Location
Parker-Reed, SSWAC
Start Date
1-5-2014 10:00 AM
End Date
1-5-2014 11:00 AM
Project Type
Poster- Restricted to Campus Access
Description
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) characterizes food deserts as urban neighborhoods and rural towns without ready access to fresh, healthy and affordable foods (USDA, 2013). To calculate a food desert, two variables are used: low-income communities determined by income or poverty rate and low access communities where at least 33 percent of the population in the tract live 1 or 10 miles from the grocery, depending if the population is urban or rural. Grocery stores in this instance are defined as a supermarket or a large grocery store, excluding many other purchasing options for fresh and healthy foods such as small grocery stores, convenience stores and farmers markets. This study will examine areas that are defined as food deserts by the USDA Food Research Atlas in Maine at the census tract level for the United States, which defines varying low access groups at a variety of distances from food sources. After identifying food deserts, the Consumer Expenditure Index (CEX) will be used to determine if the percentage of income spent on fresh fruits and fresh vegetables in Maine is lower in food deserts than the percentage of income spent on fresh fruits and fresh vegetables in non-food deserts. This will then see if the other food stores options that are usually not accounted for when calculating food deserts have an effect on purchasing habits.
Faculty Sponsor
Manny Gimond
Sponsoring Department
Colby College. Environmental Studies Program
CLAS Field of Study
Interdisciplinary Studies
Event Website
http://www.colby.edu/clas
ID
266
Food Deserts and Food Expenditure Relationships in Maine
Parker-Reed, SSWAC
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) characterizes food deserts as urban neighborhoods and rural towns without ready access to fresh, healthy and affordable foods (USDA, 2013). To calculate a food desert, two variables are used: low-income communities determined by income or poverty rate and low access communities where at least 33 percent of the population in the tract live 1 or 10 miles from the grocery, depending if the population is urban or rural. Grocery stores in this instance are defined as a supermarket or a large grocery store, excluding many other purchasing options for fresh and healthy foods such as small grocery stores, convenience stores and farmers markets. This study will examine areas that are defined as food deserts by the USDA Food Research Atlas in Maine at the census tract level for the United States, which defines varying low access groups at a variety of distances from food sources. After identifying food deserts, the Consumer Expenditure Index (CEX) will be used to determine if the percentage of income spent on fresh fruits and fresh vegetables in Maine is lower in food deserts than the percentage of income spent on fresh fruits and fresh vegetables in non-food deserts. This will then see if the other food stores options that are usually not accounted for when calculating food deserts have an effect on purchasing habits.
https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/clas/2014/program/184