The Importance of Ethnic Food Stores in Identifying Food Deserts: A Case Study of Huntsville, Alabama

James O. Bukenya

Journal of Food Distribution Research, 2018, vol. 49, issue 01

Abstract: The paper examines the importance of including specialty and ethnic food stores in defining and identifying food deserts in a multi-ethnic suburban neighborhood. The paper uses an in-store food availability survey and GIS techniques to test the hypothesis that the availability of healthy and affordable food options will be considerably under-reported when not accounting for ethnic and specialty food stores in food desert analysis. Although a relatively large portion of the study area remains a food desert, ethnic and specialty food stores significantly offset the lack of supermarkets and grocery stores in providing healthy and affordable food options.

Keywords: Agricultural and Food Policy; Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety; Food Security and Poverty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:jlofdr:274604

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.274604

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