IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jotrge/v121y2024ics0966692324002278.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Improving community resilience to disrupted food access: Empirical spatio-temporal analysis of volunteer-based crowdsourced food delivery

Author

Listed:
  • Bella, Gretchen
  • Borowski, Elisa
  • Stathopoulos, Amanda

Abstract

Unplanned disaster events can greatly disrupt access to essential resources, with calamitous outcomes for already vulnerable households. This is particularly challenging when concurrent extreme events affect both the ability of households to travel and the functioning of traditional transportation networks that supply resources. This paper examines the use of volunteer-based crowdsourced food delivery as a community resilience tactic to improve food accessibility during overlapping disruptions with lasting effects, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate disasters. The study uses large-scale spatio-temporal data (n = 28,512) on crowdsourced food deliveries in Houston, TX, spanning from 2020 through 2022, merged with data on community demographics and significant disruptive events occurring in the two-year timespan. Three research lenses are applied to understand the effectiveness of crowdsourced food delivery programs for food access recovery: 1) geographic analysis illustrates hot spots of demand and impacts of disasters on requests for food assistance within the study area; 2) linear spatio-temporal modeling identifies a distinction between shelter-in-place emergencies and evacuation emergencies regarding demand for food assistance; 3) structural equation modeling identifies socially vulnerable identity clusters that impact requests for food assistance. The findings from the study suggest that volunteer-based crowdsourced food delivery adds to the resilience of food insecure communities, supporting its effectiveness in serving its intended populations. The paper contributes to the literature by illustrating how resilience is a function of time and space, and that similarly, there is value in a dynamic representation of community vulnerability. The results point to a new approach to resource recovery following disaster events by shifting the burden of transportation from resource-seekers and traditional transportation systems to home delivery by a crowdsourced volunteer network.

Suggested Citation

  • Bella, Gretchen & Borowski, Elisa & Stathopoulos, Amanda, 2024. "Improving community resilience to disrupted food access: Empirical spatio-temporal analysis of volunteer-based crowdsourced food delivery," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:121:y:2024:i:c:s0966692324002278
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2024.104018
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692324002278
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2024.104018?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. repec:mpr:mprres:6936 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Cristina Davino & Marco Gherghi & Silvia Sorana & Domenico Vistocco, 2021. "Measuring Social Vulnerability in an Urban Space Through Multivariate Methods and Models," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 157(3), pages 1179-1201, October.
    3. Meena, Purushottam & Kumar, Gopal, 2022. "Online food delivery companies' performance and consumers expectations during Covid-19: An investigation using machine learning approach," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    4. Senay Solak & Christina Scherrer & Ahmed Ghoniem, 2014. "The stop-and-drop problem in nonprofit food distribution networks," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 221(1), pages 407-426, October.
    5. Corinne Curt & Jean‐Marc Tacnet, 2018. "Resilience of Critical Infrastructures: Review and Analysis of Current Approaches," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(11), pages 2441-2458, November.
    6. Ann Melissa Campbell & Dieter Vandenbussche & William Hermann, 2008. "Routing for Relief Efforts," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 42(2), pages 127-145, May.
    7. Eva Clark & Karla Fredricks & Laila Woc-Colburn & Maria Elena Bottazzi & Jill Weatherhead, 2020. "Disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on immigrant communities in the United States," PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(7), pages 1-9, July.
    8. Henry, Devanandham & Emmanuel Ramirez-Marquez, Jose, 2012. "Generic metrics and quantitative approaches for system resilience as a function of time," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 114-122.
    9. Lauren A. Clay & Mia A. Papas & Kimberly B. Gill & David M. Abramson, 2018. "Factors Associated with Continued Food Insecurity among Households Recovering from Hurricane Katrina," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-10, August.
    10. Tzeng, Gwo-Hshiung & Cheng, Hsin-Jung & Huang, Tsung Dow, 2007. "Multi-objective optimal planning for designing relief delivery systems," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(6), pages 673-686, November.
    11. John P. Casellas Connors & Mastura Safayet & Nathanael Rosenheim & Maria Watson, 2023. "Assessing changes in food pantry access after extreme events," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(2), pages 619-634, June.
    12. Lauren A. Clay & Ashley D. Ross, 2020. "Factors Associated with Food Insecurity Following Hurricane Harvey in Texas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-17, January.
    13. de la Torre, Luis E. & Dolinskaya, Irina S. & Smilowitz, Karen R., 2012. "Disaster relief routing: Integrating research and practice," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 88-97.
    14. Pourrahmani, Elham & Jaller, Miguel, 2021. "Crowdshipping in last mile deliveries: Operational challenges and research opportunities," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    15. Budziński, Wiktor & Daziano, Ricardo, 2023. "Preferences for online grocery shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic — the role of fear-related attitudes," Journal of choice modelling, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    16. Lindsey Haynes-Maslow & Annie Hardison-Moody & Megan Patton-Lopez & T. Elaine Prewitt & Carmen Byker Shanks & Lauri Andress & Isabel Osborne & Stephanie Jilcott Pitts, 2020. "Examining Rural Food-Insecure Families’ Perceptions of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: A Qualitative Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-15, September.
    17. Zizhen Xu & Shauhrat S. Chopra, 2023. "Interconnectedness enhances network resilience of multimodal public transportation systems for Safe-to-Fail urban mobility," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    18. Gu, Yu & Fu, Xiao & Liu, Zhiyuan & Xu, Xiangdong & Chen, Anthony, 2020. "Performance of transportation network under perturbations: Reliability, vulnerability, and resilience," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    19. Rey, David & Almi’ani, Khaled & Nair, Divya J., 2018. "Exact and heuristic algorithms for finding envy-free allocations in food rescue pickup and delivery logistics," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 19-46.
    20. Cox, Andrew & Prager, Fynnwin & Rose, Adam, 2011. "Transportation security and the role of resilience: A foundation for operational metrics," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 307-317, March.
    21. John J. Bartholdi & Loren K. Platzman & R. Lee Collins & William H. Warden, 1983. "A Minimal Technology Routing System for Meals on Wheels," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 13(3), pages 1-8, June.
    22. Davis, Lauren B. & Sengul, Irem & Ivy, Julie S. & Brock, Luther G. & Miles, Lastella, 2014. "Scheduling food bank collections and deliveries to ensure food safety and improve access," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 175-188.
    23. repec:mpr:mprres:6935 is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Nord, Mark, 2013. "Food Insecurity Among Households With Working-Age Adults With Disabilities," Economic Research Report 142955, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    25. Liu, Shan & Jiang, Hai & Chen, Shuiping & Ye, Jing & He, Renqing & Sun, Zhizhao, 2020. "Integrating Dijkstra’s algorithm into deep inverse reinforcement learning for food delivery route planning," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rey, David & Almi’ani, Khaled & Nair, Divya J., 2018. "Exact and heuristic algorithms for finding envy-free allocations in food rescue pickup and delivery logistics," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 19-46.
    2. Divya J. Nair & David Rey & Vinayak V. Dixit, 2017. "Fair allocation and cost-effective routing models for food rescue and redistribution," IISE Transactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(12), pages 1172-1188, December.
    3. Mahmoudi, Monirehalsadat & Shirzad, Khadijeh & Verter, Vedat, 2022. "Decision support models for managing food aid supply chains: A systematic literature review," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 82(PB).
    4. Ohad Eisenhandler & Michal Tzur, 2019. "The Humanitarian Pickup and Distribution Problem," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 67(1), pages 10-32, January.
    5. Esteban Ogazón & Neale R. Smith & Angel Ruiz, 2022. "Reconfiguration of Foodbank Network Logistics to Cope with a Sudden Disaster," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-20, April.
    6. Ali Ekici & Okan Örsan Özener, 2020. "Inventory routing for the last mile delivery of humanitarian relief supplies," OR Spectrum: Quantitative Approaches in Management, Springer;Gesellschaft für Operations Research e.V., vol. 42(3), pages 621-660, September.
    7. Davis, Lauren B. & Jiang, Steven X. & Morgan, Shona D. & Nuamah, Isaac A. & Terry, Jessica R., 2016. "Analysis and prediction of food donation behavior for a domestic hunger relief organization," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 26-37.
    8. Akkerman, Renzo & Buisman, Marjolein & Cruijssen, Frans & de Leeuw, Sander & Haijema, Rene, 2023. "Dealing with donations: Supply chain management challenges for food banks," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    9. Byrne, Anne T. & Just, David R., 2022. "Review: Private food assistance in high income countries: A guide for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    10. Ahmadi, Morteza & Seifi, Abbas & Tootooni, Behnam, 2015. "A humanitarian logistics model for disaster relief operation considering network failure and standard relief time: A case study on San Francisco district," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 145-163.
    11. Özdamar, Linet & Ertem, Mustafa Alp, 2015. "Models, solutions and enabling technologies in humanitarian logistics," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 244(1), pages 55-65.
    12. Trucco, Paolo & Petrenj, Boris, 2023. "Characterisation of resilience metrics in full-scale applications to interdependent infrastructure systems," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    13. A. Anaya-Arenas & J. Renaud & A. Ruiz, 2014. "Relief distribution networks: a systematic review," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 223(1), pages 53-79, December.
    14. Poulin, Craig & Kane, Michael B., 2021. "Infrastructure resilience curves: Performance measures and summary metrics," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    15. Nihal Berktaş & Bahar Yetiş Kara & Oya Ekin Karaşan, 2016. "Solution methodologies for debris removal in disaster response," EURO Journal on Computational Optimization, Springer;EURO - The Association of European Operational Research Societies, vol. 4(3), pages 403-445, September.
    16. Farzaneh, Mohammad Amin & Rezapour, Shabnam & Baghaian, Atefe & Amini, M. Hadi, 2023. "An integrative framework for coordination of damage assessment, road restoration, and relief distribution in disasters," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    17. Huang, Michael & Smilowitz, Karen R. & Balcik, Burcu, 2013. "A continuous approximation approach for assessment routing in disaster relief," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 20-41.
    18. Gralla, Erica & Goentzel, Jarrod, 2018. "Humanitarian transportation planning: Evaluation of practice-based heuristics and recommendations for improvement," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 269(2), pages 436-450.
    19. Shao, Jianfang & Fan, Yu & Wang, Xihui & Liang, Changyong & Liang, Liang, 2023. "Designing a new framework agreement in humanitarian logistics based on deprivation cost functions," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    20. Mohammadmehdi Hakimifar & Vera C. Hemmelmayr & Fabien Tricoire, 2023. "A lexicographic maximin approach to the selective assessment routing problem," OR Spectrum: Quantitative Approaches in Management, Springer;Gesellschaft für Operations Research e.V., vol. 45(1), pages 205-249, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:121:y:2024:i:c:s0966692324002278. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-transport-geography .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.