Healthful and less-healthful foods and drinks from storefront and non-storefront businesses: implications for 'food deserts', 'food swamps' and food-source disparities.
Publication/Presentation Date
6-1-2020
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Conceptualisations of 'food deserts' (areas lacking healthful food/drink) and 'food swamps' (areas overwhelm by less-healthful fare) may be both inaccurate and incomplete. Our objective was to more accurately and completely characterise food/drink availability in urban areas.
DESIGN: Cross-sectional assessment of select healthful and less-healthful food/drink offerings from storefront businesses (stores, restaurants) and non-storefront businesses (street vendors).
SETTING: Two areas of New York City: the Bronx (higher-poverty, mostly minority) and the Upper East Side (UES; wealthier, predominantly white).
PARTICIPANTS: All businesses on 63 street segments in the Bronx (n 662) and on 46 street segments in the UES (n 330).
RESULTS: Greater percentages of businesses offered any, any healthful, and only less-healthful food/drink in the Bronx (42·0 %, 37·5 %, 4·4 %, respectively) than in the UES (30 %, 27·9 %, 2·1 %, respectively). Differences were driven mostly by businesses (e.g. newsstands, gyms, laundromats) not primarily focused on selling food/drink - 'other storefront businesses' (OSBs). OSBs accounted for 36·0 % of all food/drink-offering businesses in the Bronx (more numerous than restaurants or so-called 'food stores') and 18·2 % in the UES (more numerous than 'food stores'). Differences also related to street vendors in both the Bronx and the UES. If street vendors and OSBs were not captured, the missed percentages of street segments offering food/drink would be 14·5 % in the Bronx and 21·9 % in the UES.
CONCLUSIONS: Of businesses offering food/drink in communities, OSBs and street vendors can represent substantial percentages. Focusing on only 'food stores' and restaurants may miss or mischaracterise 'food deserts', 'food swamps', and food/drink-source disparities between communities.
Volume
23
Issue
8
First Page
1428
Last Page
1439
ISSN
1475-2727
Published In/Presented At
Lucan, S. C., Maroko, A. R., Patel, A. N., Gjonbalaj, I., Elbel, B., & Schechter, C. B. (2020). Healthful and less-healthful foods and drinks from storefront and non-storefront businesses: implications for 'food deserts', 'food swamps' and food-source disparities. Public health nutrition, 23(8), 1428–1439. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980019004427
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences
PubMedID
32223780
Department(s)
Department of Medicine
Document Type
Article