The purpose of this research was to find what types of food markets are available in three communities, and the quality of the food provided at these locations. The study areas were chosen based on their demographic representation of income and race in Los Angeles. The data collection was fairly simple, consisting of recording where any sources of food were located, and what type of source, such as a supermarket, convenience store, fast food outlet, sit-down restaurant, food truck etc. At relevant locations, they also recorded what specific foods were available, which they hose from a USDA list of “low cost and healthy foods,” called the Thrifty Food Plan. They also conducted a couple of focus group interviews to gain some insight to the experiences of residents of the study areas. The data analysis was just descriptive. The article’s background description established that supermarkets are the best source of healthy foods that re preventative of obesity-related health problems, but they found that supermarkets made up less than two percent of the available food sources in these areas. Additionally, supermarkets were found to have 100% of the foods listed on the Thrifty Food Plan, while convenience stores (which were second most common after fast food), were found to have around half of these items, but always carried low-nutrition snack foods. They found in their focus groups that there are several barriers to getting healthy food, mainly cost and distance, so the interviewees mostly ate fast food. They conclude that food access is, indeed, “a problem in urban Los Angeles.”

Azuma, A. M., Gilliland, S., Vallianatos, M., Gottlieb, R. (2010). Food Access, Availability, and Affordability in 3 Los Angeles Communities, Project CAFE, 2004-2006. Preventing chronic disease: Public health research, practice and policy, 7 (2). Retrieved at http://scholar.oxy.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1032&context=uep_faculty