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Local Food Environments: They’re All Stocked Differently

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
American Journal of Community Psychology

Abstract

The obesity epidemic has widened the aims of prevention research to include the influence of local food environments on health outcomes. This mixed methods study extends existing research focused on local food environments by examining whether community members’ find food accessible. Data from food store audits and one-on-one interviews were analyzed. Results reveal that most of the food stores surrounding the three research sites were convenience stores and non-chain grocery stores; interviewees did not perceive these stores to be “real” food stores. Tobacco and alcohol products were more prevalent in the food stores than all varieties of milk, fresh fruits, or fresh vegetables. Food access varied by site in a manner that was designed to appeal to customers’ race, class, gender, or environment. Findings reveal that local food environments are reflections of social hierarchies. Unraveling the politics of space ought to be a part of broader efforts to promote the public’s health.

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Notes

  1. Physician-activist Rudolf Virchow (1821–1902) said that all diseases have two causes, one pathological and the other political.

  2. Hopetown, Lincoln Court, and Ridgetop are pseudonyms for the three research sites.

  3. I received a copy of the inventory from Dr. Paul Speer. The lead investigators of the UM-KC research project were Walker C. Poston, C. Keith Haddock, and Joseph Hughey.

  4. The research team was comprised of three research assistants and five faculty advisors. Members of the team had diverse disciplinary backgrounds, representing psychology, nursing, sociology, public health, and community development. Half of the team members identified their race as black or African American, and the remaining as white or Caucasian.

  5. In this study, the term “grocery store” was used instead of local market.

  6. Morland et al. (2002) determined wealth by calculating the median value of homes in the census tracts included in the study.

  7. By definition, tomatoes are fruits. However, they are commonly referred to as vegetables. In this research, tomatoes were categorized as “vegetables.”

  8. Intersectionality is a concept used by many feminist scholars to explore the ways that multiple oppressions such as racism, sexism, and heterosexism synergistically influence marginality and oppression (Crenshaw 1989 ; Schulz and Mullings 2006 ).

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by grants from the Baptist Healing Trust, Vanderbilt University Center for Community Studies, and Vanderbilt Center for Health Services. Gratitude is extended to the participants in this study and to my research advisors: Paul Speer, Craig Anne Heflinger, Monica Casper, Ken Wallston, Marino Bruce, Shavaun Evans, Shacora Moore, and Courtney Williams. Thank you to Sharon Shields and her students for their assistance with the food auditing process.

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  1. College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, DeSaussure Hall, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    Darcy A. Freedman

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Correspondence to Darcy A. Freedman.

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Freedman, D.A. Local Food Environments: They’re All Stocked Differently. Am J Community Psychol 44, 382–393 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-009-9272-6

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