Re-Defining Rural Food Deserts by Transportation Networks. Background Food access is critical to rural sustainability.

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1 Re-Defining Rural Food Deserts by Transportation Networks Hyung Jin Kim, PhD. Gregory Newmark, PhD. Kansas State University NCRCRD Webinar March 13, 2018 Background Food access is critical to rural sustainability Whole Foods, Ann Arbor, MI Promotes the health of rural residents Fosters social stability, particularly for weaker social groups with limited means to travel (older adults, disabled, low income) Problem Current policy not sufficiently based on the travel and activity behaviors of rural residents Policymaking relies instead on simple, distancebased models of food deserts imported from urban environments USDA Economic Research Service defines low access as greater than 1.0 mile from the nearest supermarket, supercenter, or large grocery store for an urban area or greater than 10 miles for a rural area. 1

2 Food Desert Image Problem A one-mile distance is assumed to be a 20 minute walking distance at a reasonable pace A ten-mile distance already assumes access to a motor vehicle (or a three hour walk) Concerns How we define food deserts affects how we address the underlying problem of nutrition Multiple co-existing definitions can result in a single area qualifying and not qualifying Difficult to compare research on food deserts if different criteria are being used Loose definitions may result in the concept losing real meaning with the public 2

3 Research Task #1 Review literature on food deserts to extract the elements of food desert definitions Identify the tradeoffs to guide the development of a consistent approach Particular concern for advancing the consideration of rural food deserts in light of the unique context of rural communities Two Key Elements of a Definition Presence of a qualifying food resource Ease of access to that resource Not considering income given high car access Resource Definitions Direct Measures Primarily availability of food E.g. Fresh fruits and vegetables Secondarily appropriateness of food E.g. Affordability Proxy Measures Not direct measurement of food Suggest underlying benefits of food resource E.g. Store Category ( Supermarket of USDA) E.g. Gross Floor Area 3

4 Resource Definitions Most allow a single resource to qualify Some require multiple options ABC Criteria: Availability, Back-Up, Choice Access Definitions Travel distance Simple buffer indifferent to road network Distance on road or sidewalk network Washington State has a one mile walking distance Travel time Washington State has a 20 minute driving threshold Density Approach Combines resource and access definitions Specific number of qualifying stores in a given geography Often used for rural areas Such as three stores in a rural county Does not consider Distribution of stores and residents Edge effects 4

5 Takeaways Task #1 Resource definitions might need to be expanded to include local grocery stores, farmer s markets, community supported agriculture Access definitions might need to reflect actual network distance (or travel time) as limited road networks can increase rural distances (more severe in mountainous regions) Research Task #2 How does rural and urban grocery travel vary? Relied on National Household Travel Survey Used 2009 sample US Census Midwest Region 13,271 Households (32% of which are rural) Rural Residents Travel Farther Variable Urban Rural N Weights Probability that a Household Shops on a Given Day ,721 Household Average Duration of Shopping Activity in ,957 Trip Minutes Minutes from Home to Shopping ,864 Trip Miles from Home to Shopping ,864 Trip Minutes from Non-Home, Non-Shopping Venues to Shopping Miles from Non-Home, Non-Shopping Venues to Shopping ,006 Trip ,006 Trip 5

6 Rural Residents Drive Access Mode Urban Share Rural Share Car or Truck 89.2% 97.6% Walk 7.3% 1.2% Public Transit 2.1% 0.0% Bike 1.1% 0.3% Other 0.2% 0.2% Motorcycle 0.1% 0.4% Charter Bus 0.0% 0.2% Takeaways Task #2 Rural residents travel farther and spend more time traveling to grocery outlets, but the time increase is not proportional to the distance increase due to faster travel times 98% of rural grocery trips made by private vehicle compared to 89% of urban trips Research Task #3 How do rural residents actually make their grocery travel decisions? Qualitative question approached through focus groups in Kansas and North Dakota 6

7 Focus Groups: Two Approaches Centralized Emporia, Kansas 3 Focus Groups 19 Participants Decentralized 3 towns in North Dakota 4 Focus Groups 30 Participants Kansas Focus Groups: June 2017 Participant Residence Distance from Emporia (miles) Population (2015 ACS Data) Americus Cottonwood Falls Hartford Reading Emporia 24,739 Source: Google maps, 2015 American Community Survey North Dakota Focus Groups: July 2017 Participant Residence Distance from Bismarck (miles) Population (2015 ACS Data) Hazelton Bowdon Elgin Bismarck 66,980 Source: Google maps, 2015 American Community Survey 7

8 Focus Group Protocol Grocery shopping patterns and behaviors Provided short travel diary to spark thinking Challenges and barriers to food access Potential improvements Concerns Unsurprisingly, low access to grocery stores Many people did not live in a town with a grocery store or convenience mart Those that did would still travel for cheaper prices or more variety ( the exotic stuff no one else wants weird things ) Concerns about food quality in local venues, particularly produce The distance made weather a risk Summer would limit items that might melt Winter might make roads impassable Adaptations Patronizing multiple grocery stores Some were content with local offerings and would rather spend more than travel farther Most shopped in three different stores for different purposes All valued local option for small purchases and as a back stop 8

9 Stores Kansas Aldi Braum's Casey's Country Mart Dillon's Dollar General Emporia Farmers Market Fanestil Meats Hoover's Thriftway Hy-Vee Price Chopper Riebel's Ron's Service Station Sam's Club Trader Joe's Walmart North Dakota Alison's Pantry Barton's BisMan Food Coop Bountiful Basket Bowdon Community Grocery Carson Meat Market Cash Wise Fruit Truck Hazelton Main Street Market Jude's Prairie Mart Leever's Sam's Club Schwann's Share's Beef Super Value Target Walmart Warehouse Adaptations Trip Chaining Shopping trips almost universally linked to other activity purposes Weekend trips would be anchored by shopping Weekday trips would be anchored by work / school Participants always took advantage of trips to towns to do some shopping Shopping Patterns Weekday Shopping: Lunch hour School Pickup Work Medical After Gym Weekend Shopping: Other shopping (clothes, office supplies, etc.) Visit Family Medical Recreational/Entert ainment 9

10 Adaptations Bulk Purchasing It s just the chicken breasts. You can get a great big pack [at Target], I eat chicken for every single meal, so, for me, it s just more convenient and easier. You can get chicken breasts here[elgin] once in a blue moon or you ll get like thighs or stuff like that. I only like the breasts, I don t like any skin on it. And if you get it here, you only get 1 or 2 in a pack, so I can get like 9 or 10 in a pack and that lasts me 2 weeks. Adaptations Bulk Purchasing Usually in the fall, I buy it[meat] and it s enough for winter and usually in the summertime you can buy brats and hamburger Many people reported buying half a cow which is about 650 lbs and costs $1,600 Not a purchase made a grocery store Adaptations Vegetable Gardens Mentioned by half the participants Surplus often canned or frozen and shared with neighbors Reduced costs and increased resilience if they could not make it to a store for a few days 10

11 Adaptations Storage Space and Appliances Large pantries Multiple freezers Many people kept a cooler in their vehicle Takeaways Task #3 Rural residents feel the challenge of low food access and adapt through different strategies These strategies can vary by life stage (older adults have few needs) and activity location (shopping near workplaces) Many resilience oriented strategies, such as pantry stocking, that would be less reasonable in an urban environment Research Task #4 Network analysis of rural food access Simple buffers overstate food access 11

12 Network Analysis NHTS Add-On Rural HHs to nearest stores Takeaways Task #4 Straight-line buffers are not good measure of food access experience 10 mile distances appear closer to the norm for rural households rather than the outlier Thank You For further information, please contact us at: Hyung Jin Kim Gregory Newmark 12