Exploring Local and Neighborhood Access to Food

Objectives ● Determine how access to food differs around Maryland ● Reflect on why differences in food access exist, and their consequences Procedure Part 1: Exploring your neighborhood 1. For this lab we will be using the Maryland Food System Map (which we used last trimester to explore local farming). Go to http://mdfoodsystemmap.org/ and click “Launch the Map!” 2. In the search bar at the top, type in your home address. If you do not live in Maryland, use Bullis’ address: 10601 Falls Road, Potomac. The map will zoom to your home’s location. 3. On the menu bar on the left-hand side, click Food Retail → Food Stores → Maryland Food Stores 2017-2018. Use the Legend at the bottom to know what each symbol means. 4. Find the supermarket that is closest to your home. You may have to zoom out on the map to see where the nearest supermarkets are to your home. Click on it to see its name, and write that name in Data Table #1. 5. On the top right-hand side of the screen, click the Measure button: 6. Under Measure, click the ruler button for “Distance” 7. With the cursor, click on your home location, then trace the streets that you would have to walk on if you were to walk to your closest supermarket. Each time to you need to turn right or left, click the cursor and continue to trace the streets. Finally, double-click on the supermarket to finish tracing. 8. The box in the top right corner will have the distance you traced in miles. Record this in Data Table #1. 9. Click the Measure button again to remove the tracing. 10. Now find the Small Grocery/Corner Stores near your home. Repeat steps 4-10 for this category. 11. Repeat steps 4-10 for the following categories: Convenience Stores and Fast Food Chain Restaurants (under “Restaurants” on the left-hand side). Record all data in Data Table #1. 12. On the menu bar on the left-hand side, click Demographics → Demographics → Median Household Income 2013-2017. Record this in the line under Data Table #1, then uncheck it to remove this parameter. 13. Next, click % No Vehicles Available (under Demographics). Record this under the data table. 14. Finally, on the left-hand side click Health → Health → Diabetes Prevalence Rate 2015. Record this under the data table. Finally, click Obesity Prevalence Rate 2015, and record this under the data table. Data Table #1: Access to food closest to my home Type of Food Retail Name of store/restaurant Walking distance from my home (miles) Supermarket Small Grocery/Corner Store Convenience Store Fast Food Chain Restaurant Median household income of my neighborhood: ___________________________ % No Vehicles Available: ____________________ Diabetes Prevalence Rate: __________________ Obesity Prevalence Rate: ___________________ Analysis Questions: 1. If you had to walk to get food, which type of food retail would be the shortest walk? 2. Based on your answer to #1, what would your diet be like if you relied only on this source of food? 3. A. Review: What is the definition of a food desert? B. Based on this information and the data you recorded above, do you live in a Food Desert? Part 2: Exploring other Maryland neighborhoods 1. With % No Vehicles Available still selected, zoom out on the map so you can see the entire state. 2. Find an area that either has 31-50% no vehicles (orange) or 51-81% no vehicles (red). These are potential food deserts. If your neighborhood falls into one of these categories, select a new neighborhood other than your own. 3. Uncheck % No Vehicles Available and click on Median Household Income. Record the Median Household Income in Data Table #2. 4. Now click on Food Retail → Food Stores → Maryland Food Stores 2017-2018 to see where the supermarkets (yellow stars) are in that area. 5. Are there neighborhoods in this area that are more than 0.5 miles from a grocery store? You can use the Measure tool as you did in Part 1 to estimate what neighborhoods may be more or less than 0.5 miles from a supermarket. Record your observation in Data Table #2. 6. Staying in this area on the map, hit “Clear All” in the top left-hand corner to remove the layers on the map. 7. In the menu bar on the left-hand side, click Health → Health → Diabetes Prevalence Rate 2015. Record this in Data Table #2. 8. Uncheck Diabetes Prevalence Rate, and click Obesity Prevalence Rate 2015. Record this in Data Table #2. 9. Finally, zoom out on the map and click “Clear All” in the top left corner. 10. Find a second, different area on the map that either has 31-50% no vehicles (orange) or 51-81% no vehicles (red). Repeat steps 3-8 for this second area, and record all data in Data Table #2. Data Table #2: Access to food around the state Area #1: _________________________ Area #2: _________________________ % No Vehicles Available Median Household Income Observations of supermarkets: Are they more than 0.5 miles away? Diabetes Prevalence Rate Obesity Prevalence Rate 1. Based on the data above and our definition of a food desert, is either area you researched considered a food desert? Explain why OR why not. 2. Based on the data above AND from Data Table #1, is there a correlation between Median Household Income and diabetes and/or obesity prevalence rates? 3. Even if your data to not show a correlation between these two categories, public health studies tell us that areas with lower median income tend to have higher rates of obesity and diabetes. Why might there be a correlation between these things?