Browsing by Subject "Food access"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7

Beyond food security : developing a Food Stress Index in Austin, Texas
(2019-12) Night, Samantha Leigh; Greenberg, Sherri
Food insecurity and food access are ongoing concerns in Austin, Texas, particularly given rapid changes in population and demographics over the past decade. Food insecurity metrics in the United States are reliable but may be insufficient to capture the changing environment within a city on a neighborhood basis. Food stress, similar to housing stress, occurs when a household spends a significant share of its income on food. Households facing food stress are more likely to be at risk of food insecurity. The Food Stress Index (FSI) identifies areas in Austin, Texas where households are most likely to face food stress, based on household demographics and environmental factors. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to reduce a set of candidate variables and calculate a Food Stress Index score at the census tract level for Austin/Travis County. The results are compared to the City of Austin’s Food Environment Analysis, which identifies areas facing multiple barriers to accessing healthy, affordable, and culturally appropriate food. Food Stress Index scores can be recalculated in the future with updated data to reflect the changing environment in Austin. The Food Stress Index may be used to identify areas of opportunity to address food access, food insecurity, and poverty through policy interventions
A farmers' market in a food desert : evaluating walkability and streetscape as factors of farmers' market effectiveness in food accessibility : the case of Farmers' Market East in Austin, Texas
(2015-05) Pedraza Sanchez, Lauramaria; Jiao, Junfeng; Zhang, Ming
Food deserts are defined by absence of large grocery stores to access affordable food that constitute a healthy diet resulting in high levels of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases in the community. Farmers' markets have resulted as an approach to improving food accessibility in food deserts, however the lack of public transportation, incomplete sidewalks, and dilapidated streetscape in many American neighborhoods, can really affect farmers markets' usage. To answer this question, this research uses the Sustainable Food Center (SFC) Farmers Market East Austin as a case study area to investigate how built environment around the market affect its usage.
Food access for UT Austin students : a case study of West Campus student shopping behaviors and the food environment
(2019-05-08) Thomas, Rachel Victoria; Lieberknecht, Katherine E.
West Campus, the neighborhood located just west of The University of Texas at Austin, is predominantly made up of students. West Campus is known for its fast food, restaurants, shops, bars, liquor stores and towering apartment complexes that charge a steep rent. West Campus also has a grocery store. However, the local grocery store does not have affordable or quality groceries that an individual would expect from a grocery store. Using a survey distributed to students in West Campus, this professional report addresses: whether students are grocery shopping in West Campus, where students living in West Campus do their grocery shopping and if this impacts their ability to eat healthy. In general, it was found that most students living in West Campus are not satisfied with their grocery store options in West Campus and, when possible, will travel further to another grocery store to do their grocery shopping.
Framing the food landscape of Travis County
(2011-08) Banks, Karen Oren; Sletto, Bj¢rn; Osborne, Cynthia Anne, 1969-
Food is something that we all need to survive but it is not something that we all have access to. In the mid 1990’s, a community-based movement arose to systematically address injustices in access to this basic human necessity. The community food security movement approaches issues of food security at each stage of the life cycle of food to ensure that each stage is sustainable, socially just, and equitable. This study uses this framework to challenge traditional notions of food security by critically examining the economic, social and environmental barriers to food equity in Austin, Texas. Austin is said to be one of the best cities to live in the United States, but not because it is food secure. This study therefore examines the food landscape of Travis County and the accessibility of food resources to meet the food needs of area residents. It utilizes a combination of quantitative analysis of food retail locations, focus groups and surveys to gather information about the food needs of underserved residents in Travis County.
From the ground up : healthy food access in Central Texas
(2010-12) West, Kelly Loeffler; Dahlby, Tracy; Lewis, Anne
Being able to afford nutritionally complete food that provides energy and health, and continuing to have access to that food day after day after day, is a luxury that's missing from the lives of the 460,000 Central Texans who are classified as food insecure by the USDA. This project is an attempt to understand what the issues surrounding healthy food access in Austin are, and what the potential solutions might be. The three nonprofits that are profiled in this report - Urban Roots, Karpophoreō and Sprouting Healthy Kids - use education, community building, and advocacy to try to get closer to that goal of not only feeding Central Texans nutritious food, but changing the entire community's relationship with that food.
Opportunities and challenges for improving food security for vulnerable populations through meso-level collaboration in Baltimore, Maryland
(2017-05) Liskey, Amber Rachelle; Lieberknecht, Katherine E.; Moore, Steven
Food insecurity is a problem that affects 15 percent of all people in the United States. In Baltimore, Maryland, that number is over 25 percent overall, and 35 percent among African-Americans, which makes up 60 percent of the city's population. Food security means that not only is food accessible to all people, but also that the food is healthy. Because of the conducive climate and high number of vacant lots and open spaces, Baltimore has a growing culture of urban food production. Despite the abundance of food, production and retail has continued to remain concentrated in food secure areas rather than being equally distributed across the city. Thus, in addition to other socio-economic factors such as high crime, low education, low-incentive for businesses in low-income areas, etc., food insecurity in Baltimore is perpetuated by unequal distribution resulting from a lack of interaction and communication between socio-economic classes and racial/ethnic groups across the city. For the purpose of this research, three levels of actors are identified: macro, or top-down governmental or external entities; meso- organizations or individuals working both internally with a community and connected to top-down resources; micro- community organizations or individuals. This research aimed to gain a deeper understanding of the current food culture in the city to better understand why food insecurity remains pervasive in certain areas, and determine what bottom-up (micro-level) efforts currently exist and how these efforts can be paired with top-down (macro-level) initiatives through collaboration with meso-level organizations who work to connect people and projects with funding and other resources. The combination of top-down policy making and bottom-up initiatives can allow individuals in food insecure areas in Baltimore the means to create a sustainable urban food network that understands and serves local community values and cultures. The overall goal of this research was to implement methods that not only shed light on why current conditions exist, but also to propose future recommendations for how meso-level actors can be utilized as gatekeepers between communities and top-down resources.
Reaching Austin's maximum agricultural production
(2013-12) Gaffney, Kevin A.; Oden, Michael
Austin has residents that have health and nutrition issues that are linked to a lack of access to healthy foods. Some urban agriculture experts believe that one way to help mitigate the issue of access is to increase the amount of food that is produced locally. This report will look at planning issues involving food production, examine the amount of food that is being produce at farms located in Austin, make an inventory of available agricultural lands that have the potential for food growth, and make a basic calculation of how many people food from those lands could feed.