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Nutrition Environment Measures Survey examining food price, availability, and quality, before and after relocation of Atlanta public housing residents
Author(s) -
Ndirangu Murugi,
Oakley Deirdre,
Anderson Anjenique
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.629.3
Subject(s) - relocation , atlanta , environmental health , residence , business , population , poverty , food security , public health , socioeconomics , agricultural economics , medicine , geography , economic growth , demographic economics , economics , metropolitan area , nursing , agriculture , archaeology , pathology , computer science , programming language
In an effort to deconcentrate poverty, Atlanta became the first city in the U.S. to completely eliminate public housing by relocating about 10,000 residents. Research has shown that the health status of public housing residents is worse than any other population. There is also an inverse relationship between neighborhood availability of healthy, affordable foods and diet intake. The aim of this study was to compare the price, availability, and quality of food items in the public housing residents’ communities, before and after relocation. Using Nutrition Environment Measures Survey, a total of 42 food store audits were conducted. Data was collected in July and August 2009 (pre‐relocation) and April to Aug 2010 (post‐relocation). Overall residents seem to have moved to neighborhoods where food prices were comparable to their previous residences. However food security was likely to be negatively impacted as residents had greater expenses in utilities and transport. Availability of certain healthy foods, low fat milk was greater after relocation. However as observed in the baseline survey, residents may choose to buy the unhealthy options, therefore education was important. These results suggest that public housing residents relocated to food environments that were similar to their previous environment. Relocation of public housing residence did not improve access to food.