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. 2021 Sep:134:102517.
doi: 10.1016/j.apgeog.2021.102517. Epub 2021 Jul 9.

COVID-19 exacerbates unequal food access

Armita Kar  1 , Yasuyuki Motoyama  2 , Andre L Carrel  2   3 , Harvey J Miller  1   4 , Huyen T K Le  1
Affiliations

COVID-19 exacerbates unequal food access

Armita Kar et al. Appl Geogr. 2021 Sep.

Abstract

Inequality to food access has always been a serious problem, yet it became even more critical during the COVID-19 pandemic, which exacerbated social inequality and reshaped essential travel. This study provides a holistic view of spatio-temporal changes in food access based on observed travel data for all grocery shopping trips in Columbus, Ohio, during and after the state-wide stay-at-home period. We estimated the decline and recovery patterns of store visits during the pandemic to identify the key socio-economic and built environment determinants of food shopping patterns. The results show a disparity: during the lockdown, store visits to dollar stores declined the least, while visits to big-box stores declined the most and recovered the fastest. Visits to stores in low-income areas experienced smaller changes even during the lockdown period. A higher percentage of low-income customers was associated with lower store visits during the lockdown period. Furthermore, stores with a higher percentage of white customers declined the least and recovered faster during the reopening phase. Our study improves the understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on food access disparities and business performance. It highlights the role of COVID-19 and similar disruptions on exposing underlying social problems in the US.

Keywords: COVID-19; Economic development; Equity; Food desert; Shopping travel.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Spatial distribution of grocery stores in Franklin County, Ohio, categorized by store type.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Absolute changes (a; top) and relative changes (b; bottom) in average weekly store visits, categorized by store types.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Changes in average weekly store visitors; a) between pre-lockdown and lockdown phase (top), and b) between pre-lockdown and initial reopening phase (bottom).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Changes in OD flows to big-box stores (top panel) and to mid/high-end grocery stores (bottom panel) between pre-lockdown and lockdown phase (a, c) and between pre-lockdown and initial reopening phase (b, d).
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Changes in OD flows to dollar stores (top panel) and to local stores (bottom panel) between pre-lockdown and lockdown phase (a, c) and between pre-lockdown and initial reopening phase (b, d).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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