Beyond Food Prices:Does Store Location Matter?

Diana Cassady, DrPHAssistant ProfessorCenter for Advanced Studies in Nutrition and Social Marketing &Dept. Public Health SciencesUC Davis

Objectives

1. The problem of low fruit and vegetable consumption among low-income consumers.

2. Trends in the food industry may make healthy food less available in low-income areas.

3. Promising alternatives to traditional food distribution and retailing models.

1. Low produce consumptionOdds Ratios for American Adults Meeting

5 a Day Guidelines, NHANES 1999-2002

Source: SS Casagrande et al. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2007;32: 257-263

1

0.57

0.95 0.941

0.89

1.31

1.65

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

White Black Latino Other Poor NearPoor

Average High

N=8910

2. Food Deserts

Supermarket Consolidation

Costco’s share of grocery sales increasing.

40 new WalMart Supercenters in California.

Tesco plans 100 new stores; ultimately 500 in So. Cal.

www.healthycornerstores.org

Philadelphia: Working with stores near elementary schools to sell healthier snacks.

Baltimore: Adding low fat milk, whole grain breads, and other “healthy” foods.

3. Promising Alternatives to Traditional Food Retailers

Jimmy’s MarketNorth Sacramento

Jimmy’s Market: Sales

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Week

Pounds

Total pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables sold per week.

Produce Boxes

Philosophy: start with the food; survive the marketplace, build community.

Good Food Box, Toronto

Problem: Providing low-income consumers access to fresh, high quality fruits and vegetables.

2003: 4,000 boxes delivered weekly with 200 volunteer site coordinators

Conclusions

Produce consumption among low-income consumers could be doubled.

Non-traditional retailers may be a partial answer to food deserts. This will require innovative public/private partnerships.

Price and quality should still be part of the equation.