Authors

Andrea M. Brace, Department of Health Promotion and Behavior, University of GeorgiaFollow
Todd L. Matthews, Department of Leadership and Organizational Development, Cabrini College
Bobbi Finkelstein, Department of Occupational Therapy, Towson University
Daniela Beall, Master of Business Administration Program, University of Baltimore/Towson University

The Relationship Between Food Deserts, Farmers’ Markets and Food Assistance in Georgia Census Tracts

Abstract

Background: Due to inadequate resources and limited access to healthy foods, residents of food deserts struggle to maintain a well-balanced, nutritious diet. These factors increase the risk of developing obesity and diet-related chronic diseases. Local farmers’ markets serve as community-level interventions, bringing healthy food to food deserts. Over the past two decades, farmers’ markets have been growing in numbers nationally. The present study explores the relationship between food deserts, placement of farmers’ markets, and availability of food assistance programs in Georgia.

Methods: Data are from the 2014 USDA Food Desert Atlas and the USDA Farmers’ Market Directory. Farmers’ market addresses were geocoded in ArcGIS 10.2. Descriptive statistics and spatial visualization were used to explore census tract-level relationships.

Results: Of the Georgia census tracts, 20% are food deserts. Of these, 7.2% have a farmers’ market within their boundary, compared to 5.7% of non-food desert tracts. Of these markets, 3.2% accept Famers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) coupons, 9.6% accept Women, Infants, and Children Fruit and Vegetable Checks (WIC-FVC), and 21.6% accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

Conclusions: Few farmers’ markets in Georgia are located in food deserts, and few accept food assistance programs. Fresh food remains inaccessible to low-income residents in these areas and lack of access to fresh food is associated with dietrelated chronic diseases. To reduce food insecurity, farmers’ markets could accept food assistance program funds. Additional farmers’ markets could be established in food deserts to increase availability of healthy food, reducing the risk of developing obesity and diet-related chronic diseases.

First Page

250

Last Page

258

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Brace, Andrea M.; Matthews, Todd L.; Finkelstein, Bobbi; and Beall, Daniela (2016) "The Relationship Between Food Deserts, Farmers’ Markets and Food Assistance in Georgia Census Tracts," Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association: Vol. 5: No. 3, Article 9.
DOI: 10.20429/jgpha.2016.050309
Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/jgpha/vol5/iss3/9