Food Access Research Project Contributors Kevin Collado Ameri
Food Access Research Project Contributors: Kevin Collado, Ameri. Corps VISTA • Craig Talmage, Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies • Ruby Verbitsky, William Smith ‘ 21 BACKGROUND MATERIALS AND METHODS RESULTS Kevin Collado’s Asset Based Community Development Assessment has been to evaluate the issues of food security in the City of Geneva. Throughout the Institutional Review Board process we investigated the demographics of the effected areas. Kevin then created semi- structured questions that would provide the widest range of information and experience on the topic. This process would hopefully utilize a snowball sampling method where each person we interviewed would pose those questions to people they know to in order to get a wider net of responses for the data. The quantitative data of Geneva’s demographics set up the structure and choices for interviews. - The interview process began with a set of semi-structured questions that changed due to realizations through the process of interviewing. - The questions needed more specificity to provide more of a prompt for people to extrapolate on their ideas. - There are varying perspectives on the available alternative resources for residents of Wards 5 and 6. Responses of interviews thus far: - Struggle for communication and lack of awareness of resources - Transportation and limited hours of operation - Language barrier - Socioeconomic status and income - Lack of affordability for nutritious food - Social isolation and stigma PURPOSE Interview Process - Gather the broadest range of experiences and perceptions about the concept of food access from Geneva community members. - Code this data from interviews according to the demographics they define on the sheets given after interviews. - Use the results of this data to evaluate the most efficient options for feasible solutions to issues of food insecurity for the residents of Census tracts 517 and 518. The graphs above display information I collected from the U. S. Census Bureau. This information provided a clear picture of how food insecure areas compare to the City of Geneva as a whole. “A lot of folks who come to the food kitchens don’t have the facilities to cook for themselves or are unable for one reason or another to cook for themselves. So even if they get cans and packages of food… Is it going to open itself, cook itself, serve itself? ” - Geneva Community Member According to this quotation, it is clear there is a disconnected between the alternative food resources offered and the capabilities of the recipients of this support system. “That we live in such an agricultural area and I can go drive my car down any country road and I can pick up farm vegetables… We’re so close. There’s no reason we can’t have it [food security] here. There’s no excuse. ” - Geneva community member “I don’t think a 2 liter of mountain dew and a bag of Doritos is anywhere on the old food pyramid…. But for a lot of kids that a meal. ” - Geneva community member CONCLUSIONS While there are plenty of food options for residents of this City, there is a noticeable lack in nutritious food for certain areas. The technical definition of food security highlights the necessity of a nutritious diet rather than what is merely provided in the community. “I think the majority of the complex [Courtyard Apartments] is made up of people that depend on the RTS system. . . so having to wait and having to haul all the way up to Wegmans or Walmart and then having to wait when you need that last minute ingredient is an inconvenience. It shouldn’t be that hard to access fresh fruits and vegetables and things like that, and not just junk food. ” -Geneva Community Member While there are more interviews to conduct, it is clear that there are varying perspectives on the status of food security in Geneva. There are many residents who are aware of the options available for substantial food but they are not always utilized mainly because of travel and time accessibility. There is also a significant portion of participants who are actively working towards a solution for families in the community who suffer from these issues. However, the lack of communication among the organizations working towards food security makes it difficulty coming together to find a feasible option for citizens of Wards 5 and 6. Moreover, focus groups will be conducted in the future of this research in order to get group perspectives on the issue. BIBLIOGRAPHY The chart above displays the demographics of Census tracts 517, 518 as well as the City of Geneva as a whole. These Census tracks were known areas of concern before the research began. This chart also demonstrated how travel plays a significant factor in the difficulties of achieving food security for these residents. United States Census Bureau https: //www. census. gov/quickfacts/fact/table/genevacitynewyork/PST 045218 Census Reporter https: //censusreporter. org/ printed by www. postersession. com
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