@article{Wang:205307,
      recid = {205307},
      author = {Wang, Haoluan and Swallow, Brent M. and Qiu, Feng},
      title = {The Mirage of Food Deserts: Disparities between Stated and  Revealed Results},
      address = {2015},
      number = {330-2016-13931},
      series = {P6770},
      pages = {1},
      year = {2015},
      abstract = {Increasing evidence indicates that the neighborhood food  environment has become an important determinant of dietary  behaviors in recent years (Giskes et al., 2010; Zenk et  al., 2009). For example, a lower intake of fresh foods and  nutrients (e.g., fruits and vegetables) may cause unhealthy  meal patterns (Branca et al., 2007) and lead to adverse  health outcomes (Lebel et al., 2009). A review of U.S.  studies by Larson et al. (2009) and a case study of Detroit  by Zenk et al. (2009) also show that residents who live  near supermarkets are more likely to eat more fruits and  vegetables, and have healthier diets compared with  residents who live further from supermarkets.  Identification of “food deserts”, which responds to the  neighborhood food environment, has thus been broadly  discussed in the existing literature in terms of access to  fresh food (Alviola et al., 2013; Bonanno and Li, 2014;  Wang et al., 2014).
Studies have conceptualized a variety  of methods to capture food desert research and fresh food  access measures, and two broad approaches have been  proposed. One approach is based on a geographic perspective  that uses spatial analysis (e.g., calculate the minimum  distance from a neighborhood to the nearest supermarket)  and analyzes GIS (Geographic Information Systems) data on  neighborhood characteristics (e.g., population density,  median income). Associations between the neighborhood fresh  food environment and socio-economic characteristics have  been revealed (Wang et al., 2014). The second approach  relies on individual or household data obtained from  surveys (LeDoux and Vojnovic, 2014) and interviews  (Freedman, 2009). Questions regarding shopping behaviors  and constraints of food purchase or fresh food access have  been stated through this method.
However, the majority of  current studies that use the GIS approach to identify food  deserts comprise “aggregate” assessments and reveal  information about study areas at the neighborhood level.  While most research that base on either qualitative or  quantitative surveys focus on “individual” level and state  respondent’s perspective of the food environment. To our  knowledge, no previous study has investigated residents’  perspective about food deserts, or specifically, whether  they consider their neighborhoods to be food deserts,  together with food deserts identified by the GIS approach.  The objectives of this study are two-fold: Compare  respondents’ perspective of the food desert issue relative  to the GIS analysis that has been widely adopted; Explore  the potential reasons for the disparity between stated  (survey) and revealed (GIS analysis) results regarding food  deserts.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/205307},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.205307},
}