Evaluating Closures of Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Vendors During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Methodology and Preliminary Results Using Omnidirectional Street View Imagery

Abstract

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted the food retail environment. However, its impact on fresh fruit and vegetable vendors remains unclear; these are often smaller, more community centered, and may lack the financial infrastructure to withstand supply and demand changes induced by such crises. Objective This study documents the methodology used to assess fresh fruit and vegetable vendor closures in New York City (NYC) following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic by using Google Street View, the new Apple Look Around database, and in-person checks. Methods In total, 6 NYC neighborhoods (in Manhattan and Brooklyn) were selected for analysis; these included two socioeconomically advantaged neighborhoods (Upper East Side, Park Slope), two socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods (East Harlem, Brownsville), and two Chinese ethnic neighborhoods (Chinatown, Sunset Park). For each neighborhood, Google Street View was used to virtually walk down each street and identify vendors (stores, storefronts, street vendors, or wholesalers) that were open and active in 2019 (ie, both produce and vendor personnel were present at a location). Past vendor surveillance (when available) was used to guide these virtual walks. Each identified vendor was geotagged as a Google Maps pinpoint that research assistants then physically visited. Using the “notes” feature of Google Maps as a data collection tool, notes were made on which of three categories best described each vendor: (1) open, (2) open with a more limited setup (eg, certain sections of the vendor unit that were open and active in 2019 were missing or closed during in-person checks), or (3) closed/absent. Results Of the 135 open vendors identified in 2019 imagery data, 35% (n=47) were absent/closed and 10% (n=13) were open with more limited setups following the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. When comparing boroughs, 35% (28/80) of vendors in Manhattan were absent/closed, as were 35% (19/55) of vendors in Brooklyn. Although Google Street View was able to provide 2019 street view imagery data for most neighborhoods, Apple Look Around was required for 2019 imagery data for some areas of Park Slope. Past surveillance data helped to identify 3 additional established vendors in Chinatown that had been missed in street view imagery. The Google Maps “notes” feature was used by multiple research assistants simultaneously to rapidly collect observational data on mobile devices. Conclusions The methodology employed enabled the identification of closures in the fresh fruit and vegetable retail environment and can be used to assess closures in other contexts. The use of past baseline surveillance data to aid vendor identification was valuable for identifying vendors that may have been absent or visually obstructed in the street view imagery data. Data collection using Google Maps likewise has the potential to enhance the efficiency of fieldwork in future studies.

Contrasting the experiences for high- and low-income Asian Americans during COVID-19

“…Asian American small business owners – especially in the food industry – are hard hit across the country ( Dang et al 2020 , Ong and Mar, 2020 ). Chinese ethnic neighborhoods are experiencing disproportionate business closures ( Ali et al, 2021 , Yi et al, 2020 ), and the unemployment rate for Asian Americans jumped from 2.8% in August 2019 to 15.0% in May 2020 and stabilizing at 6.6% as of January 2021 ( Horsley , Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021 ). Most recently the Biden administration’s memorandum condemning racism and xenophobia ( Biden, 2021 ) against Asian Americans is a promising sign of progress and the federal government’s recognition of how the pandemic has impacted Asian Americans.…”

COVID-19 Leads to Dramatic Changes in the Food Retail Environment in New York City: May–July 2020

“…CoClo methods are described elsewhere 10 , 11] . In brief, food retail stores and restaurants for each of the six neighborhoods were ascertained by the most up-to-date NYS Agriculture and Markets Retails Stores list and by the NYC Health Department Restaurant Inspections database (last updated March 16, 2020).…”

“…In brief, food retail stores and restaurants for each of the six neighborhoods were ascertained by the most up-to-date NYS Agriculture and Markets Retails Stores list and by the NYC Health Department Restaurant Inspections database (last updated March 16, 2020). Existing locations of produce vendors were available for Chinatown [11 , 12] and verified using Google Street View (last neighborhood update, June–October 2019). Locations of produce vendors were not available in other neighborhoods but were ascertained using Google Street View to conduct virtual walks down each street of each neighborhood [11] .…”

“…Existing locations of produce vendors were available for Chinatown [11 , 12] and verified using Google Street View (last neighborhood update, June–October 2019). Locations of produce vendors were not available in other neighborhoods but were ascertained using Google Street View to conduct virtual walks down each street of each neighborhood [11] . Because NTA information was not available in either the NYS or NYC Health Department lists, ArcGIS was used to map out all the restaurants and food retail stores, and then identify which stores were within the boundaries of each of our six study neighborhoods.…”

Evaluation of a Social Media Campaign in Saskatchewan to Promote Healthy Eating During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Social Media Analysis and Qualitative Interview Study

“…Prior to the pandemic, there were also concerns surrounding where the public obtains nutrition information [ 14 , 15 ], and the pandemic may have created more concern around this. In addition, restaurants and smaller food retailers were suddenly closed or had to take time to shift service styles, disrupting the food environment further [ 16 , 17 ]. There were also concerns about food safety (eg, handling of produce at the grocery store and transmission via surface contamination of frozen foods) [ 18 - 21 ].…”