Perspective Food Access, Laine Young

PERSPECTIVE FOOD ACCESS LAINE YOUNG FOOD ENVIRONMENTS AND ACCESS TO FOOD EXAMPLES FROM Laine Young is a Candidate from Wilfrid in the Geography and Environmental Studies program . She works with the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems on her dissertation research exploring intersectional feminist analysis in urban agriculture projects in , Ecuador . Laine is a Contract Teaching Faculty at and is the of the podcast , Handpicked Stories from the Field . Learning Outcomes 472 FOOD ACCESS

After reading and discussing this text , students should be able to Differentiate among the concepts of food deserts , food swamps , food mirages , and food oases . Articulate the differences between food environments in specific urban areas . Identify the barriers to food transportation , income , and the socioeconomic , racial , and nic disparities in food access . INTRODUCTION There are many factors that people access to food in a town or city . Some are specific individual barriers ( income ) but often there are larger structural issues ( racism , resource inequity ) These barriers can be social , nomic , or physical . To evaluate food access , it is important to be able to differentiate among the food environments that people belong to . Neighbourhoods struggling with food access within cities can be food deserts , food swamps , or food mirages . Those with superior access to food are considered food oases . The number and quality of healthful and affordable options for access to food in each neighbourhood determines which food environment the area belongs to . We differentiate between these environments because each problem is unique and requires specific solutions to improve food access . This chapter explores the different food environments in communities and how they affect access to food . It provides examples of work that has been done to mitigate these barriers to access in the city of , LAINE YOUNG 473

FOOD ENVIRONMENTS While health promotion materials tend to emphasize the of individual food choices , access to healthy food is ily determined by the social and built environments , including community and consumer nutrition environments . The munity nutrition environment is determined by the number , type , location and accessibility of food outlets such as grocery stores , and the consumer nutrition environment is categorized by What consumers encounter in and around places where they buy food , such as the availability , cost , and quality of healthful food 11 Food environments are affected by both and consumer nutrition environments . The conditions of different food environments within can have an impact on access to food for the residents that live there . Negative food environments are those in which healthy food access is limited or difficult due to lack of retail options , cost , transportation and mobility , and availability of appropriate foods . They have been linked to communities whose demographics indicate they have a lower status , as well as racial and ethnic disparities . These inequities in the food environment can be partially attributed to racial in neighbourhoods . For example , certain hoods in the where residents are predominantly Hispanic and Black have less access to large , chain grocery stores , and more access to fast This is not always the case , as We sometimes see neighbourhoods without grocery stores and other nutritious food sources . The difference is that people living in communities typically have the money to purchase more expensive options close by , have to drive to buy food , and typically don have the same time . et al . 2007 , et al . 2020 . 474 FOOD ACCESS

constraints or accessibility issues as those in neighbourhoods . There are currently four examples of food environments that appear in the literature food deserts , food swamps , food mirages , and food oases . It is important to distinguish between these , given that different strategies are needed to mitigate the different risks in Food deserts are areas of a city where residents lack physical or financial access to nutritious food . People living in rural areas may also need to travel long distances to get their food and are often left out of the food environment In Canada , people are more likely to experience food swamps , areas that have nutritious food stores but also have an abundance of unhealthy options that are more Another food environment that is important to discuss is food mirages . In this case , healthful food options are available , but not affordable to those with low incomes , requiring them to travel long distances for access to affordable Food mirages fer from food deserts because it appears that the neighbourhood has healthful food options close by , but they are not actually usable resources for some members of the community ( because they can not afford to shop there ) In addition to , there are also other potential access issues for the residents of the neighbourhood . Food access is more than financial , as a hold physical ability to get to and navigate the stores ( because of disability or age ) can restrict their access . Many also experience time for example , if they work several jobs , use public transit , or are the primary caregiver in their . Yang et al , 2020 . Chen Greg , 2017 . Ibid . Yang et al . 2020 . Canadian Environmental Health Atlas , LAINE YOUNG 475

hold in these cases , the number of hours left in their day to acquire food is much less than in other households . Finally , a food oasis is a neighbourhood with superior access to nutritious Table Negative food environments and their characteristics ( Young 2021 ) Food Deserts Food Swamps Food Mirages Residents lack physical access to nutritious food . Residents have access Residents have They are unable to walk to to nutritious food , but nutritious food options find nutritious food . They unhealthful options are close by but they are must have access to more abundant . unable to afford it . transportation . Community has Community has There are few options in nutritious food options , nutritious food options , the community to but the unhealthful but the unhealthful purchase nutritious food options are more options are more ( grocery store , accessible ( fast affordable ( fast healthful restaurants ) food , convenience food , convenience stores ) stores ) MEASURING FOOD ACCESS In order to determine how to classify a neighborhood food environment , community food assets need to be measured . A food asset is a place where local residents can go to grow , pare , share , buy , receive or learn about food 99 through , for example , community programs , retail outlets , urban gardens , and fresh food markets . Determining the number of food assets in a community can be challenging without a tangible way to collect the data . Public Health Food Strategy and the Food Policy Council created a way to measure the available food assets in the city , providing a tool to advocate for food ment change . et al . Vancouver Neighbourhood Food Networks . 476 FOOD ACCESS

Food by Ward project was created as a way of measuring the unequal distribution of food assets across the city This information was collected through roots organizing in each city ward . In each area , Food Champions led the data collection through several rounds of community consultations . Food Champions are people who care about food , healthy communities , and economic ment , and ( who ) are working together to protect , promote , and strengthen food 11 Food , MEALS i man now MEALS , oDD ( Cor Food SeM rams ( Figure Food by Ward mapping project . Amanda source Food Policy Public Health Food Strategy ) The food asset categories that were collected within the Food by Ward project included emergency food programs , community food services , local food retail outlets , food markets , children meal programs , community gardens , and urban agriculture The data was collected and mapped , so residents and policy makers could visualize the assets , as well as determine which communities were lacking or had an abundance of food . 10 . Ibid . 12 . Ibid . LAINE YOUNG 477

This provided community organizers with the data needed to approach City Council representatives in their specific wards and advocate for change . This project makes the case that related projects and development are just as important as other urban infrastructure . 13 Figure Food by Ward mapping project . Amanda source Food Policy Council Public Health Food Strategy ) 13 Ibid . 478 FOOD ACCESS

WARD I CITY WIDE I AVERAGE lIZ II I GOOD FOOD MOBLE FOOD HEALTHIER FOOD RETAIL FOOD AGENCIES ! FOUD BOX PROGRAMS FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS KITCHENS I I , FARMERS MARKETS IN SCHOOL A 23 17 I I I . I I FOOD FOOD Thu many resources available to help . Fleur we our man a max Figure Statistics for Ward for Food by Ward mapping project . Design Amanda source Food Policy Council Public Health Food ) LAINE YOUNG 479

I CE I an . man a mu um Figure Food by Ward mapping project showing Ward West . Design Amanda source Food Policy Council Public Health Food ) Food by Ward is an excellent example of measuring food access , but is highly dependent on resources to maintain the data . out dedicated funding , the tool is not sustainable . While the tool itself is not currently being maintained across all of metropolitan , some individual neighbourhoods , like , have taken on their own asset mapping on a smaller scale . This allows each neighbourhood to ensure that their maps are updated and their current situation . Food asset mapping has a lot of potential for measuring access to food , but there needs to be a sustainable approach , including the human and technical resources needed to maintain the data . 480 FOOD ACCESS

RESPONSE TO NEGATIVE FOOD ENVIRONMENTS Cities have the potential to mitigate the impact of challenging food environments through initiating policy and programs that increase nutritious food access in the areas that need it most . The city of has many geographic areas that fall under the negative food environments . Health Food Strategy has implemented many initiatives to combat this in the city . The Food Strategy uses a perspective that focuses on nutrition , prevention of diseases , food literacy , social justice , food supply chains , economic , environmental protection , and climate change tion . 14 Grab Some Good In 2014 , one of the key projects of the Food Strategy was called Grab Some Good . This project was initiated to combat the lack of equitable access to healthy food across the Many Canadian cities , included , technically do not have food deserts and , for various reasons are far likelier to have food Grab Some Good was a partnership between the Food Strategy and community partners like ( is a food justice organization in that nutritious food to people across the city . They collaborate with the people most affected by poverty to create solutions to food problems . The three major projects that evolved were Healthy Corner Stores , Mobile Good Food 14 . 2016 . 15 . Ibid . 16 . Ibid . 17 . Ibid . LAINE YOUNG 481

18 . 19 . 20 . and Subway markets . The goals of Grab Some Good were To offer healthy , affordable and culturally diverse fresh food to residents living in areas that are underserved by healthy food retailers . To provide fresh produce at convenient locations at prices that are lower than the average grocery store . To promote healthy and sustainable eating habits among all residents and to support good nutrition and . 18 disease prevention interventions . 18 The Healthy Corner Store initiative provided logistical and infrastructure support to local corner stores , aimed at increasing the healthy food available to people in the surrounding and at ensuring that the owners were making profit from the To address the issue of minimal grocery store availability in underserved neighbourhoods , the Food Strategy and launched mobile food markets in 2012 . These retrofitted wheelchair buses were transformed into mobile food markets and served affordable , healthy food to 11 neighbourhoods in The sit Commission markets , another partnership with , were established in major transit hubs and provided commuters with access to healthy snacks , as well as fruits and vegetables to take home with them without needing to stop at a grocery Each of these three projects attempted to mitigate the negative effects of neighbourhoods found in food swamps in innovative , 16 . 2016 . Ibid . Ibid . 482 FOOD ACCESS

and ways . They were successful in ing access to nutritious food in the neighbourhoods they served . They offered innovative solutions to food environment . Unfortunately , the overarching issue with these types of projects is the lack of financial sustainability . As they all required some degree of municipal funding , the longevity of the projects was not guaranteed and they are therefore no longer running . Nonetheless , these cases show that if municipal governments can prioritize funding to address food swamps , deserts , and mirages , or if community organizations can build , there is great potential to make changes to the way food is accessed in these communities . Good Food Markets One of many successful projects is the Good Food Markets . These markets are found across the city in hoods that lack access to nutritious food and are run by the community members themselves . The program trains members on the necessary skills and information needed to run the markets and provides the tools and resources for The Good Food Markets not only vide access to food , they work more community hubs that engage and connect residents in their own This type of community engagement is important for neighbourhoods to build social cohesion and strengthen the dents ties to their community . This model has great potential for success because it is sustainable and driven by the needs of those who use it . 22 . 23 . Ibid . LAINE YOUNG 483

CONCLUSION To ensure healthy communities , it is important to measure food access within specific neighbourhoods . Identifying the type of food environments that communities reside within can help inform targeted responses by municipal governments and munity organizations . It is critical to address the racial and ethnic disparities present in negative food environments . This necessitates structural change through , planning , and development , in order to address diet quality ( related to food environments ) within white and minority Such efforts should address the disparities in access to healthful food in neighbourhoods to limit the impact on nutrition and health Public Health Food Strategy and have shown great examples of engaging in innovative solutions to manage food access , but there are funding challenges that can have an impact on the capacity to help communities in the term . Moving towards the community hub model has great potential to improve food access and serve communities in a holistic way . Discussion Questions How might systemic discrimination , based on the demographics and experiences of residents within a neighbourhood , their food 24 . et al , 2020 . 25 . Ibid . 484 FOOD ACCESS

ment ?

Do you notice any differences in perceived access to food between or hoods in your community ?

What kinds of impacts related to food access might residents of diverse racial or ethnic grounds experience in their communities ?

Choose a neighbourhood in your city . Either walk around the area or explore it through a maps app and note all of the food restaurants . Determine if they sell healthy or unhealthy food . Check out the demographics of the neighbourhood online . According to your research , decide if this area fits within one of the food environments you learned about in this chapter . Additional Resources website Food by Ward Website Food Asset Map Yang , Meng , Wang , and Feng . Neighbourhood Food Environments Revisited When Food Deserts Meet Food LAINE YOUNG 485

The Canadian Geographer 64 , no . 2020 ) article , Chinatown slams study calling area food desert . Canadian Public Health Association Mobile good food market In brings healthy choices to neighbourhoods in food deserts . References Advancing Food . a Food by Food Policy Council . Accessed June , 2021 . Food Canadian Environmental Health Atlas . Accessed June , 2021 . Chen , and Gregg . 2017 . Food Deserts and Food Swamps A National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health . and . Frank . 2007 . tion Environment Measures Survey in Stores ( ican Journal of Preventive Medicine 32 ( and Gans . 2020 . Racial Differences in Perceived Food Swamp and Food Desert Exposure and Disparities in Research and Public Health 17 ( 19 ) Food Strategy 2016 Public Health . 486 FOOD ACCESS

Vancouver Food Asset Vancouver Neighbourhood Food Networks . 2021 . Yang , Wang , and . 2020 . Neighbourhood Food Environments Revisited When Food Deserts Meet Food The Canadian Geographer 64 ( LAINE YOUNG 487