of people are also home to the highest rates of violent conflicts and crime.…”

“…20 Nevertheless, FI becomes a chronic source of stress, particularly for the economically and socially disadvantaged. 20 Regions with these deteriorating economic conditions and vast inequalities between groups of people are also home to the highest rates of violent conflicts and crime. 21 Thus, FI begets violence, which begets FI.…”

Third-Generation Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED)

“…Several studies have also found a positive correlation between population health and crime, where social disadvantage is part of neighbourhood life (Kawachi et al 1999;Loh et al 2018). This disadvantage includes disparity in nutritious food access, which is known as the 'food desert' problem (Cooksey-Stowers et al 2017;Crowe et al 2018).…”

Introducing the Microbes and Social Equity Working Group: Considering the Microbial Components of Social, Environmental, and Health Justice

“…For a greater impact on public health and to achieve equitable health outcomes, policy efforts can focus on improving the local nutrition environment. While programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the United States increase the food-purchasing power of lower-income households, increased food security may not translate into improved food quality ( 132 ), as neighborhoods of lower socioeconomic status have fewer supermarkets and more convenience, liquor, and fast-food outlets ( 133 – 135 ). Predatory marketing practices in these neighborhoods create higher proportions of advertisements promoting unhealthy foods ( 136 , 137 ).…”