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Bringing food desert residents to an alternative food market: a semi-experimental study of impediments to food access

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  • Yuki Kato
  • Laura McKinney

Abstract

The emerging critique of alternative food networks (AFNs) points to several factors that could impede the participation of low-income, minority communities in the movement, namely, spatial and temporal constraints, and the lack of economic, cultural, and human capital. Based on a semi-experimental study that offers 6 weeks of free produce to 31 low-income African American households located in a New Orleans food desert, this article empirically examines the significance of the impeding factors identified by previous scholarship, through participant surveys before, during, and after the program. Our results suggest economic constraints are more influential in determining where the participants shop for food than spatial and temporal constraints, and the study participants exhibit high levels of human and cultural capital regarding the purchase and consumption of locally grown produce. We also find them undeterred by the market’s predominantly White, middle-class cultural social space, which leads us to question the extent to which cultural exclusivity discourages their participation in AFNs. For all five factors we find that the constraints posed to accessing the local food market were not universal but varied among the participants. Finally, the study reveals some localized social constraints, fragmented social ties in particular, as a possible structural hurdle to engaging these residents in the alternative market in their neighborhood. Conclusions point to the need for a multi-dimensional and dynamic conceptualization of “food access.” Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

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  • Yuki Kato & Laura McKinney, 2015. "Bringing food desert residents to an alternative food market: a semi-experimental study of impediments to food access," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 32(2), pages 215-227, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:32:y:2015:i:2:p:215-227
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-014-9541-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ronaldo Tavares Souza, 2020. "Box-scheme as alternative food network—the economic integration between consumers and producers," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 8(1), pages 1-25, December.
    2. Fuad, Syed & Badruddoza, Syed & Amin, Modhurima D., 2023. "Determinants of the presence, density, and popularity of U.S. food retailers," 2023 Annual Meeting, July 23-25, Washington D.C. 335799, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    3. Leng, Ganxiao & Filipski, Mateusz J. & Qiu, Huanguang, 2022. "Impacts of City Life on Nutrition: Evidence from Resettlement Lotteries in China," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322130, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    4. Sonja Kaufmann & Nikolaus Hruschka & Luis Vildozo & Christian R. Vogl, 2023. "Alternative Food Networks in Latin America—exploring PGS (Participatory Guarantee Systems) markets and their consumers: a cross-country comparison," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(1), pages 193-216, March.

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