Abstract
Bringing bus access to healthy food to the forefront: A novel method for GIS analysis of healthy food access for public bus dependent, disadvantaged populations
APHA 2022 Annual Meeting and Expo
Introduction
Inequities of income, race, aging, and disability contribute to public bus dependency for healthy food access (HFA) for many individuals and are associated with an increased risk of food insufficiency and insecurity. Bus use presents access impediments of time, walking, weather, and portage. However, bus dependency has rarely been included in HFA analyses. Our novel methodology for evaluating bus access to healthy food addresses this gap.
Methods
Community and food provider surveys qualitatively and quantitatively identify bus access difficulties, affordable healthy food providers, and a maximum acceptable bus travel time. Bus access is then evaluated using set walk and wait times, plus weighted (1.6) drive times based on evidence of the relative slowness of bus travel. Results are mapped using a GIS. Populations within the bus and car service areas of healthy food providers are quantified for each municipality studied.
Results
Our survey results identified a number of difficulties with bus access to healthy food for the disabled and elderly. Our spatial results to date have shown the population served by bus is very limited. Remaining results will include the ratio of population with bus access to the population with car access to healthy food across the study communities.
Discussion
Food is a primary human need, but in our food system bus dependents face significant impediments to its access. Future studies should include bus use, along with cars and walking, to inform policies to decrease the healthy food access burdens of vulnerable individuals.