+

Can community gardens and farmer’s markets end food deserts?Tim Sharp

+How To Identify Food DesertsLow-Income

Criteria Access Criteria

+Greenville’s Situation?

0 7 143.5 Miles

µ

Level of Social Deprivation0.11 - 0.61

0.62 - 1.19

1.20 - 3.54

0 7 143.5 Miles

µ

Level of Supermarket Access0.05 - 0.89

0.90 - 1.11

1.12 - 3.35

Deprivation Access+

+Blue Areas = Food Deserts

0 7 143.5 Miles

µ

Typology of Block GroupsCluster

1 High Deprivation, High Access

2 Low Deprivation, High Access

3 Low Deprivation, Low Access

4 High Deprivation, Low Access

High Deprivation + Low Access

+

Current criteria does not measure the safety of the communities.Crime and lack of sidewalks are a barrier to walking to the grocery store.

Safety

+Impact of Community Gardens

Number of Food Deserts 8 4 7 4

+Impact

Community Gardens: 150,499Farmer’s Markets: 47,487Together: 162,984

+Another View

+The Benefits of Gardening

Life Quality

Economic Wellbeing

Social Wellbeing

+Comparison of Gardeners and Non-Gardeners

Participating Not ParticipatingFruit and Vegetable Consumption

Neighborhood Participation

+Prices of a Farmer’s Market

$230.18$205.08

Prices drop by 12.7% over 3 years

+Time

Local options are seasonal solutions

+

Grocery Stores can Provide Year-Round Access to Fresh ProduceAffordable and Close

+What’s more prevalent?

+Network of Smaller Stores in Urban Environments

UrbanStores

SuburbanStores

Size

+Not all stores are equal

SupermarketsGrocery StoresConvenience

Stores

Need to improve the availability of fresh produce at grocery stores.

+Comparative Pricing

Supermarkets Grocery Stores

Convenience Stores

Grocery stores have similar prices to supermarkets.

+Retail InterventionLowest Levels (Less than 1 Serving)

Low Levels (2 Servings or Less)

Retail intervention allowed more than half of the participants to change their diets.

+Retail InterventionIntervention vs Comparison

Decreased Fruit and Vegetable Intake.

+Characteristics of Stores

Quality + Appearance

Urban Stores

SuburbanStores

Stores in lower income areas tend to be lacking in quality and appearance.

+Behavior

Healthy Unhealthy

Healthy Unhealthy

Healthy Unhealthy