Date of Publication
1-24-2012
Abstract
Introduction: • The local food environment plays an important role in defining the health of the neighborhood and is an important determinant of resident’s dietary intakes. • Specifically, food availability, affordability, and accessibility have been linked to diet quality and various health outcomes. • Fresh fruits and vegetables are markers for nutritional diets. Grocery stores and super markets tend to have better quality fruits and vegetables, greater variety and better affordability than convenient stores that tend to have more prepared and higher calorie foods. • People who live in neighborhoods with better access to supermarkets tend to have a greater daily intake of fruits and vegetables. • Increased distance from supermarkets is negatively associated with healthy food intake in a study of pregnant women. • “Food deserts” are areas that are devoid of a local supermarket where residents have a limited ability to purchase affordable healthy foods. They have become an emergent problem in the United States. This paucity of supermarkets in these areas combined with lack of private or convenient transportation among poorer residents may contribute to health disparities across socioeconomic classes. • The town of Winooski, VT has a population of 7,267. Although there are local food markets and convenient stores within the town, Winooski lacks a larger grocery store. • Insufficient public transportation and inadequate pedestrian sidewalks make it more difficult for residents to access supermarkets located in other towns.
Advisor(s)
Jan Carney, MD, MPH, University of Vermont College of Medicine
Kate Nugent, Winooski Coalition for a Safe and Peaceful Community
Hendrika Maltby, PhD, RN, FRCNA, University of Vermont College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Agency
Winooski Coalition for a Safe and Peaceful Community
Subjects
Access to Health Services, Educational and Community-Based Programs, Environmental Health, Health Communication and Health Information Technology, Nutrition and Weight Status, Physical Activity, Social Determinants of Health, Health-Related Quality of Life & Well-Being
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License
Recommended Citation
Lam, Michael; Shukla, Anurag; Gordon-Fogelson, Margaret; Lutton, Heather; Biedron, Griffin; Ng, Andrew; Collins, Bethany; Nugent, Kate; Maltby, Hendrika; and Carney, Jan, "Assessing Barriers to Healthy Food Access in Winooski, VT" (2012). Public Health Projects, 2008-present. 79.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/79