Although typically serving higher income and younger demographic groups, meal-kit subscription services have the potential to improve food availability and dietary quality in communities experiencing low food access due to systemic discrimination. This study describes the development and characteristics of a pilot community-led meal-kit service (SouthEats) and evaluates key implementation outcomes of adoption, acceptability, and feasibility among households experiencing less income.

We utilised a mixed methods study design, including data from administrative records, customer surveys and worker interviews. Thematic qualitative analyses and descriptive quantitative analyses were conducted to illuminate the characteristics and extent the pilot meal-kit service was adopted, acceptable, and financially feasible among the target populations.

The study took place in Washington DC, USA.

Study participants included SouthEats consumers (n 35) and workers (n 3).

During the pilot period, sixty-seven community members signed up for the meal-kit service, with 52 % making recurring purchases. Our results suggest that the meal-kit service is acceptable among people living in low food access areas. Our feasibility analysis indicates that, although not without challenges, the SouthEats model could be financially feasible.

These preliminary insights can inform the scalability and potential replication of this service and provide foundational evidence for an approach that may be used to improve food access.

To map and characterise the interactions between the food environment and immigrant populations from low- and middle-income countries living in high-income countries.

A scoping review was carried out following the framework outlined by Arksey and O’Malley, as well as Levac et al. Peer-reviewed studies in English published between 2007 and 2021 were included. Two reviewers screened and selected the papers according to predefined inclusion criteria and reporting of results follows the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. A ‘Best fit’ framework synthesis was carried out using the Analysis Grid for Environments Linked to Obesity (ANGELO) framework.

High-income countries.

Immigrants from low- and middle-income countries.

A total of sixty-eight articles were included, primarily based in the USA, as well as Canada, Australia and Europe, with immigrants originating from five regions of the globe. The analysis identified three overarching themes that interconnected different aspects of the food environment in addition to the four themes of the ANGELO framework. They demonstrate that in valuing fresh, healthy and traditional foods, immigrants were compelled to surpass barriers in order to acquire these, though children’s demands, low incomes, time scarcity and mobility influenced the healthiness of the foods acquired.

This study brought together evidence on interactions between immigrant populations and the food environment. Immigrants attempted to access fresh, traditional, healthier food, though they faced structural and family-level barriers that impacted the healthiness of the food they acquired. Understanding the food environment and interactions therein is key to proposing interventions and policies that can potentially impact the most vulnerable.

The objective of the current study was to determine if patients of a large health care system in Detroit who self-identify as food insecure live further away from healthy grocery stores compared with food secure patients. Second, we explored whether food insecurity and distance to healthy grocery stores are related to ecological measures of vehicle availability in the area of residence.

A secondary data analysis that uses baseline data from a pilot intervention/feasibility study.

Detroit, Michigan, USA.

Patients of Henry Ford Health System were screened for food insecurity to determine eligibility for a pilot intervention/feasibility study (i.e. Henry’s Groceries for Health), conducted through a collaboration with Gleaners Community Foodbank of Southeastern Michigan. Only patients residing in Detroit city limits (including Highland Park and Hamtramck) were included in the secondary analysis. Of the 1,100 patients included in the analysis, 336 (31 %) were food insecure.

After accounting for socio-demographic factors associated with food insecurity, we did not find evidence that food insecure patients lived further away from healthier grocery stores, nor was this modified by ecological measures of vehicle access. However, some neighbourhoods were identified as having a significantly higher risk of food insecurity.

Food insecure patients in Detroit are perhaps limited by social and political determinants and not their immediate neighbourhood geography or physical access to healthy grocery stores. Future research should explore the complexity in linkages between household socio-economic factors, socio-cultural dynamics and the neighbourhood food environment.

To explore and provide contextual meaning around issues surrounding food insecurity, namely factors influencing food access, as one domain of food security.

A community-based, qualitative inquiry using semi-structured face-to-face interviews was conducted as part of a larger sequential mixed-methods study.

Cayo District, Belize, May 2019–August 2019.

Thirty English-speaking individuals (eight males, twenty-two females) between the ages of 18–70, with varying family composition residing within the Cayo District.

Participants describe a complex interconnectedness between family- and individual-level barriers to food access. Specifically, family composition, income, education and employment influence individuals’ ability to afford and access food for themselves or their families. Participants also cite challenges with transportation and distance to food sources and educational opportunities as barriers to accessing food.

These findings provide insight around food security and food access barriers in a middle-income country and provide avenues for further study and potential interventions. Increased and sustained investment in primary and secondary education, including programmes to support enrollment, should be a priority to decreasing food insecurity. Attention to building public infrastructure may also ease burdens around accessing foods.

To examine associations between geographic information systems (GIS)-assessed accessibility to small food stores, shopping patterns and dietary behaviours among small food store customers.

Residential addresses and customer shopping patterns (frequency of shopping, and previous purchase of fruits and vegetables) were gathered through customer intercept surveys. Addresses were geocoded, and GIS-assessed distance and driving time from the participants’ residence to the store were calculated. Dietary status and behaviours were assessed using an objective non-invasive measure of skin carotenoids, the National Cancer Institute Fruit and Vegetable Screener, and items to assess sugary beverage intake. Associations between distance and driving time, demographics, shopping frequency, prior reported purchase of fruits and vegetables at the store and dietary behaviours were examined.

Small food stores (n 22) across North Carolina.

Cross-sectional convenience samples of English-speaking customers aged 18 years or older (n 692).

Participants living closer to the small store had lower income and formal education, were more likely to be Black, more likely to have previously bought fruits and vegetables at the store and more frequently shopped at the store. In adjusted models, skin carotenoids (n 644) were positively associated with distance to the store from home in miles (P = 0·01).

Customers who lived closer to the stores were more frequent shoppers and more likely to have previously purchased fruits and vegetables at the store yet had lower skin carotenoids. These results support continued efforts to examine how to increase the availability and promotion of healthful foods at small food retail stores.

To utilise a community-based participatory approach in the design and implementation of an intervention targeting diet-related health problems on Navajo Nation.

A dual strategy approach of community needs/assets assessment and engagement of cross-sectorial partners in programme design with systematic cyclical feedback for programme modifications.

Navajo Nation, USA.

Navajo families with individuals meeting criteria for programme enrolment. Participant enrolment increased with iterative cycles.

The Navajo Fruit and Vegetable Prescription (FVRx) Programme.

A broad, community-driven and culturally relevant programme design has resulted in a programme able to maintain core programmatic principles, while also allowing for flexible adaptation to changing needs.

The US Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program and Seamless Summer Option (summer nutrition programmes (SNP)) aim to relieve food insecurity for children and teens during summer months. More needs to be known about when and where SNP are available, and how availability varies by community characteristics, particularly in rural areas where food insecurity and reduced food access are more prevalent.

The present study examined the geographic availability of SNP and summer meal uptake rates in 2016, using state-wide administrative claims data.

Public schools and SNP in California, USA.

Schools (n 8842) and SNP (n 4685).

Urban counties were more likely than rural counties to have higher summer uptake rates, calculated as the percentage of summer meals served relative to eligible students utilizing school meal programmes during the academic school year, but uptake overall was low at 18·2 % of target populations. Geographic availability analyses showed that 63·9 % of public urban schools had an SNP available within 1·6 km (1 mile), but availability was significantly higher within the proximity of larger, higher-poverty high schools with diverse or majority non-White students, and those with higher school-year breakfast participation rates. Availability of an SNP within 16 km (10 miles) of rural schools averaged 68·1 % but was significantly higher around larger schools, higher-poverty schools and those with diverse or majority non-White students.

While many communities have SNP available, much more work is needed to increase the availability of these programmes to reduce summer food insecurity for children, particularly in rural communities.

Farmers’ market interventions are a popular strategy for addressing chronic disease disparities in low-income neighbourhoods. With limited resources, strategic targeting of interventions is critical. The present study used spatial analysis to identify where market interventions have the greatest impact on healthy food access within a geographic region.

All farmers’ markets in a mixed urban/rural county were mapped and those that accepted Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards identified. Households were grouped into small neighbourhoods and mapped. The area of ‘reasonable access’ around each market (walking distance (0·8 km; 0·5mile) in urban areas, driving distance (15 min) in rural areas) was calculated using spatial analysis. The percentage of county low-income households within a market’s access area, and the percentage of county SNAP-participating households within an EBT-accepting market’s access area, were calculated. The ten neighbourhoods with the most low-income households and with the most SNAP-participating households were then identified, their access areas calculated and mapped, and those lacking access identified. County-level gains resulting from improving market accessibility in these areas were calculated.

None.

Honolulu County, Hawaii, USA.

Only 44 % of SNAP-participating households had EBT-market access. Six of the ten highest SNAP-participant neighbourhoods lacked access. Improving access for these neighbourhoods increased county-level access by 23 %. Market access for low-income households was 74 %. Adding markets to these low-income neighbourhoods without market access increased county-level access by 4 %.

Geographic identification of market access demographics, and strategic targeting of EBT interventions, could improve regional access to healthy foods.

The physical and social environments that surround children should support good health. However, challenges with food security and access prevent many children from consuming a healthy diet, which is critical to proper growth and development. The present study sought to gain a better understanding of primary care initiatives to address these issues in a low-income setting.

Following the relocation of a paediatric clinic to a farmers’ market building and the implementation of a fruit and vegetable prescription programme, researchers conducted thirty-two semi-structured interviews with caregivers. Researchers elicited caregivers’ perceptions of clinic co-location with the farmers’ market; experiences with the prescription programme; opinions of the farmers’ market; and perceived impact on child consumption of fresh produce. Interview recordings were transcribed for textual analysis. Using thematic analysis, researchers examined qualitative data to identify patterns across transcripts and formulate emerging themes. Researchers concluded when data saturation was reached.

Flint, Michigan, USA.

The majority of participants were female (91 %) and African American (53 %).

Four recurrent themes emerged during interviews: (i) convenience of relocation; (ii) attitude towards prescription programme; (iii) challenges with implementation; and (iv) perceived impact of combined interventions. Caregivers indicated that the co-location and prescription programme increased family shopping at the farmers’ market, improved access to high-quality produce and improved food security.

A fruit and vegetable prescription programme involving a partnership between a farmers’ market and paediatric clinic was perceived as effective in improving food security, food access and child consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.

We aimed to examine the food-seeking experiences of homeless emerging adults (age 18–24 years) in a US urban context.

The study used a qualitative descriptive design, combining semi-structured interviews with a standardized quantitative measure of food insecurity. Interview data were coded using constant comparative methods to identify patterns across and within interviews. Emerging themes were confirmed and refined through member checking.

Buffalo, a mid-sized city in the Northeastern USA.

A sample of thirty participants was recruited through community-based methods. Eligibility criteria specified that participants were aged 18–24 years and did not have a stable place to live. The sample was demographically diverse and included participants who were couch-surfing, staying on the streets and/or using shelters.

Participants’ food access strategies varied across their living circumstances. Common strategies included purchasing food with cash or benefits (reported by 77 %), using free meal programmes (70 %) and eating at friends’ or relatives’ homes (47 %). Although 70 % of participants received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, several reported access barriers, including initial denials of eligibility due to being listed on a parent’s application even when the participant no longer resided in the household. Participants described a stigma associated with using food pantries and free meal programmes and expressed preference for less institutionalized programmes such as Food Not Bombs.

Given endemic levels of food insecurity among homeless youth and young adults, policy modifications and service interventions are needed to improve food access for this population.

To determine access to traditional and indigenous foods (TIF) and the association with household food security, dietary diversity and women’s BMI in low socio-economic households.

Sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, including a random household cross-sectional survey on household food insecurity access (HFIA), household dietary diversity (HDD) and women’s BMI, followed by focus group discussions.

Two rural and two urban areas of Botswana.

Persons responsible for food preparation or an adult in a household (n 400); for BMI, non-pregnant women aged 18–49 years (n 253).

Almost two-thirds of households experienced moderate or severe food insecurity (28·8 and 37·3 %, respectively), but more than half of women were overweight or obese (26·9 and 26·9 %, respectively). Median HDD score was 6 (interquartile range 5–7) out of a total of 12. A positive correlation was found between number of TIF accessed and HDD score (r=0·457; P<0·001) and a negative correlation between number of TIF accessed and HFIA score (r=−0·272; P<0·001). There was no correlation between number of TIF accessed and women’s BMI (r=−0·066; P=0·297). TIF were perceived as healthy but with declining consumption due to preference for modern foods.

TIF may potentially have an important role in household food security and dietary diversity. There is need to explore potential benefits that may be associated with their optimal use on food security and nutrition outcomes.

Access to nutritious foods is key to achieving health promotion goals. While there is evidence that nutritious food access is complex, measures assessing multiple domains of access, including spatial-temporal, economic, social, service delivery and personal, are lacking. The current study evaluates psychometric properties of scales designed to measure perceptions of multiple domains of nutritious food access among low-income populations.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2015. Eighty-one items were selected or developed to represent five domains of nutritious food access for food shopping overall and specific to shopping at farmers’ markets. Evaluation of the items included exploratory factor analysis within each domain and internal consistency reliability for each of the sub-scales.

Data were collected in seventeen urban neighbourhoods in Greater Cleveland, Ohio, USA that have high levels of poverty. All participants had access to at least one farmers’ market within 1·6 km (1 mile) of their home to standardize spatial access to nutritious foods.

Adults (n 304) receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

Each domain included multiple sub-domains: spatial-temporal (four), service delivery (two), economic (two), social (three) and personal (three), for a total of fourteen subdomains. The internal consistency reliability for one of the sub-domains was outstanding (>0·90), seven were excellent (0·80–0·89), five were very good (0·70–0·79) and one scale had poor reliability (0·58).

Multiple sub-domains of nutritious food access can be assessed using short measures that have been tested for internal consistency. These measures are suitable for assessing the complex phenomena of nutritious food access among low-income populations.