Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T19:17:14.807Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Effect of Distance and Cost on Fruit and VegetableConsumption in Rural Texas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 January 2015

Richard A. Dunn
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
Wesley R. Dean
Affiliation:
Department of Health Promotion and Community Health Sciences and the Program for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities, School of Rural Public Health, Texas A&M Health Science Center, College Station, Texas
Cassandra M. Johnson
Affiliation:
UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Andrew Leidner
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
Joseph R. Sharkey
Affiliation:
Program for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities, School of Rural Public Health, Texas A&M Health Science Center, College Station, Texas

Abstract

Fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with improved health outcomes,yet there is limited understanding of the impact of cost and accessibilityon fruit and vegetable intake in rural settings. This study examines therelationship between the consumption of fruits and vegetables and their costand accessibility among blacks and non-Hispanic whites in a rural area.Individual characteristics from a 2006 mail survey (n = 1,510) were combinedwith store locations and price information from a 2006 ground-truthed censusof retail outlets. The mail survey covered seven counties in central Texaswith 38 supermarkets/grocery stores. Blacks tended to live closer to asupermarket or grocery store, but they were only slightly more likely thanwhites to consume two or more servings of fruit daily and much less likelyto consume three or more servings of vegetables. Multivariate probitregression analysis revealed that neither access nor cost was related tofruit or vegetable consumption among white respondents. Among blacks, costwas also not associated with consumption. In contrast to whites, however,each additional mile was associated with a three percentage point decline inthe probability of consuming two or more servings of fruit daily and a 1.8percentage point decline in the probability of consuming three or morevegetable servings.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ard, J., Fitzpatrick, S., Desmond, R., Sutton, B., Pisu, M., Allison, D., Franklin, F., and Baskin, M.The Impact of Cost on the Availability of Fruits and Vegetables in the Homes of Schoolchildren in Birmingham, Alabama.” American Journal of Public Health 97(2007):367–72.10.2105/AJPH.2005.08065517138914Google Scholar
Ball, K., Timperio, A., and Crawford, D.Neighbourhood Socioeconomic Inequalities in Food Access and Affordability.” Health & Place 15(2009):578–85.10.1016/j.healthplace.2008.09.01019046654Google Scholar
Bazzano, L.A., He, J., Ogden, L.G., Loria, C.M., Vupputuri, S., Myers, L., and Whelton, P.K.Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in US Adults: The First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-up Study.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 76(2002):9399.12081821Google Scholar
Block, D., and Kouba, J.A Comparison of the Availability and Affordability of a Market Basket in Two Communities in the Chicago Area.” Public Health Nutrition 9(2006):837–45.17010248S1368980006001406Google Scholar
Bodor, J., Rose, D., Farley, T., Swalm, C., and Scott, S.Neighbourhood Fruit and Vegetable Availability and Consumption: The Role of Small Food Stores in an Urban Environment.” Public Health Nutrition 11(2008):413–20.17617930S1368980007000493Google Scholar
Bustillos, B., Sharkey, J., Anding, J., and Mcintosh, A.Availability of Healthier Food Alternatives in Traditional, Convenience, and Nontraditional Types of Food Stores in Two Rural Texas Counties.” Journal of the American Dietetic Association 109(2009):883–89.10.1016/j.jada.2009.02.01119394475Google Scholar
Carlson, A., Lino, M., Juan, W., Hanson, K., and Basiotis, P. Thrifty Food Plan, 2006. CNPP Reports, USDA, 2007.Google Scholar
Dean, W.R., and Sharkey, J.R.Rural and Urban Differences in the Associations between Characteristics of the Community Food Environment and Fruit and Vegetable Intake.” Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 43(2011):426–33.10.1016/j.jneb.2010.07.00121616721Google Scholar
Dubowitz, T., Heron, M., Bird, C., Lurie, N., Finch, B., Basurto-Dávila, R., Hale, L., and Escarce, J.Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status and Fruit and Vegetable Intake among Whites, Blacks, and Mexican Americans in the United States.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 87(2008):1883–91.18541581Google Scholar
Dunn, R.A., Sharkey, J.R., and Horel, S.The Effect of Fast-Food Availability on Fast-Food Consumption and Obesity among Rural Residents: An Analysis by Race/Ethnicity.” Economics and Human Biology 10(2012):113.22094047Google Scholar
Dunn, R.A., Sharkey, J.R., Lotade-Manje, J., Boulhal, Y., and Nayga, R.M.Socio-economic Status, Racial Composition and the Affordability of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables in Neighborhoods of a Large Rural Region in Texas.” Nutrition Journal 10(2010):110.Google Scholar
Durham, C., and Eales, J.Demand Elasticities for Fresh Fruit at the Retail Level.” Applied Economics 42,11(2006):1345–54.Google Scholar
Garasky, S., Morton, L.W., and Creder, K.A.The Effects of the Local Food Environment and Social Support on Rural Food Insecurity.” Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition 1(2006):83103.10.1300/J477v01n01_06Google Scholar
Grimm, K.A., Blanck, H., Scanion, K.S., Moore, L.V., Grummer-Strawn, L.M., and Foltz, J.L.State-Specific Trends in Fruit and Vegetable Consumption among Adults-United States, 2000-2009.” Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report 59(2010):112530.Google Scholar
Liese, A., Weis, K., Pluto, D., Smith, E., and Lawson, A.Food Store Types, Availability and Cost of Foods in a Rural Environment.” Journal of the American Dietetic Association 107(2007):1916–23.10.1016/j.jada.2007.08.01217964311Google Scholar
Michimi, A., and Wimberly, M.Associations of Supermarket Accessibility with Obesity and Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in the Conterminous United States.” International Journal of Health Geographies 9(2010):49.10.1186/1476-072X-9-49Google Scholar
Morland, K., Wing, S., and Diez-Roux, A.The Contextual Effect of the Local Food Environment on Residents' Diets: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.” American Journal of Public Health 92(2002):611767.Google Scholar
Powell, L., Zhao, Z., and Wang, Y.Food Prices and Fruit and Vegetable Consumption among Young American Adults.” Health & Place 15(2009):1064–70.10.1016/j.healthplace.2009.05.00219523869Google Scholar
Prochaska, J.D., Sharkey, J.R., Ory, M.G., and Burdine, J.N.Assessing Healthful Eating among Community Dwelling Rural Older Adults Using Self-Reported Fruit and Vegetable Consumption via a Community-Wide Mail-Out Health Status Assessment.” Journal of Nutrition for the Elderly 25(2006):101–12.10.1300/J052v25n02_07Google Scholar
Resnicow, K., Odom, E., Wang, T., Dudley, W.N., Mitchell, D., Vaughan, R., Jackson, A., and Baranowski, T.Validation of Three Food Frequency Questionnaires and 24-Hour Recalls with Serum Carotenoid Levels in a Sample of African-American Adults.” American Journal of Epidemiology 152(2000):1072–80.10.1093/aje/152.11.107211117617Google Scholar
Rose, D., and Richards, R.Food Store Access and Household Fruit and Vegetable Use among Participants in the U.S. Food Stamp Program.” Public Health Nutrition 7(2004):1081–88.15548347Google Scholar
Sharkey, J.R., and Horel, S.Neighborhood Socioeconomic Deprivation and Minority Composition are Associated with Better Potential Spatial Access to the Ground-Truthed Food Environment in a Large Rural Area.” The Journal of Nutrition 138(2008):620–27.18287376Google Scholar
Smith, C., and Morton, L.W.Rural Food Deserts: Low-Income Perspectives on Food Access in Minnesota and Iowa.” Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 41(2009):176–87.10.1016/j.jneb.2008.06.00819411051Google Scholar
USDA, ARS. “USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference Release 16-1.” Internet site: www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp.Google Scholar
USDA, ERS. “Food Availability (Per Capita) Data System.” Internet site: www.erd.usda.gov/Data/FoodConsumption.Google Scholar
Webber, C., Sobal, J., and Dollahite, J.Shopping for Fruits and Vegetables. Food and Retail Qualities of Importance to Low-Income Households at the Grocery Store.” Appetite 54(2010):297303.10.1016/j.appet.2009.11.01519961886Google Scholar
WHO. Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases. Geneva: World Health Organization, 1990.Google Scholar
Wright, M.L., and Smith, C.Accessing Food in Rural Food Deserts in Iowa and Minnesota.” Great Plains Sociologist 19(2008):5782.Google Scholar
Zenk, S., Lachance, L., Schulz, A., Mentz, G., Kannan, S., and Ridella, W.Neighborhood Retail Food Environment and Fruit and Vegetable Intake in a Multiethnic Urban Population.” American Journal of Health Promotion 23(2009):255–64.10.4278/ajhp.07120412719288847Google Scholar
Zenk, S., Schulz, A., Israel, B., James, S., Bao, S., and Wilson, M.Neighborhood Racial Composition, Neighborhood Poverty, and the Spatial Accessibility of Supermarkets in Metropolitan Detroit.” American Journal of Public Health 95(2005):660–67.10.2105/AJPH.2004.04215015798127Google Scholar