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Access to healthy food in Philadelphia neighborhoods: how corner stores impact food choices
Thesis   Open access

Access to healthy food in Philadelphia neighborhoods: how corner stores impact food choices

Steve O'Connor
Master of Science (M.S.), Drexel University
Mar 2013
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/etd-7135
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Abstract

Nutrition--Economic aspects Nutrition--Environmental aspects Social Sciences
Over the last fifteen years, access to fresh and nutritious food has been recognized as a growing problem within the United States, specifically in low-income, urban neighborhoods. These areas are often described as "food deserts" in which healthy food options are not available within 0.6-mile walk. Typically, "food deserts" lack full service supermarkets. Residents instead have to make do with corners stores that specialize in processed foods while offering few, if any, fresh fruit and vegetables. The purpose of this study was to determine where and how residents of West Philadelphia obtain their food, specifically to better understand the role of corner stores in their food purchases. Using a mixed-methods approach of 100 quantitative surveys and 9 qualitative interviews this study found that residents of Mantua, West Powelton, and Belmont obtain most of their food from supermarkets located outside the neighborhood and do not rely on corner stores for the majority of their purchases. This paper finds that the Healthy Corner Store Initiative (HCSI) alone may do little to improve residents' diet since this program does not respond to how residents actually obtain their food. Coupling the HCSI with alternative food systems, such as urban gardens, can build social capital and stakeholder participation that has greater potential to increase the likelihood that residents will consume healthier foods.

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