Abstract
Providing Healthful Foods to Marginalized, Low-Income Neighborhoods Track: Health and Human Services Author(s): Aditya Agrawal, Susan Algert, Tatenda Mambo Food insecurity, defined as the limited access to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members, is a major public health problem occurring in the City of Pomona, California. Using a Geographic Information System (GIS), we examined the relationships between food insecure populations and retail food access to determine resources and gaps in community health, nutrition, and services. Several spatial analytical tools were used to identify food pantry clients with the most limited access to healthful, low-cost foods; hotspots of densely populated food pantry clients; and factors contributing to the spatial distribution of food pantry clients. Further, we used ArcLogistics Route to determine optimal routes for food pantry trucks delivering healthful foods to marginalized populations with least access. We provide results of this research and showcase the use of GIS in conducting needs assessments in public health. Aditya Agrawal California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Center for GIS Research 3801 W. Temple Ave. Pomona , CA 91768 US Phone: 909-869-6913 E-mail: aagrawal@csupomona.edu Susan Algert California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Human Nutrition and Food Science 3801 W. Temple Ave. Pomona , CA 91768 US Phone: 909-869-5226 E-mail: salgert@csupomona.edu Tatenda Mambo California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Department of Geography and Anthropology 3801 W. Temple Ave. Pomona , CA 91768 US Phone: 909-869-6913 E-mail: ttmambo@csupomona.edu |
|||||
