Promising Strategies to Improve Access to Fresh, Healthy Food and ...

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PolicyLinkExecutive SummaryIn little more than a generation, obesity has becomean epidemic. Today, one in three adults is obese,more than double the ratio in 1980. Over thatsame period, the percentage of obese children hastripled. 1 The problem is particularly acute in lowincomecommunities of color. Nearly a fifth of allAfrican American children, and almost a quarter ofMexican American children, are obese. For whitechildren the ratio is around one in ten. 2 For thefirst time in human history, a nation is giving birthto a generation of children whose life expectancywill be shorter than that of their parents. 3Many factors contribute to Americans’ expandingwaistlines, but a growing body of research indicatesthat one key component is the scarcity of healthyfood in low-income communities. Several studiesin recent years have shown a strong correlationbetween the absence of full-service groceryretailers in a community and high rates of obesityand related health problems such as diabetes. 4For decades, low-income urban and ruralcommunities have faced limited opportunities topurchase healthy food. In the 1960s and 1970s,white, middle-class families fled urban centers forhomes in the suburbs. The supermarkets followed,leaving the families who remained in the centralcities with limited access to fresh, healthy, affordablefoods. Often without cars or convenient publictransit options, low-income residents in theseareas must rely for much of their shopping onexpensive, fatty, processed foods sold at cornerconvenience stores and small local shops. Lowincomerural residents face similar struggles toaccess high-quality, affordable, healthy foods. 5But there are signs of change. Across the country,there are a growing number of innovative programsand policies that are turning the tide, providinglow-income neighborhoods with access toaffordable healthy foods. By opening grocery stores,improving the quality and selection of food soldat convenience stores, and linking farmers directlyto consumers, these efforts are increasing accessto healthy foods, contributing to reduced ratesof obesity and diabetes, creating jobs, increasingprofits, and revitalizing distressed neighborhoods—a boon to a country in the midst of the worsteconomic crisis since the Great Depression.Here are four of the most promising strategies fordeveloping new healthy food retail opportunities:Develop New Grocery StoresGrocery stores often carry a wide selection offood at affordable prices and create jobs, many ofwhich go to local residents. Large grocery storesoften serve as high-volume “anchors” that spurlocal economic development and bring neededtax revenues to cash-strapped municipalities.Developing stores in low-income neighborhoodsis challenging, however. The development processis lengthy and complex; retailers believe thatstores in low-income communities have highstart-up and operating costs; appropriate sites arehard to find; and securing financing is difficult.Strategies to address these challenges include:• Create dedicated financing sources. Effortslike the Pennsylvania Fresh Food FinancingInitiative have demonstrated that one-timeloans and grants can successfully lead to thedevelopment of remarkable numbers of newgrocery stores in long underserved communities.• Develop and use better informationtools. Grocery store executives need to useaccurate data and market analyses that accountfor the real business potential of low-incomecommunities. Alternative market assessmentmodels and databases have been developed6 Healthy Food, Healthy Communities
PolicyLinkby groups such as The Reinvestment Fund,Social Compact, and LISC MetroEdge.• Facilitate site identification anddevelopment. To secure land for newgrocery stores, cities can reclaim vacantland and abandoned properties and cleanup contaminated parcels, also known as“brownfields.” Chicago has passed anordinance to prevent supermarkets from usingrestrictive land use covenants that preventcompetitors from locating on particular sites.Grocery stores can sometimes reconfiguretheir operations to squeeze into smallerspaces. Some local governments help grocerydevelopers and retailers navigate through theplanning and zoning process, offering incentivessuch as relaxed parking requirements.• Involve residents and local suppliers inplanning. By communicating directly withresidents, grocery stores can gather moreinformation about local customer preferences.In addition, stores can develop relationshipswith local suppliers, enabling them to bettermeet consumers’ needs while also contributingto community economic development.• Reduce operating costs while betterserving the community. Communityorganizations can be important partners—even owners and operators—in grocery storedevelopment. They can help stores identifyand train employees, and their involvementcan increase community acceptance andcontribute to improved store security.Stores can increase per-trip purchases byproviding free or low-cost transportation.Environmentally conscious, or “green”building strategies, can reduce energy costs.Improve Small StoresImproving corner and convenience stores is lesscomplex and costly than constructing a new store,and builds on existing community resources.Small merchants, however, do not have theadvantages of scale that can translate into lowerprices for consumers. Many of these retailersare unfamiliar with how to handle, display, andstock produce and may lack needed refrigerationor adequate shelf space to sell a variety offruits and vegetables. And selling produce hasrisks—because produce spoils quickly, it mustbe sold quickly. To address these challenges:• Reduce the risk, and the costs, for smallstores. Community groups can encouragesmall stores to increase shelf space for freshproduce by documenting unmet demand,subsidizing the additional costs, and providingmanagers with tips to help them buy, sell,and display produce. To reduce costs, storeowners can collaborate with other storesto jointly buy foods from local farmers.• Pick the right retailer. Improvementefforts are most successful when merchantsare genuinely receptive to selling healthierproducts and willing to invest to improvelong-term viability. Efforts focused on cornerstores near schools can help ensure healthierfood and beverage choices for children.• Increase and capitalize on customerspending power. Advocates can promoteresident participation in nutrition assistanceprograms such as the Supplemental NutritionAssistance Program (SNAP), formerly the foodstamp program, to bolster the purchasingpower of local residents, while ensuring thatretailers accept SNAP benefit cards and WICHealthy Food, Healthy Communities7
Page 2 and 3: PolicyLink is a national research a
Page 5 and 6: PolicyLinkCase Studies30 Healthy Fo
Page 7: PolicyLinkPrefaceIn 2005, PolicyLin
Page 11 and 12: PolicyLinkCommunity Supported Agric
Page 13 and 14: PolicyLinkIntroductionIn many commu
Page 15 and 16: PolicyLinkLimited Access to Healthy
Page 17 and 18: PolicyLink• In the Mississippi De
Page 19 and 20: PolicyLinkWhy Access MattersHealth
Page 21 and 22: PolicyLinkMarket Creek Plaza: Resid
Page 23 and 24: PolicyLinkhave found that their hig
Page 25 and 26: PolicyLinkSolutions to Close the Ac
Page 27 and 28: PolicyLinkhelped support the develo
Page 29 and 30: PolicyLinkDeveloping New Grocery St
Page 31 and 32: PolicyLinkcontaminated. Large-scale
Page 33 and 34: PolicyLinkCASE STUDYsupermarkets fi
Page 35 and 36: PolicyLinkand is assisting in groce
Page 37 and 38: PolicyLinkFacilitate Site Identific
Page 39 and 40: ShopRite Parkside: Bringing Hope (a
Page 41 and 42: PolicyLinkImproving Existing Small
Page 43 and 44: Creating a Network for ChangeCASE S
Page 45 and 46: PolicyLinkOptions Near SchoolsMany
Page 47 and 48: Making Good NeighborsCASE STUDYPres
Page 49 and 50: PolicyLinkStarting and Sustaining F
Page 51 and 52: PolicyLink• limited staff time an
Page 53 and 54: Kaiser Permanente Farmers’ Market
Page 55 and 56: Broad Street Farmers’ Market:Meet
Page 57 and 58: PolicyLinkImproving Linkages betwee
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PolicyLinkresidents develop career
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Growing PowerCASE STUDYIn Milwaukee
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Building Healthy Communities: From
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California FreshWorks FundCASE STUD
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PolicyLinkConclusionImproving acces
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PolicyLinkNotes1Jeffrey Levi et al.
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PolicyLink33S. Handy et al., “Mea
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PolicyLinkcan begin a larger CSA wi
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PolicyLinkphp?product_id=149. Addit
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PolicyLinkAssociation, 2006).163The
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PolicyLink205Vicki Been and Ioan Vo
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PolicyLinkAcknowledgmentsPolicyLink
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Headquarters:1438 Webster StreetSui
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