Assessing the Intersection of Public Health and Urban Planning to Evaluate Food Equity
Presenter Biography
Briana Arnold is a student in the Masters of Public Health Environmental Systems and Human Health tract at the Oregon Health and Science University/Portland State University School of Public Health. She is interested in assessing food equity and food sovereignty.
In addition to her studies, Briana works on a research study at Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research. She enjoys doing her homework cuddled up with her cat and taking study breaks with her dog.
Institution
OHSU
Program/Major
Public Health/Environmental Systems and Human Health
Degree
MPH
Presentation Type
Poster
Room Location
Smith Memorial Student Union, Room 296/8
Start Date
April 2019
End Date
April 2019
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/30975
Abstract
Food equity encompasses the equal access of food across race and socioeconomic status; however, the current concept of food security and measures of food security may not be appropriate in assessing if families and individuals have adequate, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food. For example, using established metrics a family may not live within a food desert, but still lack access to affordable access to local grocers (hence, a food mirage). By adopting the concept of food sovereignty, defined as the ability to control the food system that an individual lives within, we can enhance our ability to understand barriers to accessing health food in urban spaces. The urban built environment and elements of public health contribute to both food mirages and food sovereignty, merging two traditionally siloed sectors. By identifying facilitators of food inequity through an interdisciplinary lens encompassing public health and urban planning, sustainable solutions can be created. These solutions can be achieved with assessments such community mapping to identify families and individuals in food mirages, combined with qualitative data to understand what constitutes an appropriate grocer to understand when a family is living in a food mirage.
Assessing the Intersection of Public Health and Urban Planning to Evaluate Food Equity
Smith Memorial Student Union, Room 296/8
Food equity encompasses the equal access of food across race and socioeconomic status; however, the current concept of food security and measures of food security may not be appropriate in assessing if families and individuals have adequate, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food. For example, using established metrics a family may not live within a food desert, but still lack access to affordable access to local grocers (hence, a food mirage). By adopting the concept of food sovereignty, defined as the ability to control the food system that an individual lives within, we can enhance our ability to understand barriers to accessing health food in urban spaces. The urban built environment and elements of public health contribute to both food mirages and food sovereignty, merging two traditionally siloed sectors. By identifying facilitators of food inequity through an interdisciplinary lens encompassing public health and urban planning, sustainable solutions can be created. These solutions can be achieved with assessments such community mapping to identify families and individuals in food mirages, combined with qualitative data to understand what constitutes an appropriate grocer to understand when a family is living in a food mirage.