Abstract

Understanding Access to Healthy Food in Navajo Nation UsingGIS Mapping
Track: Human Services
Authors: Ermyas BIrru, Cameron Curley

Navajo Nation (NN) is an expansive region, covering over 27,000 square miles and home to a population of over 170,000. Previous evidence indicates that access to food stores in this area is extremely limited. We utilize ArcGIS to examine two novel dimensions of food security in NN: access to food stores carrying 13 or more healthy foods and access to food stores that accept WIC. The mean distance to a healthy food store was 24 miles and mean distance to food stores accepting WIC was 15 miles.