Interventions to improve access to fresh food in vulnerable communities: a review of the literature
-
Denise Smith
,
Stephanie Miles-Richardson
Abstract
Background: “Food desert” is a term used to describe low-income communities without access to healthy, fresh food within a one-mile radius of their residence. The limited access to healthy foods in urban African-American communities may be a critical factor in the development of nutritional disorders and associated chronic disease in this vulnerable population. Research has shown that community gardens are a promising intervention for addressing food quality and access issues. This study aimed to assess whether improving the local food environment through community gardens can increase accessibility to healthy foods in Metropolitan Atlanta communities assumed to be food deserts.
Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted to identify best practices of community garden projects in order to address food deserts in metropolitan cities. Next, a windshield survey was conducted in the Adamsville community in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia to determine if a food desert was present, and to provide an analysis of the local food environment.
Results: Twenty-nine articles were reviewed and eight best practices were identified as effective strategies in metropolitan cities. We found that community gardens had only minimal impact on food access issues in urban communities due to seasonal accessibility and low yield. The windshield survey revealed that the Adamsville community was not a food desert because it had access to healthy foods within a half-mile radius.
Conclusion: While the literature review revealed that community gardens had a minimal impact on food access in urban communities, food policy advocacy and supermarket tax incentives were identified as effective ways to promote healthy community development.
Appendix
Windshield survey
A windshield survey is a method of collecting data by simply observing the community. While driving a car or riding public transportation, one can observe many dimensions of a community’s life and environment through the windshield. Through this method, common characteristics of people on the street, neighborhood gathering places, the rhythm of community life, housing quality, and geographic boundaries can be observed.
Directions: Based on your visual observation as you walk or drive through your community, complete as many of the following questions as possible.
| Environment |
|---|
| Physical environment |
| Community location (boundaries, urban/rural): |
| Prominent topographical features (green space/parks): |
| Housing (type, condition, adequacy, number of persons per dwelling, sanitation): |
| Businesses (nonprofit and for profit): |
| Safety hazards present in the environment (lack of speed bumps): |
| Day care facilities: |
| Sewage and waste disposal: |
| Nuisance factors (loud music, airports, waste water plant): |
| Potential for disaster: |
| Psychological environment |
| Future prospects for the community: |
| Significant events in community history (dismantling of public housing): |
| Interaction of groups within the community (racial tension, etc): |
| Protective services (adequacy, local crime rates, insurance rates): |
| Communication network (media, informal channels, and links to outside world): |
| Sources of stress in the community: |
| Extent of mental illness in the community: |
| Social environment |
| Race and ethnicity: |
| Education (prevailing levels, attitudes, facilities): |
| Government (type, effectiveness, and community officials): |
| Unofficial leaders (significant informants): |
| Political affiliations of community members: |
| Status of minority groups (influence, length of residence): |
| Language spoken by community members: |
| Community income levels (poverty, coverage by assistance programs): |
| Religion (major affiliations, programs and services, influence on health): |
| Culture (affiliation, influence on health): |
| Employment level: |
| Transportation (type, availability, cost, use): |
| Social service (type, availability, adequacy, use): |
| Lifestyle |
| Consumption patterns |
| Nutrition (general levels, preference, special needs, prevalence of obesity): |
| Alcohol (consumption patterns, extent of abuse, advertisement): |
| Drug use (legal and illegal): |
| Smoking (consumption patterns, advertisements): |
| Exercise (extent, type): |
| Occupational |
| Primary occupations of community members |
| Major employers: |
| Occupational hazards: |
| Leisure pursuits |
| Primary leisure pursuits of community members: |
| Recreational facilities (availability, adequacy, cost): |
| Health hazards posed by recreation (unsafe parks) |
| Other behaviors |
| Safety (use of cross walks, jaywalking) |
| Use of safety devices (seat belts, car seats, helmets): |
| Contraceptive use: |
| Health System |
| Community attitudes towards health (definitions, support of services): |
| Health services and resources (type, availability, cost, adequacy, utilization): |
| Personal care (availability: clinic, WIC, Planned Parenthood offices): |
| Emergency services (availability, adequacy): |
| Health education services (availability, adequacy): |
| Health-care financing (extent of insurance coverage, Medicaid, Medicare, tax support): |
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©2013 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Editorial
- Break the cycle of environmental health disparities in vulnerable children
- Reviews
- Effectiveness of foreign food aid initiatives at addressing child malnutrition and the future of United States food aid policy
- Interventions to improve access to fresh food in vulnerable communities: a review of the literature
- Original Articles
- Disparities in arsenic exposure among children and adolescents in the United States
- The use of home-based caregiver assessment to improve children’s health: a pilot project
- There’s a hole in the bucket: rethinking the role of community collected data in environmental justice movements
- Multilevel analysis of small area violent crime and preterm birth in a racially diverse urban area
- Cyclopedia: sustaining a positive youth development program through community partnership
- Traffic-related air pollution and pediatric asthma in Durham County, North Carolina
- Breaking the cycle through better school siting: a collaborative project to facilitate the effective use of EPA’s guidelines with Georgia’s educational leaders
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Editorial
- Break the cycle of environmental health disparities in vulnerable children
- Reviews
- Effectiveness of foreign food aid initiatives at addressing child malnutrition and the future of United States food aid policy
- Interventions to improve access to fresh food in vulnerable communities: a review of the literature
- Original Articles
- Disparities in arsenic exposure among children and adolescents in the United States
- The use of home-based caregiver assessment to improve children’s health: a pilot project
- There’s a hole in the bucket: rethinking the role of community collected data in environmental justice movements
- Multilevel analysis of small area violent crime and preterm birth in a racially diverse urban area
- Cyclopedia: sustaining a positive youth development program through community partnership
- Traffic-related air pollution and pediatric asthma in Durham County, North Carolina
- Breaking the cycle through better school siting: a collaborative project to facilitate the effective use of EPA’s guidelines with Georgia’s educational leaders
