Purchasing Healthy Foods in Resticted Built Environments: A CBPR study

Previous data show that availability of healthy foods in predominately black and low-wealth neighborhoods is limited, and that lack of supermarkets is associated with high rates of obesity. Therefore, residents of low-wealth neighborhoods are at risk for poor dietary intake and diet-related diseases. Less data exist describing links between availability of certain foods and purchasing patterns of residents. As part of a community based participatory project, a cross-sectional study of residents living in a predominately black, low-wealth area of Brooklyn, NY was conducted, where 254 participants (67.32% women; 53.94% Black, 24.8% Latino) were recruited from community sites and reported on the purchases of specific types of healthy foods (39 types of produce, 7 whole grains, and 7 low-fat dairy products). A list of registered food store addresses were obtained from the NY State Dept of Agriculture and Markets and geocoded using ArcGIS. Ten varieties of produce (bananas, apples, grapes, oranges, potatoes, corn, broccoli, tomatoes, carrots and cucumbers), one variety of whole grain (oatmeal), and one dairy product (eggs) were purchased by at least 50% of participants. Low-fat yogurt and milk, high-fiber cold cereal, brown rice, and eleven other varieties of produce were purchased by 25-49% of participants. Most frequently purchased items were eggs (75.98%), bananas (74.41%), potatoes (68.11%). Few people purchased items like egg substitute (5.51%). These findings are consistent with previous data demonstrating high and low store availability of these food items.