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Assessing the Impact of Improved Retail Access on Diet in a 'Food Desert': A Preliminary Report

Author

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  • Neil Wrigley

    (Department of Geography, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK, N.Wrigley@soton.ac.uk)

  • Daniel Warm

    (Institute of Human Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, SO16 6YD, UK, D.L.Warm@sotonac.uk)

  • Barrie Margetts

    (Institute of Human Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, SO16 6YD, UK, B.M.Margetts@soton.ac.uk)

  • Amanda Whelan

    (Department of Geography, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK)

Abstract

If poor food retail access in deprived areas of British cities is linked, as suggested in many of the policy debates of the late 1990s, via compromised diets/undernutrition to poor health and widening health inequalities, what is the impact of a sudden and significant improvement in food retail access likely to be on the food consumption patterns of residents? In this paper, we describe and provide preliminary results from the first-ever UK study of a major retail provision on diet in a 'food desert'—a 'before/after' study of food consumption patterns in the highly deprived, previously poor food retail access area of Seacroft, Leeds, experiencing a sudden and significant change in its food retail access as a result of the opening of a large superstore by the UK's leading food retailer. We suggest that this study has the potential to provide some of the missing links between poor food retail access, compromised diets/undernutrition, poor health and compound social exclusion that characterised statements on the topic of 'food deserts' in the health inequalities and social exclusion debates of the late 1990s, and that its findings may have significant implications for policy debate.

Suggested Citation

  • Neil Wrigley & Daniel Warm & Barrie Margetts & Amanda Whelan, 2002. "Assessing the Impact of Improved Retail Access on Diet in a 'Food Desert': A Preliminary Report," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 39(11), pages 2061-2082, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:39:y:2002:i:11:p:2061-2082
    DOI: 10.1080/0042098022000011362
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Neil Wrigley, 2002. "'Food Deserts' in British Cities: Policy Context and Research Priorities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 39(11), pages 2029-2040, October.
    2. Amanda Whelan & Neil Wrigley & Daniel Warm & Elizabeth Cannings, 2002. "Life in a 'Food Desert'," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 39(11), pages 2083-2100, October.
    3. Dunn, R. & Longley, P. & Wrigley, N., 1987. "Graphical procedures for identifying functional form in binary discrete choice models : A Case Study of Revealed Tenure Choice," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 151-167, February.
    4. Neil Wrigley & Cliff Guy & Michelle Lowe, 2002. "Urban Regeneration, Social Inclusion and Large Store Development: The Seacroft Development in Context," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 39(11), pages 2101-2114, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Dave Weatherspoon & James Oehmke & Assa Dembélé & Marcus Coleman & Thasanee Satimanon & Lorraine Weatherspoon, 2013. "Price and Expenditure Elasticities for Fresh Fruits in an Urban Food Desert," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 50(1), pages 88-106, January.
    2. Jana A. Hirsch & Amy Hillier, 2013. "Exploring the Role of the Food Environment on Food Shopping Patterns in Philadelphia, PA, USA: A Semiquantitative Comparison of Two Matched Neighborhood Groups," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-19, January.
    3. Rachel Colls & Bethan Evans, 2008. "Embodying Responsibility: Children's Health and Supermarket Initiatives," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 40(3), pages 615-631, March.
    4. Camila Aparecida Borges & William Cabral-Miranda & Patricia Constante Jaime, 2018. "Urban Food Sources and the Challenges of Food Availability According to the Brazilian Dietary Guidelines Recommendations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-12, December.
    5. Andrea L. Sparks & Neil Bania & Laura Leete, 2011. "Comparative Approaches to Measuring Food Access in Urban Areas," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 48(8), pages 1715-1737, June.
    6. Lauren Chenarides & Alessandro Bonanno & Anne Palmer, 2021. "If You Build Them… Will it Matter? Food Stores' Presence and Perceived Barriers to Purchasing Healthy Foods in the Northeastern U.S," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(3), pages 1076-1100, September.
    7. Alexander, Catherine & Smaje, Chris, 2008. "Surplus retail food redistribution: An analysis of a third sector model," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 52(11), pages 1290-1298.
    8. Cleary, Rebecca & Bonanno, Alessandro & Chenarides, Lauren & Goetz, Stephan J., 2018. "Store profitability and public policies to improve food access in non-metro U.S. counties," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 158-170.
    9. Tatsuya Sekiguchi & Kimihiro Hino, 2021. "How Mobile Grocery Sales Wagons Can Help Disadvantaged Shoppers in Residential Areas around Central Tokyo: Characteristics of Spatial Distribution of Usage Places and Purchased Items," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-17, March.
    10. Lauren Chenarides & Edward C. Jaenicke, 2019. "Documenting the Link Between Poor Food Access and Less Healthy Product Assortment Across the U.S," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(3), pages 434-474, September.
    11. Cummins, Steven & Findlay, Anne & Petticrew, Mark & Sparks, Leigh, 2008. "Retail-led regeneration and store-switching behaviour," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 15(4), pages 288-295.
    12. Mark LeClair & Anna-Maria Aksan, 2014. "Redefining the food desert: combining GIS with direct observation to measure food access," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 31(4), pages 537-547, December.
    13. Quintero, Jose H. & Malone, Trey & Byrne, Anne T. & Reardon, Thomas A. & Carpenter, Craig W., 2023. "How public transportation investments alter food-at-home and food-away-from-home decisions," 2023 Annual Meeting, July 23-25, Washington D.C. 335828, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    14. Hoolohan, Claire & McLachlan, Carly, 2015. "Consumers and energy demand in food supply chains: Synthesising insights from the social sciences," 143rd Joint EAAE/AAEA Seminar, March 25-27, 2015, Naples, Italy 202743, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    15. Marianne Vanderschuren & Robert Cameron & Alexandra Newlands & Herrie Schalekamp, 2021. "Geographical Modelling of Transit Deserts in Cape Town," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-16, January.
    16. Richard C. Sadler & Jason A. Gilliland & Godwin Arku, 2013. "A Food Retail-Based Intervention on Food Security and Consumption," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-22, August.
    17. Freire, Tiago & Rudkin, Simon, 2019. "Healthy food diversity and supermarket interventions: Evidence from the Seacroft Intervention Study," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 125-138.
    18. Bridle-Fitzpatrick, Susan, 2015. "Food deserts or food swamps?: A mixed-methods study of local food environments in a Mexican city," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 202-213.
    19. Neil Wrigley & Cliff Guy & Michelle Lowe, 2002. "Urban Regeneration, Social Inclusion and Large Store Development: The Seacroft Development in Context," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 39(11), pages 2101-2114, October.
    20. Marian SOCOLIUC, 2016. "The Particularities Of Financial Communication In The Retails Companies," EcoForum, "Stefan cel Mare" University of Suceava, Romania, Faculty of Economics and Public Administration - Economy, Business Administration and Tourism Department., vol. 5(2), pages 1-31, July.
    21. Amanda Whelan & Neil Wrigley & Daniel Warm & Elizabeth Cannings, 2002. "Life in a 'Food Desert'," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 39(11), pages 2083-2100, October.
    22. Cameron McCordic & Ezequiel Abrahamo, 2019. "Family Structure and Severe Food Insecurity in Maputo and Matola, Mozambique," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, January.
    23. Freya MacMillan & Emma S. George & Xiaoqi Feng & Dafna Merom & Andrew Bennie & Amelia Cook & Taren Sanders & Genevieve Dwyer & Bonnie Pang & Justin M. Guagliano & Gregory S. Kolt & Thomas Astell-Burt, 2018. "Do Natural Experiments of Changes in Neighborhood Built Environment Impact Physical Activity and Diet? A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-29, January.
    24. Arturo E. Osorio & Maria G. Corradini & Jerome D. Williams, 2013. "Remediating food deserts, food swamps, and food brownfields: helping the poor access nutritious, safe, and affordable food," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 3(4), pages 217-231, December.

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