Understanding Our Food Environments

Forward Food SummitApril 18th, 2015

AgendaIntroductions! Terms & definitionsWhat do we (think we) know about food

environments?  Resources for data & mapping What can this actually look like in practice… Wrap-up

IntroductionsWho is in the room? How do you engage in this

topic:From living & breathing food environments….to

never heard of the term “food desert”From data geek…..to storytelling advocate

Who we are! Wendy Peters Moschetti, WPM Consulting,

wendy@wpmconsulting.net Mya Bea, Liberation Sequence Gardens,

mya.b.living@gmail.com

Why Do We Do this? To advance equity and justice we need to be

well-informed…We all have assumptions that need to be

checkedFunders love this stuff! Baseline information helps tracks changes!

Definition of TermsHealthy Food Access:

All Coloradans can readily obtain and consume safe, culturally- and age- appropriate, nutritious food every day to achieve optimal health.

Federal Food & Nutrition Assistance:Includes Child Nutrition Programs; SNAP; WIC

Community Food Assistance:Non-profit programs such as food banks, pantries, meal sites

Food Swamp:Areas with an abundance of less healthy food options

Food Desert:Areas that lack easy access to fresh, healthy, affordable

foods (low-income AND low-access)

Definition of Terms, Cont’dFood Security:High food security: no reported indications of food-access problems or limitations.Marginal food security: one or two reported indications—typically of anxiety over food sufficiency or shortage of food in the house. Little or no indication of changes in diets or food intake.Food Insecurity:Low food security: reports of reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet. Little or no indication of reduced food intake.Very low food security: Reports of multiple indications of disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake.

Food Environments: What We Know & Don’t Know

The Evidence Base Complex and complicated If you build it…they may or may not come Strong cultural and socioeconomic influences Local food environments do impact health:

Access to Healthy Food and Why It Matters: A Review of the Research www.policylink.org/find-resources/library/access-to-healthy-food-and-why-it-matters HFA is a challenge, particularly those living in low-income

neighborhoods, communities of color, and rural areas. Living closer to healthy food retail is among the factors

associated with better eating habits and decreased risk for obesity and diet-related diseases.

Healthy food retail stimulates economic activity.

Evidence Base, Cont’d “Food System Policies and Population Health: Moving Toward Collective

Impact in Denver”: www.denvergov.org/behealthydenver/BeHealthyDenver/tabid/443344/

Default.aspx

24 national organizations most frequently recommended the following as best practices to address food insecurity and/or childhood obesity (lower BMI, increase F&V, increase food access): Healthy Food Retail (e.g., grocery and corner stores, farmers’ markets, food

cooperatives) Federal Food and Nutrition Service Programs (e.g., food stamps, free and

reduced school lunch, senior nutrition) Agriculture (e.g., home and community gardens, farms, aquaponics) Institutional Procurement & Vending Contracts (e.g., healthy food and

beverages standards in public venues) Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (a consideration in 3 of the 4 domains above

– e.g., soda, flavored milk)

Our GutWhat about your food environment most

influences community health? Is access to affordable, healthy food a

challenge for some in your community?For whom?Where?

Data Resources

Data & Mapping Tools LiveWell CO Food Systems Toolbox,

www.livewellcolorado.org/foodsystems Community Commons

www.communitycommons.org USDA Capacity Builder

www.fns.usda.gov/capacitybuilder CDPHE DATA

www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/data CO EBNE Data

http://dola.colorado.gov/gis-cms/sites/dola.colorado.gov.gis-cms/files/projects/snap/snapv3.html

USDA Food Access Research Atlas,http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas.aspx

Data & Mapping Tools Mile High Connects Denver Regional Equity Maps

www.denverregionalequityatlas.org Research Your Community (Healthy Food Access)

www.healthyfoodaccess.org/get-started/research-your-community Feeding America Map the Meal Gap:

www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/our-research/map-the-meal-gap/

Food Research Action Center:www.frac.org/reports-and-resources/national-and-state-program-d

ata-2/

Colorado Market Makerco.foodmarketmaker.com

National Agricultural Statistics Servicewww.nass.usda.gov

USDA Capacity Builder: Summer Meals & FRL

Tools that combine secondary data with community storytelling! www.communitycommons.org

What Can Local Action Do?

Promote healthy food environments:

Restrict unhealthy food environments

Regulate fast food through density or restrictions on drive-throughs

Set minimum stocking requirements for healthy foods in corner stores

Require menu labelingSet minimum prices for unhealthy foodsImpose taxes on sugar-sweetened beveragesRestrict toys or give-aways with kids mealsRestrict junk food marketing around schools and

other public institutions

Policy Resources

Local Policy Tools & Models

LiveWell Colorado HEAL Library:www.livewellcolorado.org/healthy-policy/heal-policy/heal-library/

Growing Food Connections Policy Database:www.growingfoodconnections.org/tools-resources/policy-database/

Healthy Food in Your Community: A Toolkit for Policy Changewww.ucsusa.org/foodtoolkit

ChangeLab Solutions “Creating Healthier Food Environments” Tools:www.changelabsolutions.org/landing-page/creating-healthier-food-

environments Johns Hopkins Local Food Policy Database:

www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-a-livable-future/projects/FPN/legislation/local.html

What Does This Actually Look Like?