Connecting People to Food: A Network Approach to Alleviating Food Deserts

Area of Science:

• Urban planning
• Public health
• Transportation science

Background:

• Food insecurity affects 13.8 million Americans, disproportionately impacting disadvantaged communities.
• Food deserts, characterized by poverty and limited access to nutritious food, are linked to health issues like obesity and diabetes.
• Public transit is a potential solution to mitigate the effects of food deserts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the role of public transportation in connecting food desert residents with grocery stores.
• To model and assess public transit networks in relation to food access in five US locations.
• To provide data-driven recommendations for improving food access through public transit.

Main Methods:

• Network modeling using data on food deserts, grocery stores, and public transportation systems.
• Analysis of network centrality measures (degree and closeness) for five representative locations.
• Evaluation of bus stop proximity and grocery store accessibility within a 30-minute transit time.

Main Results:

• Degree centrality results varied, with one location having a bus stop near all food deserts, while others had none nearby.
• Closeness centrality revealed significant disparities, with some food deserts having numerous nearby stores and others having none within 30 minutes.
• 44% of food deserts in Raleigh had zero grocery stores accessible within a 30-minute public transit ride.

Conclusions:

• Public transportation networks show significant variability in connecting food desert residents to food sources.
• Targeted improvements in public transit infrastructure can enhance access to nutritious food in underserved communities.
• Policy recommendations are proposed to help city leaders address and eradicate food deserts.