Assessing retail fruit and vegetable availability in urban and rural underserved communities

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Nutrition Science
• Health Disparities

Background:

• Fruits and vegetables (F&Vs) are vital for a balanced diet.
• Consumption of F&Vs is notably low in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities.
• This study examines retail F&V availability in underserved urban and rural areas of New York State.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables (F&Vs) in retail food stores and farmers' markets.
• To assess F&V accessibility in underserved urban (minority and mixed neighborhoods) and rural communities in New York State.
• To identify disparities in F&V retail availability and inform public health interventions.

Main Methods:

• Conducted surveys of 263 food retail stores and farmers' markets in downtown Albany and Columbia/Greene counties.
• Classified stores based on the variety of fresh F&Vs stocked and the availability of ready-to-eat fruits.
• Calculated weight-adjusted store density per 10,000 residents, accounting for store size and operating hours.

Main Results:

• The urban minority neighborhood had the lowest adjusted density of F&V stores (4.6 per 10,000 residents).
• Albany's racially mixed neighborhood (11.4) and Columbia/Greene counties' small-town community (9.8) showed significantly higher F&V store density.
• No significant differences were found in the density of fruit-for-snack stores across the studied communities.

Conclusions:

• Urban minority neighborhoods exhibit the greatest barriers to accessing fresh F&Vs in retail settings, surpassing even rural areas.
• The scarcity of supermarkets, rather than a general lack of food stores, contributes to low F&V availability in these urban neighborhoods.
• Public health strategies focused on enhancing retail F&V availability are recommended to address and mitigate these health disparities.