Over the past decade, communities have turned to zoning and land-use policies to restrict fast-food restaurants, and have done so for different reasons and with varied success. Investigators analyzed news coverage, legislative histories, and demographic data to understand what types of policies have been proposed, which communities have proposed them, and why. They identified 77 More
Keywords: Community setting, Fast food, Legal, Media, Restaurant, Zoning
New grocery stores, corner stores, farmers’ markets, and other food retailers can generate a significant economic stimulus for communities–especially communities of color and lower-income communities. This paper examines the connection between improved healthy food retail and resulting economic and community development. Several types of innovations in food retail, distribution, and production are examined, and select More
Date: June 2013
Resource Type: Report
Focus Areas: Food Access Food Retail Nutrition Policy & Programs Pricing & Economics
New grocery stores, corner stores, farmers’ markets, and other food retailers can generate a significant economic stimulus for communities–especially communities of color and lower-income communities. This paper examines the connection between improved healthy food retail and resulting economic and community development. Several types of innovations in food retail, distribution, and production are examined, and select More
Date: June 2013
Resource Type: Research Brief
Focus Areas: Food Access Food Retail Nutrition Policy & Programs Pricing & Economics
Zoning policies are a promising solution to improve the food environment in vulnerable communities, in part because they encompass a range of land use regulations that can be tailored to the specific needs of individual communities. This project will examine the extent and nature of public debates over successful and failed efforts to pass fast-food More
Keywords: Community setting, Fast food, Food advertising, Legal, Media, Restaurant, Zoning
This report evaluates current local comprehensive and sustainability plans across the United States and their impact on local policies, regulations, and standards to reduce food access disparities and improve community-based foods systems. Of 888 local government responses to a national web-based survey, only 11.8 percent of respondents (105 jurisdictions) indicated that their local plans address More
Keywords: Community setting, Food insecurity, Food outlet, Food systems, Legal, Zoning
The use of tax credits and other incentives is an increasingly looked-to approach to change food environments. Policies are being considered across the U.S. This project will evaluate the impact of New York City’s use of tax and zoning incentives to encourage the building of supermarkets in the highest need areas of the city. This More
Date: October 2010
Resource Type: Grant Summary
Focus Areas: Food Access Food Retail Pricing & Economics
The Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition produced a special journal issue highlighting papers and discussions from the April 2009 conference, “Food Systems and Public Health: Linkages to Achieve Healthier Diets and Healthier Communities.” The conference convened more than 100 leading researchers and practitioners nationwide from the health, nutrition, obesity and health policy arenas, as More
Date: December 2009
Resource Type: Special Journal Issue
Focus Areas: Diet Quality & Healthy Weight Food Access Nutrition Policy & Programs Pricing & Economics
Low-income, underserved communities are often plagued with unhealthy food environments. A community’s comprehensive plan directly influences urban design and land-use regulations, which affect neighborhood food availability. While some local governments are including food access goals and policies in their local plans, little is understood about the quality, specificity and comprehensiveness of these goals and policies. More
Keywords: Community setting, Food insecurity, Food outlet, Food systems, Legal, Rural, Urban, Zoning
This paper documents the relation between racial and socioeconomic inequalities and the density of fast food in New York City. The researchers found that areas that were predominantly Black had higher densities of fast food than predominantly White areas, regardless of income level. Such results highlight the need to develop policy-level interventions to address racial More
Keywords: Fast food, Geographic information systems, Neighborhood, Urban, Zoning