Promoting Food Equity in the Context of Residential Segregation

Abstract

Inequitable access to healthy food has been associated with a variety of adverse health outcomes. In the United States, prior studies have suggested that low-income and racial minorities are more likely to reside in neighborhood with unhealthy food environments than their high-income and white counterparts. We examined the relationship between residential segregation, food deserts, and food swamps in the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area. We observed that neighborhoods with high levels of black segregation were approximately four times more likely to be food deserts or swamps than neighborhoods with low levels of segregation, after adjusting for population density. Neighborhoods with high levels of income segregation were approximately three times more likely to be food deserts or swamps than neighborhoods with low levels of income segregation. In this policy brief, we propose mobile food truck programs, community education programs, and healthy food tax breaks and credits, particularly for locally owned and operated food suppliers. Targeted interventions aimed at improving physical, social, and economic environments, particularly for residents of segregated communities, should be the key components of policy response to inequitable food environments.