Understanding Food Access in Flint: An Analysis of Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities

Abstract

The primary objective of this study was to describe the food landscape of Flint, Michigan, and the surrounding townships. We investigated the relationship between the location of food outlets and the racial composition of census tracts. We collected data from multiple sources; however, Data Axle, a repository of information on the U.S. and Canadian businesses, was our primary data source. Data were collected and verified between September 2020 and December 2021. The final fact-checking was completed in June 2022. We used ArcGIS 10.8.1 and SPSS Version 28 to map and analyze the data. We conducted negative binomial regression analyses to identify the difference in the likelihood of finding food retailers in census tracts where the percentage of Black residents was low and those where the percentage of Blacks was high. The article examines 1,137 food retailers in the study area: 407 were in Flint, and the remainder in the surrounding townships. Restaurants—especially fast food and take-out establishments—dominated the food environment. In addition, small groceries and convenience stores proliferated in the grocery store category. The racial composition of the census tracts mattered. Census tracts in which more than 40% of the residents are Black have a mean of 7.6 food outlets. In comparison, census tracts in which 40% or less of the residents are Black have a mean of 11.3 food outlets; the difference is significant. Census tracts with a high percentage of Blacks also had significantly fewer restaurants. The results of this study show Flint’s food landscape to be more complex and robust than described in earlier studies. It underscores the point that researchers should not rely solely on documenting the presence of supermarkets or traditional grocery stores when addressing food insecurity and food access. In the case of Flint, such food outlets comprise only 2.2% of the food landscape. Focusing exclusively on these food retailers misses several important types of food venues that residents rely on to secure food. This siloed approach also ignores the resilience and ingenuity of residents to respond to limited access to traditional food retailers.

A Vanishing Food Infrastructure: The Closure of Food Outlets in Flint in a Pandemic Era

“…The city is often regarded as a food desert ( Sadler et al, 2013 ), and its food system has been described as dismantled. However, Taylor, Bell, et al (2022) argue that the food environment is more nuanced and robust than previously described. The researchers found that though access is not evenly distributed, Flint’s residents have access to traditional food outlets such as supermarkets and large grocery stores.…”

“…Our paper is a comprehensive study of the food landscape of Flint and surrounding townships that seeks to determine the extent of food outlet closures. We adopt a food systems approach explained in detail in Taylor, Bell, et al (2022) and Taylor and Ard (2015) . Hence, we consider not only traditional venues to obtain food, such as supermarkets, grocery stores, and restaurants, but alternative venues like farmers’ markets, community gardens, and emergency food outlets.…”

“…The genre of food insecurity research that examines food access and acquisition concentrates heavily on operational food outlets. Taylor, Bell, et al (2022) and Taylor and Ard (2015) provide extensive documentation of the various food access studies conducted over the past three decades and the theoretical frameworks underpinning them.…”

“…Eventually, there were 37 of these stores with 1300 employees. However, by 1999 when the company filed for bankruptcy, 24 stores were closed, and the last 13 were sold to Kessel Food Markets ( Lorenz, 2017 ; MLive.com , 2016 ; Taylor, Bell, et al, 2022 ).…”

“…Scholars have examined the pandemic’s impacts on the state of Michigan and several of its cities. Such studies include challenges faced by Michigan’s family farmers ( Taylor, Farias, et al, 2022 ); access to emergency food assistance in Michigan ( Taylor, Wright, et al, 2022 ); emergency food assistance to children in Flint ( Jablonski et al, 2021 ); the use of community gardens to enhance food access in Michigan ( Taylor, Thompson, et al., 2022 ); the operation and roles of farmer’s markets in Michigan’s rural and urban areas ( Taylor et al, 2021 ), and in low-income urban areas ( Montri et al, 2021 ); and racial and socioeconomic disparities in access to food outlets in Flint ( Taylor, Bell, et al, 2022 ).…”