Source: UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN submitted to
EXAMINING DISPARITIES IN FOOD ACCESS OF UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS IN MICHIGAN
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
TERMINATED
Funding Source
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0230375
Grant No.
2012-68004-20028
Project No.
MICW-2012-01851
Proposal No.
2012-01851
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
A5141
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2012
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2018
Grant Year
2017
Project Director
Taylor, D.
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
(N/A)
ANN ARBOR,MI 48109
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Food security has emerged as a major global and national problem. Nationwide more than 50 million Americans live in food insecure households. Consequently, activists and civic leaders are spearheading a variety of strategies to reduce food insecurity. We will undertake research, education, and extension activities aimed at understanding disparities in food access in Michigan and effective interventions to enhance food security. This project will examine the relationship between demographic characteristics and the distribution of food outlets in 18 small and medium-sized cities. It will also examine the presence or absence of food deserts and oases, effective nutrition and behavioral interventions, and mechanisms for enhancing participation in local food initiatives. We will examine these issues in Sault Ste. Marie, Brimley/ Bay Mills, and St. Ignace - towns in the Upper Peninsula; Holland, Muskegon, Benton Harbor, and Grand Rapids in the west; Flint, Saginaw, Lansing, and Kalamazoo in the central part; and Ypsilanti, Taylor, Southfield, Warren, Pontiac, Inkster, and Dearborn in the southeast. These cities have large populations of one of the following racial and ethnic groups: Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asians, and Arabs. We chose to focus on one state because policies, such as those related to the use of Electronic Benefit Transfer cards will be uniform. However, we chose cities that vary on dimensions such as the degree of food insecurity, size, poverty rate, demographics, extent of depopulation. We will use an array of methodological techniques to execute this project. These include key informant interviews, spatial analysis of the distribution of food outlets, an analysis of consumer purchasing and consumption behavior, and the development of a nutrition education program in which consumption and physical activity level will be monitored. The project will also develop a raised-bed gardening program to help low-income residents with limited space grow their own food. We will provide assistance in constructing the beds, planting instructions, seeds, and tracking how much is produced. We will also develop two field-based courses (one for graduate students and the other for undergraduates) that will use community-based participatory research techniques to connect students and community residents in learning activities.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
40%
Applied
40%
Developmental
20%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
7036010308010%
7046099308010%
7246099308010%
8036099308010%
8056099308010%
9017299308010%
9027299308010%
9037310308010%
6046020301010%
6086099308010%
Goals / Objectives
We will undertake research, education and extension activities aimed at understanding the disparities in access to healthy foods in the state of Michigan. Our goal is to promote strategies for enhancing food security of underserved populations in the state. The project will focus on 18 towns and cities in 14 counties in Michigan. These include Sault Ste. Marie, Brimley/Bay Mills (Chippewa County), and St. Ignace (Mackinac County) - these are northern towns in the Upper Peninsula that abut Native American reservations; Holland (Ottawa County), Muskegon (Muskegon County), Benton Harbor (Berrien County), and Grand Rapids (Kent County) in the west; Flint (Genessee County), Saginaw (Saginaw County), Lansing (Ingham County), and Kalamazoo (Kalamazoo County) in the central part of the state; and in the southeast we will focus on Ypsilanti (Washtenaw County); Taylor, Inkster, and Dearborn (Wayne County); Southfield and Pontiac (Oakland County); and Warren (Macomb County). Michigan is a state in which food insecurity and lack of access to healthy foods are major concerns. Hence it is an important case study for what has become a global problem. In the last several years rapidly rising food insecurity has been witnessed around the world. The global trends are mirrored in the United States as millions of Americans are food insecure. We chose to focus on one state because policies, such as those related to the use of Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT or Bridge) cards, will be uniform. However, we chose cities that vary on dimensions such as the degree of food insecurity, size, poverty rate, demographics, extent of deinstitutionalization and depopulation, amount of vacant land, extent of urban agricultural initiatives, health initiatives, and land use policies. We will study cities that have large populations of one or more of the following racial and ethnic groups: Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asians, and Arabs. The food systems in each city and town will be examined in the larger context of how the urban problems and activities are related to local food production. The project seeks to achieve the following goals in each: (a) Identify the disparities in access to healthy foods in each municipality by examining the relationship between the demographic characteristics of the cities and the distribution patterns of various types of food outlets (including EBT retailers); (b) Identify the factors related to the presence of food deserts and food oases; (c) Examine the relationship between access to healthy foods, purchasing and consumption behavior, and health outcomes; (d) Identify mechanisms through which producers and consumers can be connected more directly and effectively and help facilitate more efficient connection; (e) Identify those who are vulnerable to becoming food insecure and facilitate their increased participation in local food networks; (f) Create two service-learning courses - one graduate and one undergraduate - related to food security and urban agriculture issues; (g) Promote national, state, and local food policies that will help to reduce food insecurity.
Project Methods
We will use a multi-method approach to collect information needed to execute this project. We will combine qualitative and quantitative techniques in our assessment of food access in Michigan. We will identify the major stakeholders and conduct indepth, key informant interviews with them. Information from these interviews will be used to guide the activities we undertake and develop additional research instruments. We will also conduct indepth interviews with a stratified (by type of food outlet) sample of food retailers as well as farmers in the cities as well as in the peri-urban belt around each city. The interviews with food retailers are intended to assess the extent to which they sell healthy foods and their willingness to sell organic, locally-grown food. The farmers' interviews will collect information on the extent of organic food production, as well as their ability and willingness to sell their produce locally. Closed-ended responses will be analyzed with the statistical package SPSS where both qualitative and quantitative analysis can be conducted on the responses. We will analyze the responses using both descriptive statistics and multiple regression analyses. We will conduct content analysis on open-ended responses to identify common themes that arise. We will identify the different types of food outlets operating in each city by collecting data from various sources such as the Web and the Michigan Department of Agriculture list of vendors. We will merge data collected from different sources and geocode the data. We will use ArcGIS and the Census to conduct a spatial analysis of the distribution of different types of food outlets in each city. This will allow us to assess how the distribution is related to demographic factors such as race and income. We will measure and analyze the purchasing behavior, consumption patterns, and physical activity levels of low-income residents. We will recruit residents from city and county health programs to participate in a nutrition education program that we devise. As part of the program, we collect data on purchasing behavior, energy intake, and their physical activity levels. We will develop a raised-bed gardening program to help low-income residents with limited space raise their own food. Participants will receive help constructing the beds, given seeds and planting instructions, and provided with scales to weigh what they have produced. We want to track information provided by participants to see if and how consumption patterns change with the installation of the garden beds. One final element will be the development of two field-based (one graduate and one undergraduate) courses that employ community-based participatory research methods to connect students from participating universities and community residents in learning activities.

Progress 09/01/12 to 08/31/18

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences reached during year 6 consisted of: food retailers; undergraduate and graduate students engaging in food systems studies with FAIM Project faculty; and the multitude of stakeholders across Michigan and nationally with whom the project team engaged through the dissemination of the FAIM Project website. Small, locally sourcing, community-based, food retailers across Michigan: Few food systems researchers have studied the potential role of small retailers committed to sourcing local food and their potential to change local conditions. The FAIM Project team conducted pilot research and interviewed multiple food retailers across the state regarding the way their business supports local economies and communities by sourcing locally grown produce; strengthens local food system and strategies to increase the sale of locally-grown produce to low-income, potentially food insecure consumers. Undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Michigan, University of Michigan-Flint, Grand Valley State University, Lake Superior State University, Michigan State Universityand the University of Wisconsin were the target audiences for the university-level courses and advising from project faculty; 150students were engaged in these educational opportunities across the institutions collaborating on this project. Statewide and National Food Systems Stakeholders: Additionally, the FAIM Project team conducted extensive outreach across a variety of state and national audiences through the dissemination of the study website (www.faimproject.org). The research team shared the study website with all study research subjects who indicated they were interested in receiving information about study findings, including a diversity of food system stakeholders, small farmers, and food retails; with a multitude of organizations and non-profits who conduct work within the Michigan food system, as well with national organizations whose work addresses food insecurity, food access, food system regionalization and/or food justice. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Professional Development Activities: The Food Access in Michigan Project has worked to build capacity of those contributing to the research by sponsoring participation in conferences and workshops. Conferences attended by project investigators included: Attended by Greg Rybarczyk (co-Investigator).Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting. April 10-14, 2018. New Orleans, LA. Attended by Deborah Lown (co-Investigator). "2017 Clinical Nutrition Week", American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, Orlando, Florida, United States. (February 18, 2017 - February 21, 2017). Attended by Deborah Lown (co-Investigator). "2017 Annual Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior, Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior, Washington DC, United States. (July 21, 2017 - July 23, 2017). Attended by Gregory Zimmerman (co-Investigator). 2018 Northern Michigan Small Farms Conference, January 26-27, 2018. Traverse City, MI. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The FAIM Project team launched their research website, www.faimproject.org, during year 6. The FAIM Project website shares current research on food insecurity and food access, the challenges facing small farmers across Michigan, a database of policies that support food access and local food economies, interactive maps and spatial analysis of the future potential for Michigan's agricultural land, illustrations of the ways food retailers shape people's daily experiences with food, as well as highlighting the work of FAIM Project community partners endeavoring to engage their communities in growing food through a variety of urban agriculture initiatives. The FAIM Project team conducted extensive outreach across a variety of state and national audiences through the dissemination of the study website (faimproject.org). The research team shared the study website with all study research subjects who indicated they were interested in receiving information about study findings, including a diversity of food system stakeholders, small farmers, and food retails; with a multitude of organizations and non-profits who conduct work within the Michigan food system, as well with national organizations whose work addresses food insecurity, food access, food system regionalization and/or food justice. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? (a) Activities completed: Michigan Food Outlet Geo-Spatial Analysis: The FAIM team created a new store categorization typology. Multiple food retailer data sets were merged together and QA/QC processes used to confirm and/or assign a FAIM food retailer category for the 14,620 licensed retail food establishments in the state. Spatial Modeling of Food Landscapes & Vulnerable Communities: The FAIM Project team has collected multiple types of socio-demographic data from the ACSand US Census. The team will analyze the spatial distribution of food retailers by FAIM store type in relation to community socio-demographic characteristics and constraints, and seeks publish findings on the project website using ESRI, Inc.'s StoryMap interactive mapping technology. Effect of Ethnic Food Outlets on Access: Flint and Grand Rapids: The FAIM Project team also undertook a spatial examination of whether ethnic food outlet type (grocer vs. restaurant) influences spatial access. A journal article about this analysis is currently being finalized. (b) Activities completed: Key Informant Interviews: While food accessibility is important, critical research recognizes the relationships between food insecurity and socio-structural variables that vary by state, disproportionately affecting people of color, women, children, the disabled and seniors. The FAIM Project conducted 133 key informant (KI) interviews to gather perspectives on issues of food security, food access and hunger in Michigan from people working within the food system. Two journal articles are currently being drafted assessing the factors contributing to food scarcity, as well as opportunities to increase food access for those in immediate need as well as proposals for long term system change. (c) Activities completed: SNAP Authorized Retailer Assessment: The USDA categorizes SNAP-authorized retailers as one of 17 different store types. The FAIM team is assessing the type of food outlets authorized to accept SNAP using the FAIM food retailer typology in order to examine SNAP retailer spatial distribution across the state & retailer location and store type changes between 2007-2015, in relation to socio-demographic community characteristics. This data is being used to create an interactive retailer database for the FAIM Project website. Food Access - Food Retailer Case Studies: The food retail landscape has changed dramatically in the last 25 years. Despite the dominance of national grocery store chains, multiple alternative food retailers have developed in Michigan to support building a more regionalized food system. The FAIM team completed interviews with three unique businesses, who source solely locally produced food, in order to assess of the impact a food retailer's format has on the local economy, community, the food supply chain and ultimately food access. A journal article is currently being drafted for submission. (d) Activities completed: Farmer Focus Group Analysis: Few studies have examined food access from the perspective of small, diversified farmers considering the challenges they face, and what alleviating those barriers could mean for vulnerable Michigan residents and the economy. During year 6, the FAIM Project team analyzed data from 23 focus groups conducted with small farmers across the state. Two manuscripts are currently being drafted: - Data from focus groups with Black and Latinx farmers in Michigan was analyzed and a manuscript about their obstacles and strategies to provide food to underserved residents was submitted in August 2018. - Interviews with farmers in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, an area unique to the state for its distance from any urban center, its low population density, geography and short growing seasons, provide insight into how public institutions can play a key role in supporting knowledge related to production, processing and sales. USDA Census of Agriculture Data Analysis: The FAIM project team obtained USDA Census of Agdata from 2012 to conduct a robust analysis of Michigan farms in order to characterize the state's agricultural system and to place the challenges facing small farmers in a broader context. The goals of the analysis was to augment qualitative focus group data collected in 2013-2014 in order to gain an in-depth understanding of ways to connect farmers to local/regional markets. Upon the completion of this analysis, the FAIM team created a "Small Farms & Agriculture" page on the website to highlight these statistics. Michigan Foodshed Analysis: Given the importance of agriculture to Michigan's economy, the FAIM team conducted a Michigan Foodshed analysis in order to assess the potential for re-circulating locally produced food within the state and for local cropland to meet Michigan resident food demand. Expressing current food production, the population and sub-populations food needs, and the potential food production across our landscape is an important assessment in considering the imperative for better connectivity across the regional Foodshed. A journal article is currently being finalized for submission. (e) Activities completed: Urban Agriculture & Community Gardening Program: During year 6, the FAIM Project website highlighted the work of the six FAIM community partner organizations between 2012-2017. The profiles share examples of the partners work connecting their communities to a variety of agricultural opportunities. (f) Activities completed: In Year 6, 111 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in courses taught by project investigators: PI Dorceta Taylor taught one course in fall 2017: EAS 594: Poverty, Environment, and Inequality with 24 graduate students enrolled. The course included a unit on food systems. Co-I Deborah Lown taught BMS404: Community Nutrition (Civic Engagement Course) with 16 undergraduate students enrolled. FAIM community partner Baxter Community Center's Baxter Market Place was the course's community partner. Student projects included improving nutrition information for pantry users through signage, recipes and cooking demonstrations which were streamed on Baxter's Facebook page. The students measured nutrition knowledge pre and post-intervention. This was presented at a GVSU conference. Co-I Greg Zimmerman taught a two credit honors seminar From Farm to Your Plate: Intro to the US Food System spring semester 2018. There were 6 students ranging from freshmen to seniors enrolled. Co-I Gasteyer taught SOC361 in 2018 which involved sections looking at local food, including a tour of community partner Allen Neighborhood Center. There were 39 students in the class and 15 did final project analyzing community food initiatives. Project Post-doc M'Lis Bartlett taught course: ENVIRON 222 Introduction to Environmental Justice, Fall semester 2017 with 65 undergraduate students enrolled. The course included a 3 week unit with a focus on issues of environmental justice: themes discussed influence of corporate Ag; efforts of urban Ag; impact of Ag on multiple racial groups (Black, Asian, Latino/a); Dr. Barltett also served as an advisor for junior honors student developing her senior thesis focused on food justice in a rural Michigan community. Additionally, PI Tylor oversaw and advised the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars' (DDCSP) program where41undergraduates participated in 2017 & 2018, which included a day of service at DBCFSN's D-Town farm. (g) Activities completed: Michigan Food Policy Database: Recognizing the important role policies play in shaping the food environment, food access in communities across Michigan, the FAIM team finalized a searchable web portal to disseminate policies supporting food access and local food economies on the project website. The first wave of policy examples from across Michigan is currently up on the website.

Publications

  • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Spolum, Maren. Food Access in Michigan Project. University of Michigan, August 2018, www.faimproject.org.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2018 Citation: White, M. Black and Latinx Farmers and Food Access in Michigan. Manuscript on USDA data from focus groups with Black and Latinx farmers in Michigan about their obstacles and strategies to provide food to underserved residents. Draft submitted to the Sociology of Race and Ethnicity in August, 2018
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Journal article draft to be submitted: "Barriers to Food Security in Michigan" The barriers described by key informants are shared in context of the greater political ecology of Michigans food system highlighting the systematic ways in which the industrial food system, corporate consolidation, racist planning and economic policies, endemic poverty combine to severely constrain efforts to mitigate food insecurity.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Journal article draft to be submitted: "Facilitating the Growth of Alternative Food Systems in Isolated Rural Areas". This article examines the role of public facing institutions in the facilitation of knowledge sharing networks for successful food production in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Journal article draft to be submitted: "A compared accessibility analysis of ethnic food outlets in Flint and Grand Rapids, Michigan, using GIS and local regression models"
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Journal article draft to be submitted: "A case study of locally sourcing food retailers in Michigan". This article assesses of the impact a food retailers format has on the local economy, community, the food supply chain and ultimately food access.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Journal article draft to be submitted: "Exploring Just Solutions to Food Insecurity in Michigan" Building off the Barriers article, this paper examines Key Informants suggestions for building food secure communities in light of distributive, procedural and recognition justice.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Journal article draft to be submitted: "Exploring Michigan's Foodshed Potential" This article assesses the potential for re-circulating locally produced food within the state and for local cropland to meet Michigan resident food demand.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Taylor, Dorceta E. 2018. Black Farmers in the U.S. and Michigan: Longevity, Empowerment, and Food Sovereignty. Journal of African American Studies. DOI: 10.1007/s12111-018-9394-8.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Burdine, Justin and Taylor, Dorceta E. 2018. Neighborhood Characteristics and Urban Gardens in the Toledo Metropolitan Area: Staffing and Voluntarism, Food Production, Infrastructure, and Sustainability Practices. Local Environment. 23(2): 198-219. DOI: 10.1080/13549839.2017.1397614.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Undergraduate research projects in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Science in Biomedical Sciences at Grand Valley State University, Allendale, with Debbie Lown as faculty advisor: Breanna Powers AHS 499 Healthy Eating Intervention at the Community Food Club of Grand Rapids. (January May 2017)
  • Type: Other Status: Accepted Year Published: 2017 Citation: Sisson, L. G., Lown, D., 2017 Annual Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior, Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior, Washington DC, "The Impact of a Gleaning Program on Vegetable Intake in Low-Income Seniors", (July 22, 2017).
  • Type: Other Status: Accepted Year Published: 2017 Citation: Lown, D., Civic Engagement Showcase, Grand Valley State University, "The Impact of Nutrition Education on the Nutrition Knowledge of Food Pantry Users",(April 13, 2017).


Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences reached during year 5 consist of the diverse segments of the Michigan population who were exposed to or participated in the study recruitment efforts, data collection processes, interviews for the Food Access in Michigan Project, as well as community and raised bed gardening programs, and undergraduate/graduate classroom instruction. In year 5 these audiences included: Policymakers, state and local government staff, and local food policy councils interested in engaging with the FAIM project policy database - a searchable forum for identifying policies that have been adopted in Michigan to address food access and support the local food system. The FAIM project team will also engage with the Michigan Food Council Network and MSU's Center for Regional Food Systems to learn about additional policies to include based on their experience conducting food systems research in Michigan. Food retailers across Michigan will begin to be recruited at the end of reporting period for year 5. A diverse sample of regional supermarkets, independent supermarkets, ethnic markets, food cooperatives, and markets owned by racial/ethnic individuals, as well as markets that serve predominantly racial/ethnic communities or markets serving low-income clients will be interviewed regarding the way their business supports local economies and communities, sourcing locally grown produce and strategies to increase the sale of locally-grown produce to low-income, potentially food insecure consumers. Low-income, economically-disadvantaged, racial and ethnic individuals who are vulnerable to becoming food insecure are the focus of the raised-bed and community gardening program recruitment efforts. The spring/summer 2017 growing season is currently underway with 116 gardening participants across the state. Undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Michigan, University of Michigan-Flint, Grand Valley State University, Lake Superior State University and the University of Wisconsin were the target audiences for the university-level courses and advising from project faculty; 163 students were engaged in these educational opportunities across the institutions collaborating on this project. Additionally, seven students served as research assistants during year 5, three of whom are racial/ethnic minorities. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training Activities:?Multiple training opportunities were provided during year 5: Analyzing and Coding Qualitative Data using the software MAXQDA: A 2-hour training for research assistants introducing the qualitative analysis software. Qualitative Analysis - Focus Group Collaborative Coding Training: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, October 11 & 14, 2016. Project staff members Spolum and Barlett and research assistant Leslie began by reviewing one transcript from each of the eight regions where focus groups were conducted and identifying themes in this subsample. Code names, definitions and guidance for code application were drafted independently and then combined into a single list. Codes were revised and duplicate codes were eliminated using a consensus based process. A new transcript was then independently coded, and the results of that work combined into a single file. Team members then compared text segmentation and code application across coders in order to discuss inconsistencies due to coder error or problems with code definitions and/or code application guidelines. Another transcript was independently coded, the results of the coding compared, code names, definitions, and applications were again reviewed and revised. Intercoder agreement was checked and satisfied once consistent code use and application across coders was achieved. Qualitative Analysis - Focus Group Collaborative Coding Training: Lansing, Michigan State University, October 14 & 21, 2016. Training with FAIM co-Investigators Zimmerman and Gasteyer, project staff Spolum and Bartlett following the same training protocol outlined above. Professional Development Activities: The Food Access in Michigan Project has worked to build capacity of those contributing to the research by sponsoring participation in conferences and workshops. Project staff/investigators attended 3 other conferences, summits and seminars that provided opportunities to increase knowledge around local, statewide and national research and efforts focused on improving food access and addressing food insecurity included: 2016 Michigan Good Food Summit, "Good Food for All: The road to 2020". October 28, 2016, Michigan State University, Lansing, MI. Attended by Shannon Brines, Project spatial consultant, project staff Maren Spolum, M'Lis Bartlett, Whitney Smith, Bradford Kasberg and RA Teona Williams. 2016 Northern Michigan Small Farms Conference, January 29-30, 2016. Traverse City, MI. Attended by Greg Zimmerman (co-Investigator). Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting. April 29, 2017. Boston, MA. Attended by Greg Rybarczyk (co-Investigator). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?In order to educate communities of interest about the Food Access in Michigan project, the Principal Investigator, Co-Investigators, Project coordinator, project staff and research assistants have all engaged in numerous educational presentations and outreach activities, conducted various media outlet interviews and attended events hosted by community partners in order to engage constituents throughout the food system. In addition, during year 5 the project committed efforts to developing effective systems of communicating the research findings to a wide variety of communities of interest and is finalizing a new website layout and content to be completed by the end of year 5. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the first five year of this grant, the FAIM research team identified multiple opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaboration and expanded the scope of our teaching and research efforts in order that they more accurately reflect the complex food environment reality experience by communities across Michigan. Given this expansion of efforts, during year 6 the FAIM Project team will focus on broadly disseminating our work to diverse stakeholders across the state, and indeed the nation, who are involved in driving policy, planning and programmatic initiatives that seek to meet society's demand and right to healthy food access. (a) Identify the disparities in access to healthy foods in each municipality by examining the relationship between the demographic characteristics of the cities and the distribution patterns of various types of food outlets; Literature Review of Food Environment Measurement & Food Access: The FAIM Project team will submit the literature review and analysis for publication by the end of the year 5 and plans to disseminate findings in year 6. Food Outlet Geo-Spatial Analysis: Having completed the FAIM food retailer category and sub-type classification for the approximately 14,620 licensed retail food establishments in the state by the end of year 5, and will allow the FAIM project team to more accurately analyze the food retail landscape across the state. Spatial Modeling of Food Landscapes & Vulnerable Communities: The FAIM Project team has collected multiple types of socio-demographic data from the American Community Survey (ACS) and US Census. The team will analyze the spatial distribution of food retailers by FAIM store type in relation to community socio-demographic characteristics and constraints by the end of year 5, and will publish findings during year 6. During year 6, ESRI, Inc.'s StoryMap technology will be an essential way the project team communicates study findings. Effect of Ethnic Food Outlets on Access: Flint and Grand Rapids: The FAIM Project team also undertook a spatial examination of whether ethnic food outlet type (grocer vs. restaurant) influences spatial access, Results from this analysis will be disseminated more widely during year 6. (b) Identify the factors related to the presence of food deserts and food oases; Key Informant Interviews: The FAIM Project conducted 133 key informant (KI) interviews to gather perspectives on issues of food security, food access and hunger in Michigan. Presentations and publications on analyses conducted during year 5 will be drafted for submission to conferences and journals, as well as translated for wider audiences in website posts and for community presentations during year 6. (c) Examine the relationship between access to healthy foods, purchasing and consumption behavior, and health outcomes; SNAP Authorized Retailer Assessment: The FAIM project team is assessing the type of food outlets authorized to accept SNAP using the FAIM food retailer categories in order to examine SNAP retailer spatial distribution across the state and how retailer location and store type have changed between 2007-2015, in relation to other socio-demographic community characteristics. During year 6, the research team is also seeking additional information about where SNAP dollars are redeemed across the state, in order to more accurately assess how the food retail system influences food access and food security. These findings will be disseminated during year 6. Food Access: Food Retailer Case Studies: A sampling strategy will be implemented and research assistants trained in the Food Retailer Interview Protocol. Data collection and coding will be completed by the end of year 5. Thematic analysis, writing and the dissemination of findings will take place during year 6. (d) Identify mechanisms through which producers and consumers can be connected more directly and effectively and help facilitate more efficient connection; Farmer Focus Group Analysis: Multiple presentations and research report backs to farmers and government agencies across Michigan via community meetings and farmer conferences are planned for year 6. USDA-NASS Census of Agriculture Data Analysis: The FAIM project team will use US Census of Agriculture data to conduct a robust analysis of farms across the state of Michigan in order to characterize the state's agricultural system and to identify farm geospatial relationships with communities (particularly low-income) across the state. The FAIM Project team anticipates conducting this analysis in the final months of year 5 and then publishing the analysis in the farmer focus group manuscripts as well as on the FAIM project website and during community meeting with farmers during year 6. Michigan Foodshed Analysis: Presentations and articles will be drafted for submission by the end of year 5. Presentations and publications will also be translated for wider audiences in website posts and for community presentations during year 6. (e) Identify those who are vulnerable to becoming food insecure and facilitate their increased participation in local food networks; Urban Agriculture & Community Gardening Program: During year 6, the FAIM research team will continue to highlight the work of the community partners-- profiles of each of the community partners' work on the project were created in year 4, and portions of the interviews conducted with each organization in year 3 will be used to highlight the unique contributions of each of the partner organization with their surrounding community. The profiles will be posted on the FAIM project website during year 6 and will also illustrate how the organizations' work intersects with food in ways that reveal various other social, economic and environmental issues. (f) Create two service-learning courses - one graduate and one undergraduate - related to food security and urban agriculture issues; The FAIM Project faculty have created six University-level academic courses over the course of this study. During year 6, FAIM project faculty will share course syllabus on the project website as well as student projects, thesis, and course created media outputs that are publicly available. (g) Promote national, state, and local food policies that will help to reduce food insecurity. Michigan Food Policy Database: The database will launch in year 5. The FAIM team is planning meetings with the coordinator of the Michigan Food Council Network as well as with MSU's Center for Regional Food Systems in year 5 to present the database to them. In year 6, the FAIM team plans to roll out a second wave of policy examples, as well as collaborate with local Food Policy Councils (n=17) across the state to disseminate this work and incorporate their feedback. In summary, the FAIM project team plans to conduct (at a minimum) the following dissemination efforts during year 6: Write 13 articles for publication in scholarly journals; Disseminate research findings to broader audiences through the creation of: 13 research briefs, 10 fact sheets and 35 white papers posted on the website blog and to share during community meetings; Conduct 9 research report back meetings across the state with research participants who indicated they were interested in hearing about the study results/findings; Present study findings at 6 Michigan food system related conferences and at 6 national professional and/or food system related conferences; Hold meetings with 13 government agencies, foundations and community groups to disseminate research findings specific to their work within the food system; Conduct multiple radio, newspaper, and magazine interviews with local and national media outlets about study findings.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? (a) Activities completed: Literature Review of Food Environment Measurement & Food Access: To assess how researchers have characterized food environments in relation to food access and food security, the FAIM team reviewed 53 studies published between 1997-2015, considering the study aim, geographic scale, retail environment store types, store type definitions, data sources and study findings. This lit review demonstrated there is little consistency in food retail environment measurement & the variety of data sources used. The FAIM Project used this review to guide our analysis of a geo-spatial assessment of the food retail landscape. The FAIM Project team will submit the literature review and analysis for publication by the end of the year 5 (Y5). Food Outlet Geo-Spatial Analysis: Based on the lit review described above, the FAIM team gathered food outlet data from multiple sources. Over half of the licensed food retailers in the state of Michigan are SNAP-authorized and the USDA assigns all SNAP-authorized stores a store type based on characteristics such as inventory, size and annual sales. FAIM researchers created a new store typology. Multiple food retailer data sets were merged together and QA/QC processes used to confirm and/or assign a FAIM food retailer category for the 14,620 licensed retail food establishments in the state. This process will be completed by the end of Y5. Spatial Modeling of Food Landscapes & Vulnerable Communities: The FAIM Project team has collected multiple socio-demographic data sets and is investigating the use of indices that demonstrate the hardships and constraints faced by vulnerable individuals and families. The team will analyze the spatial distribution of food retailers by FAIM store type in relation to community socio-demographic characteristics and constraints by the end of Y5. Effect of Ethnic Food Outlets on Access: Flint and Grand Rapids: The FAIM team also undertook a spatial examination of whether ethnic food outlet type (grocer vs. restaurant) influences spatial access, while considering local competition, socioeconomic, environmental, and urban morphological factors. The ethnic food outlet accessibility analysis was conducted for the cities of Flint and Grand Rapids to test its impact on food security. (b) Activities completed: Key Informant Interviews: While food accessibility is important, critical research recognizes how the hunger individuals experience fluctuates with larger economic trends and political decisions, disproportionately affecting people of color, women, children, the disabled and seniors. The FAIM Project conducted 133 key informant (KI) interviews to gather perspectives on issues of food security, food access and hunger in Michigan from people working within the food system. By the end of Y5, the research team will have coded all of the interviews and begun analysis of themes emerging from the qualitative coding process. (c) Activities completed: SNAP Authorized Retailer Assessment: The USDA categorizes SNAP-authorized retailers as one of 17 different store types. The FAIM team is assessing the type of food outlets authorized to accept SNAP using the FAIM food retailer typology in order to examine SNAP retailer spatial distribution across the state & retailer location and store type changes between 2007-2015, in relation to socio-demographic community characteristics. Food Access - Food Retailer Case Studies: The food retail landscape has changed dramatically in the last 25 years. Despite the dominance of national grocery store chains, multiple alternative food retailers have developed in Michigan to support building a more regionalized food system. The FAIM team will complete interviews with sixteen different businesses to assess of the impact a food retailer's format has on the local economy, community, the food supply chain and ultimately food access. A sampling strategy will be implemented and data collection using the Food Retailer Interview Protocol will be completed by the end of Y5. (d) Activities completed: Farmer Focus Group Analysis: Few studies have examined food access from the perspective of small, diversified farmers considering the challenges they face, and what alleviating those barriers could mean for vulnerable Michigan residents and the economy. The FAIM Project conducted 23 focus groups; the transcript coding will be completed by the end of Y5 and writing begun on 5 different manuscripts. USDA Census of Agriculture Data Analysis: The FAIM project team will use Census of Ag data from 2012 and 2007 to conduct a robust analysis of farms in order to characterize the state's agricultural system and to identify farm geospatial relationships with communities (particularly low-income). The goals of the analysis will be to augment qualitative focus group data collected in 2013-2014 in order to gain an in-depth understanding of ways to connect farmers to local/regional markets. The FAIM Project team anticipates completing this analysis in the final months of Y5. Michigan Foodshed Analysis: Given the importance of agriculture to Michigan's economy, the FAIM team is conducting a Michigan Foodshed analysis in order to assess the potential for local cropland to meet Michigan resident food demand, re-circulating locally produced food within the state. Expressing current food production, the population and sub-populations food needs, and the potential food production across our landscape is an important assessment in considering the imperative for better connectivity across the regional Foodshed. Presentations and articles will be drafted for submission by the end of Y5. (e) Activities completed: Urban Agriculture & Community Gardening Program: The six FAIM community partner organizations are running gardening programs for their fourth season. They either construct raised bed gardens for participants, run community gardens and/or run school-yard gardening programs. Across the six partner sites, over 25 gardening education classes will be offered to participants this spring/summer season, many of whom were identified as vulnerable of being food insecure. Pre-season and post-season surveys were distributed. Additionally, monthly meetings with FAIM gardening partners have highlighted the ways that community-based organizations are critical sources of support in connecting individuals vulnerable of being food insecure to local food networks, other growers, mentors, and sources of support. (f) Activities completed: In Y5, 163 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in courses taught by project investigators: PI Dorceta Taylor taught two courses in fall 2016, including: graduate-level Sustainable Food Systems with 12 students enrolled, and an undergraduate Introduction to Environmental Justice course with 75 students enrolled. Co-I Deborah Lown taught BMS404: Community Nutrition with 9 students enrolled and topics on food access and food disparities. Co-I Monica White taught three undergraduate courses this year: Critical Issues in Food Systems with 35 students enrolled; Urban Food Security and Food Security with 12 students enrolled; Environmental Justice: Land, Food and Water with 12 students enrolled. Co-I Greg Zimmerman taught a two credit honors seminar From Farm to Your Plate: Intro to US Food System spring semester 2017. There were 8 students ranging from freshmen to seniors enrolled. (g) Activities completed: Michigan Food Policy Database: Recognizing the important role policies play in shaping the food environment, food access in communities across Michigan, the FAIM team is finalizing a web portal to disseminate policies supporting food access and local food economies. The first wave of policy examples will be available by the end of Y5 on the project website.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: White, M. M. (2017). Voices of the food movement in Detroit. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 7(2), 57.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2017 Citation: Rybarczyk, G. Neighborhood environment links to food access: A case study in Flint, Michigan, USA. Annual Association of American Geographers Meeting, Boston, MA, April 59, 2017


Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/16

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences reached during year 4 consist of the diverse segments of the Michigan population who were exposed to or participated in the study recruitment efforts, data collection processes, interviews for the Food Access in Michigan Project, as well as community and raised bed gardening programs, and undergraduate/graduate classroom instruction. In year 4 these audiences included: Food retailers across Michigan will begin to be recruited at the end of reporting period for year 4. A diverse sample of regional supermarkets, independent supermarkets, ethnic markets, food cooperatives, and markets owned by racial/ethnic individuals, as well asmarkets that serve predominantly racial/ethnic communities or markets serving low-income clients will be interviewed regarding the way their business supports local economies and communities, sourcing locally grown produce and strategies to increase the sale of locally-grown produce to low-income, potentially food insecure consumers. Low-income, economically-disadvantaged, racial and ethnic individuals who are vulnerable to becoming food insecure are the focus of the raised-bed and community gardening program recruitment efforts. Recruiting for the spring/summer 2016 season is currently underway. Undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Michigan, University of Michigan-Flint, Grand Valley State University, and the University of Wisconsin were the target audiences for the university-level courses and advising from project faculty; 450 students were engaged in these educational opportunities across the four institutions collaborating on this project. Additionally, 18 students served as research assistants during year 4, five of whom are racial/ethnic minorities. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Multiple training opportunities were provided during year 4: Analyzing and Coding Qualitative Data using the software MAXQDA: A 2-hour training for research assistants introducing the qualitative analysis software. Qualitative Analysis - Introduction to Coding Training: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, September 18, 2015. Training with qualitative and mixed methods researcher William Lopez, project coordinator Spolum, RAs M'Lis Bartlett, Joanna Lehrman, Whitney Smith, and Beatriz Canas to learn about approaches to qualitative analysis and the steps in how to begin coding qualitative data. Focus Group Qualitative Analysis Training: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, October 7, 2015. Co-Investigator Monica White lead a training for the farmer focus group analysis team project coordinator Spolum, RAs M'Lis Bartlett, Joanna Lehrman, Co-I Zimmerman, and consultant Brines to learn about approaches to qualitative analysis and the steps in how to begin coding focus group discussions. Spatial Analysis trainings: Co-Investigator Rybarczyk trained two undergraduate students at UM-Flint on the subtype food outlet classification technique and several GIS related project tasks. Additionally, two graduate students at UM-Ann Arbor where trained regarding what databases that can be integrated into GIS with modifications currently exist, what further datasets are needed, what to start researching and learning in terms of analyses desired in Year 5, and what to start researching and learning in terms of dissemination mediums desired in Year 5 e.g. StoryMaps online publishing from ESRI, Inc. Professional Development Activities: The Food Access in Michigan Project has worked to build capacity of those contributing to the research by sponsoring participation in conferences and workshops. Project staff/investigators attended 4 other conferences, summits and seminars that provided opportunities to increase knowledge around local, statewide and national research and efforts focused on improving food access and addressing food insecurity included: 2nd International Conference on Global Food Security hosted by Cornell University and Columbia University. October 11-14, 2015, Ithaca, NY. Attended by Greg Zimmerman (co-Investigator). American Public Health Association Annual Conference. November 2-3, 2015, Chicago, IL. Attended by Deborah Lown (co-Investigator) and project coordinator Maren Spolum. 2015 Eastern Upper Peninsula Food Summit: Together At The Table. November 4, 2015. LSSU Cisler Center, Sault Ste Marie, MI. Attended by Greg Zimmerman (co-Investigator). Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting. April 29-March 2, 2016. Attended by Greg Rybarczyk (co-Investigator) and Shannon Brines, Project spatial consultant. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?In order to educate communities of interest about the Food Access in Michigan project, the Principal Investigator, Co-Investigators, Project coordinator and research assistants have all engaged in numerous educational presentations and outreach activities, conducted various media outlet interviews and attended events hosted by community partners in order to engage constituents throughout the food system. In addition, during year 4 the project committed efforts to developing effective systems of communicating the research findings to a wide variety of communities of interest. Therefore, the project contracted with a graphic/web design team to help create an easily navigable, visually clear website format, through which the investigators can translate and communicate their research into multiple medias as well as across a variety of devices. The site will also serve as a vehicle to connect a variety of constituents to additional resources and support. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?(a) Identify the disparities in access to healthy foods in each municipality by examining the relationship between the demographic characteristics of the cities and the distribution patterns of various types of food outlets; - Year 5 plan: GIS efforts in year 5 will consist of finalizing the examination of ethnic food outlet accessibility in Flint and Grand Rapids, and then submitting the results to a peer-reviewed journal. QA/QC on the remaining food outlets statewide will continue till the end of year 4. Additionally, the spatial analysis team will analyze and summarize the spatial distribution of authorized SNAP retailers, SNAP reimbursement by store type in relation to socio-demographic characteristics of the surrounding community. Lastly, ESRI, Inc.'s StoryMap technology will be essential as a way to combine authoritative maps with narrative text, images, and multimedia content. We plan to utilize this technology to express on our website multiple qualitative narratives collected by this research study. (b) Identify the factors related to the presence of food deserts and food oases; - Year 5 plan: Key stakeholder interview transcripts will be coded and analyzed during year 5. Presentations and publications on analyses conducted during year 5 will be drafted for submission to conferences and journals, as well as translated for wider audiences in website posts and for community presentations. SNAP Authorized Retailer Assessment: Original research questions of the project focused on assessing the type of food outlets authorized to accept SNAP, as well as their spatial distribution across the state. The research team is seeking additional information about these stores in by the end of year 4, and will assess where SNAP dollars are redeemed across the state. (c) Examine the relationship between access to healthy foods, purchasing and consumption behavior, and health outcomes; - Year 5 plan: The project team will assess of the impact a food retailer's format (size; ownership structure; range of products and services; pricing structure; operating style; store design) has on surrounding communities, local economies, the food supply chain and ultimately food access. A sampling strategy will be implemented and research assistants trained in the Food Retailer Interview Protocol. Data collection will begin once research assistants are prepared to go into the field. (d) Identify mechanisms through which producers and consumers can be connected more directly and effectively and help facilitate more efficient connection; - Year 5 plan: The Farmer Focus Group coding team plans to establish a clear coding process in order to enhance intercoder agreement, come to consensus on text segmentation and code application, establish a process for regularly cleaning the codebook across the team, and code all of the focus group transcripts. Additionally, the project team hopes to obtain US Census of Agriculture data from NASS in order to further investigate the magnitude of issues raised by the small farmers in the focus group sample against the larger USDA 2012 Census of Agriculture data. Future inquiries would include assessing the relative size in acres and dollars of farm operations, whether those farms have direct sales for human consumption, whether those farms use organic agriculture or other practices, and some of the attributes of farm operators (like queries by race and ethnicity). A large focus will be on identifying trends or commonalities among farmers who already produce food for direct sales for human consumption. Finally the spatial analysis team will conduct a "Foodshed" analysis in order to assess the potential for local cropland to meet Michigan resident food demand. Expressing current food production, the population and sub-populations food needs, and the potential food production across our landscape is an important narrative in highlighting the imperative for better connectivity across the regional Foodshed. Presentations and articles will be drafted for submission and dissemination. Presentations and publications will also be translated for wider audiences in website posts and for community presentations. (e) Identify those who are vulnerable to becoming food insecure and facilitate their increased participation in local food networks; - Year 5 plan: The research team will continue to work with their community partners to build their capacity to deliver programmatic support to individuals across the state of Michigan who are interested in participating in urban agricultural activities and who are vulnerable to being food insecure. The FAIM research team will also use the interviews conducted with garden program managers in order to create several media outputs identifying additional strategies for supporting the capacity of organizations that work to connect community members vulnerable of being food insecure to the land and local food. (f) Create two service-learning courses - one graduate and one undergraduate - related to food security and urban agriculture issues; - Year 5 plan: Project faculty will continue teaching multiple courses and units that address issues of food security and critically analyze different facets of the food system. (g) Promote national, state, and local food policies that will help to reduce food insecurity. - Year 5 plan: The research team will finalize the building of a searchable database of policies on the FAIM project website. This interactive webpage will allow interested parties to search through the food policy database in order to disseminate the policy examples to policymakers, government staff, food policy councils and others interested in Michigan-based examples of public policies that have been adopted to address food access and support the local food system. Once finalized, the FAIM team will collaborate with the Michigan Food Council Network and MSU's Center for Regional Food Systems to learn about additional policies to include based on their experience conducting food systems research in Michigan.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? (a) Food OutletActivities Completed: In Y4 the team is finalizingthe food outlet database downloaded from ReferenceUSA for the state of Michigan. This entailed the spatial and qualitative verification of all food outlet types. Asecond food outlet database was created from lists of licensed food retail establishments in 2012 and 2015 obtained from the MDARD. Spatial comparisons will allow the research team to assess the accuracy of the RefUSA dataset.Authorized SNAP retailers:Databases of authorized SNAP retailers were obtained from the USDA for years 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2015. The research team will assess the temporal changes in the type of food retailersauthorized across these time periods.Farm data: Personnel changes at the Lansing, MI USDA-NASS office delayed the team's ability to obtain data on farms in Michigan from the US Census of Agriculture. The team is currently in discussion with new personnel and is working to collect farm locations and socio-economic data.Spatial Modeling Activities Completed:During Y4 a novel accessibility index was created for the cities of Flint and Grand Rapids. Using GIS, the index was used to help identify "where" and "what" obstructions exist for obtaining food from ethnic restaurants and grocers.Additionally, dozens of statewide maps were produced using the project's existing datasets. (b) Key Stakeholder Activities completed: Using an environmental justice framework, a multi-disciplinary, collaborative grounded theory qualitative analysis process was initiated in Y4. A decision-tree was developed to systematically select the portion of the interview transcripts where the stakeholder discussedthe factors affecting food insecurity, the presence of food deserts, as well as the methods to address food inaccessibility and hunger. The team identified major themes emerging fromstakeholder responses. Code labels, code definitions, examples and non-examples were drafted and then merged into a codebook. Finally a Key Food System stakeholder typology was developed in order to identify the stakeholders by the kind of work they conduct(job titles don't accurately capture that information). (c)Activities completed:The GVSU research team continued to clean and analyze pilot data collected during Y1-3 from the 24-hour diet recalls, Actigraph Physical Activity measurements and the Resident Food Security and Food Behavior Survey. Food Retailer StudyActivities Completed:The food retail landscape has changed dramatically in the last 25 years, affecting the kind and number of grocery stores that different communities can access, and the size of farm and volume of products grown required to source these stores. The consolidation of market power has led to lower prices paid to producers, manufacturers, and workers within the food system. Key stakeholders discussed the effectstore consolidation has had on consumer purchasing behavior, and an emerging theme from farmer focus groups was the effect of low price points set by merchandise stores on competitiveness and solvency of small farmers.SNAP Authorized Retailer Assessment: The research team is seeking additional information about these stores in by the end of Y4, and will assess where SNAP dollars are redeemed across the state. Changes: Given the iterative nature of the project, the insights gained from initial data collection efforts are informing the subsequent efforts. By the end of Y4 the project team will have revised the food retailer study to consider the impact of market consolidation on the food system in Michigan. In addition the team will assess of the impact a retailer's format on the surrounding communities, local economies, the food supply chain, and ultimately food access. (d)Farmer Focus Group Activities Completed: During Y4, transcripts were reviewed by the focus group facilitators in order to correct errors identified (inaudible responses or the use of technical language related to farming practices not understood by transcribers). A multi-disciplinary, collaborative, grounded theory qualitative analysis process was then initiated. The farmer focus group coding team is currently reading through a subset of the focus group transcripts and taking detailed notes that they will then use to identify themes within the subsample; These themes will form the basis of the subsequent collective development of codes and definitions, with the goal of completing the codebook by the end of Y4. (e)Activities completed:The six community partner organizations ran gardening programs during Y4. Four of the sites constructed raised bed gardens, while in the two other, one worked with individuals growing produce in community gardens, while the other worked with families whose children participate in school-yard gardening programs. Across the six partner sites, over 25 gardening education classes have been offered to the program participants, many of whom were identified as vulnerable to becoming food insecure as part of program eligibility. Pre-season and post-season surveys, as well as harvest tracking forms were distributed at the gardening sites. Additionally, monthly meetings with FAIM gardening partners have highlighted the ways that community-based organizations are critical sources of support in connecting individuals vulnerable of being food insecure to local food networks, other growers, mentors, and sources of support. During Y4 profiles of each of the community partners' work on the project were created, highlighting the unique contributions of each of the partner organization as well as how their work intersects with food in ways that reveal various other social, economic and environmental issues; will be on the project website in Y5.? (f)Activities completed:In Y4, 450 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in courses taught by project investigators: PI Dorceta Taylor taught ENVIRON 222: Introduction to Environmental Justice, an undergraduate course with 49 students.Taylor also taught NRE501-055: Independent Studies and Master's Project, a graduate course of 3 students producing final paper on food assistance, traditional plants and mobile food markets. Co-I Deborah Lown taught two courses of BMS 305m Clinical Nutrition in the fall semester of 2015 to 130 undergraduate students. In the winter semester of 2016: 80 undergraduate students in BMS305: Clinical Nutrition, and 13 undergraduate students in BMS404: Community Nutrition. The Community Nutrition course included topics on food access and food disparities. Co-I Lown was the preceptor for a student internship at Feeding American of West Michigan. Co-I Monica White taught a semester long course in thespring of 2016 EnvSt 213 "Global Environmental Health"designed for undergraduate students with 175 students enrolled and included lectures on urban food systems and food justice. One graduate students produced a Masters thesis while being advised by co-I Lown. Co-I Lown also served as a preceptor for a student interning at Feeding America West Michigan. (g)Activities completed:The project team is building the infrastructure on the back-end of the project website that will allow for the content to be searchable by policy type, policy area. The timeline of collaboration also shifted in Y4 given the dismantling of the Michigan Food Policy Council (established in 2005) in 2014. A replacement subcommittee to support food policy discussions was established within the MDARD - the ICC Subcommittee on Food Policy. Additionally, a Local Food Council Network was also developed to support the local food policy councils around the state. The FAIM Project will work to collaborate with these organizations to enhance the local food policy database in Y5.

Publications

  • Type: Books Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2016 Citation: Taylor, Dorceta E. 2016. The Rise of the American Conservation Movement: Power, Privilege, and Environmental Protection. Durham: Duke University Press.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2016 Citation: Zimmerman, G. Food Access in Michigan Farmer Focus Group Research. Farms, Food & Health Conference. January 29, 2016 Traverse City, MI.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2016 Citation: Rybarczyk, G. Spatiality and food access: Measuring geographic access to ethnic restaurants and grocers. Paper presented at the Annual Association of American Geographers Meeting, San Francisco, CA, April 29-March 2, 2016
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Invited Symposia Presentation: Spolum, M. Exploring Racial Inequalities in our Food System. The University of Michigan Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Symposium, Food Justice Panel. January 26, 2016. Panel also highlighted the work of RA Whitney Smith and community partner Detroit Black Community Food Security Network.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Other Year Published: 2015 Citation: 1 Masters project thesis was written in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences at Grand Valley State University with co-I Debbie Lown as faculty advisor: Citation: Katherine Hekstra, Assessment of a New Healthy Food Policy at Two Food Pantries in Grand Rapids, MI. Published in the Grand Valley State Thesis Journal


Progress 09/01/14 to 08/31/15

Outputs
Target Audience: The target audiences reached during year 3 consist of the diverse segments of the Michigan population who were exposed to or participated in the recruitment efforts, data collection processes, educational publications, interviews, articles and about the Food Access in Michigan Project. In year 3 these audiences included: Key individual and organizational stakeholders working within the food system in Michigan. 7 additional key informants provided interviews in year 3, bringing to total number of interviews up to 134 during year 1-3 of the project. Many of these individuals live in or work with communities and individuals who are likely to be food insecure, are socially and economically disadvantaged, and are themselves racial ethnic minorities or serve racial or ethnic minority communities. Small and mid-sized farmers, including underserved and socially disadvantaged, racial and ethnic minority farmers, women, and beginning farmers were reached by project team recruiting efforts. Sixty-one participated in farmer focus groups during year 3, many of these individuals were small farmers who were struggling to run economically viable operations. A total of 128 farmers have participated in focus groups conducted by the project during years 2-3. Food retailers across Michigan will begin to be recruited at the end of reporting period for year 3. A diverse sample of national chain stores, regional supermarket companies, as well as independent supermarkets, ethnic markets, convenience stores and food market cooperatives will be interviewed regarding sourcing locally grown produce and strategies to increase the sale of locally-grown produce to low-income consumers. Low-income, economically-disadvantaged, racial and ethnic minorities who are vulnerable to becoming food insecure were the targets of the raised-bed gardening program recruitment efforts. Recruiting for the spring/summer 2015 season is currently underway. Additionally, low-income, economically-disadvantaged, racial and ethnic minorities, as well as individuals utilizing food pantries in Grand Rapids and Muskegon, Michigan were recruited to complete diet, physical activity and/or food access/food insecurity surveys. Program managers in community based organizations that operate urban agriculture programs Discussions with the FAIM gardening partners over years 1-3 have indicated that gardening represents an everyday activity that is imbued with multiple meanings, and that participation in gardening activities can address issues of access by helping people grow culturally appropriate food, save money on their food bills, and increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables. The FAIM Project conducted exploratory interviews with six different community-based organizations with different organizational structures, staffing capacities, durations of time working in the community, missions and activities, all of whom engage their community in growing food. Undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Michigan, University of Michigan-Flint, Michigan State University, Grand Valley State University, and the University of Wisconsin were the target audiences for the university-level courses and advising from project faculty; 210 students were engaged in these educational opportunities across the four institutions collaborating on this project. Additionally, 25 students served as research assistants during year 3, eight of whom were racial/ethnic minorities. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Five different training opportunities were provided during year 3: Transcribing Interviews and Focus Groups Training: A 2- hour individual training for research assistants providing instruction for transcribing interview and focus group audio files, followed by follow-up feedback and discussions of initial transcription work completed. Trainings were held during year 3 by the project coordinator with eleven different students. Analyzing and Coding Qualitative Data using the software HyperResearch: A 2-hour training for research assistants introducing the qualitative analysis software. Qualitative Analysis Codebook Development Training: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, September, 2014-April, 2015. Training with project coordinator, co-investigator Deborah Lown, and post-doc Ethan Schoolman and RA Beatriz Canas involved creating a codebook from Key Informants Interviews in HyperResearch to be utilized in later coding analysis of all 133 interview transcripts. Website Development and Content Creation Training: A 2-hour training session for project research assistants, GIS consultant and project coordinator introducing the website backend layout and tools used to build webpages, format new content, Professional Development Activities: Project staff/investigators attended 15 other conferences, summits and seminars that provided opportunities to increase knowledge around local, statewide and national research and efforts focused on improving food access and addressing food insecurity included: Black Farmers and Urban Growers Conference, October 17-19, 2014, Detroit, MI. Attended by PI Taylor, project coordinator Spolum, and RA Smith Michigan Good Food Summit, October 28, 2014, Lansing, MI. Attended by co-I Lown, project coordinator Spolum, consultant Brines, research assistants Canas, Smith, and multiple community parters Eastern UP Food Summit, November 4, 2014, Lake Superior State University, Sault Ste Marie, MI. Attended by Co-I Gregory Zimmerman, Community partner Nome Buckman and RA Josie Fegan. Fresh EUP had a table display, all team members represented FAIM in the Summit discussions. The food summit is an annual gathering of local food producers, consumers and advocates to share information about initiatives designed to enhance use of local foods. The theme was "Together at the Table." American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, November 15-19, 2014, New Orleans, LA. Attended by project coordinator, Maren Spolum. West Michigan Undergraduate Research Conference, Van Andel Research Institute, Grand Rapids, MI, November 15, 2014. Attended by Co-I Deborah Lown. Michigan Food Hub Network Meeting. Ann Arbor, MI. November 20, 2014 Attended by Project coordinator Spolum, consultant Brines, and research assistants Canas, Smith, and Jones. MSU Extension Community Training - FEAST Model: Food, Education, Agriculture, Solutions, Together. December 15-17, 2014, Okemos, MI. Attended by consultant Shannon Brines. Michigan Family Farms Conference. January 17, 2015, Battle Creek, MI. Attended by project coordinator Spolum, consultant Brines, and research assistants Smith, Canas, Lehrman, Jones, and Bartlett. Science, Practice & Art of Restoring Native Ecosystems Conference. January 23-24, 2015, East Lansing, MI. Attended by research assistants Canas, Smith, and Lehrman, Seminar discussion with members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Student/Farmworker Alliance, February 5, 2015, Ann Arbor, MI. Attended by Project coordinator Spolum, consultant Brines, and research assistants Canas, Smith, and Jones. Homegrown Local Food Summit, February 15, 2015, Michigan Union, Ann Arbor, MI. Attended by Project coordinator Maren Spolum and research assistants Canas, Smith and Jones. Annual Eastern UP Hoophouse Grower's Conference, March 28, 2015, Les Cheneaux Culinary School, Hessel, MI. Attended by Co-I Zimmerman who spoke on best growing practices; Buckman was one of the meeting organizers. Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting. April 21-25, 2015, Chicago, IL. Attended by Greg Rybarczyk (co-Investigator) and Richard Wetzel (Research Assistant at UM-Flint). Michigan Nutrition and Dietetics Association Annual Conference, Ann Arbor, MI, April 23, 2015. Attended by Co-I Deborah Lown. Rural Sociology Society Annual Meeting, August 6-9, 2015, Madison, Wisconsin. Attend by research assistant Hui Qian. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? In order to educate communities of interest about the Food Access in Michigan project, the Principal Investigator, Co-Investigators, Project coordinator and research assistants have all engaged in numerous educational presentations and outreach activities, community presentations, attended community events, conferences, seminars and summits, conducted television interviews and attended events hosted by community partners in order to engage constituents throughout the food system. Flyers were also developed to educate farmers being recruited for focus groups about the aims of the entire project and the aims of the farmer focus groups. These flyers were developed in both English and Spanish. The relationships established with individuals and organizations during year 1-3 will serve as critical avenues for dissemination of publications and results in subsequent years, particularly as the FAIM website content is completed during year 4. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? (a) Identify the disparities in access to healthy foods in each municipality by examining the relationship between the demographic characteristics of the cities and the distribution patterns of various types of food outlets (including EBT retailers); - Year 4 plan: GIS spatial analysis efforts in year 4 will consist of finalizing and submitting a manuscript focused on examining ethnic food accessibility for two project sites: Flint and Grand Rapids. Spatial analysis and modeling of food outlet access for the State of Michigan and the 18 study sites using GIS, statistics, and optimization techniques will build off of preliminary analysis currently underway. Presentations and publications on work conducted in year 3 will be submitted to conferences and journals. (b) Identify the factors related to the presence of food deserts and food oases; - Year 4 plan: Key stakeholder interview transcripts will be coded and analyzed during year 4. Articles and other products will be drafted for submission as well as other products developed for dissemination on the FAIM website. (c) Examine the relationship between access to healthy foods, purchasing and consumption behavior, and health outcomes; - Year 4 plan: The GVSU research team plans on cleaning and analyzing the pilot data collected from the 24-hour diet recalls, Actigraph Physical Activity measurements and the Resident Food Security and Food Behavior Survey (completed by both gardeners and non-gardeners) to present and publish articles based on findings. Additionally, as individuals participate in Baxter Community Centers gardening program and receive additional gardening space each year, the GVSU research team is interested in exploring the impact of increased gardening space on purchasing practices and food security status in these gardeners. Baxter Community Center also provides multiple services to its surrounding community including gardening classes, cooking and preserving food. Therefore, we implemented an annual survey to measure change in purchasing practices and food security with the annual increase in gardening space. Also this survey will measure change in knowledge and self-efficacy for gardening over a 5-year period. (d) Identify mechanisms through which producers and consumers can be connected more directly and effectively and help facilitate more efficient connection; - Year 4 plan: A codebook will be developed in order to code and analyze the transcripts from the farmer focus groups. Farmer demographics will be analyzed in year 4. Presentations and publication ideas will be drafted for submission and dissemination. - The Food Retailer Interview guide will be finalized and pre-tested. A sampling strategy will be implemented and research assistants trained in the Food Retailer Interview Protocol. Data collection will begin once research assistants are prepared to go into the field. (e) Identify those who are vulnerable to becoming food insecure and facilitate their increased participation in local food networks; - Year 4 plan: The research team will continue to work with their community partners to build their capacity to deliver programmatic support to individuals across the state of Michigan who are interested in participating in urban agricultural activities and who are vulnerable to being food insecure. The FAIM research team will also analyze the preliminary interviews conducted with garden program managers in order to identify additional strategies for supporting the capacity of organizations that work to connect community members vulnerable of being food insecure to the land and local food. (f) Create two service-learning courses - one graduate and one undergraduate - related to food security and urban agriculture issues; - Year 4 plan: Project faculty will continue teaching multiple courses and units that address issues of food security and critically analyze different facets of the food system. (g) Promote national, state, and local food policies that will help to reduce food insecurity. - Year 4 plan: The research team will continue to seek out policies from across the state to add to the Michigan Food Policy database. Additionally, we will collaborate with the Michigan Food Policy Council Network to learn about food systems issues around the state that can be addressed though public policies. Finally, the FAIM team will build into the new website the functionality to search through the food policy database in order to disseminate the policy examples to policymakers, government staff, food policy councils and others interested in Michigan-based examples of public policies that have been adopted to address food access and support the local food system. 2 Publications in development: Rybarczyk, D., Wetzel, R., and Taylor, D. Ethnic Food Accessibility: The Role of Alternative Travel, Context, and Composition Taylor D & Lown D. Racial differences in food access in Grand Rapids, MI.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? (a) Food Outlet Activities Completed: The food outlet database was finalized for the state of Michigan. The finalizing activities entailed the spatial and qualitative verification of all food outlet types in the State of Michigan. Since year 2, the establishments accepting WIC and food assistance groups for the state (except for two counties in Michigan) have been obtained. Two counties in Michigan have not provided food assistance group locations or information. Similarly, the project continues to wait on collecting farm locations and demographics from the USDA-NASS. In lieu of this, county and zip-code level data has been gathered and will be used instead. Spatial and database accuracy of all food outlet types was verified using online resources and the subtype classification methodology for any incorrectly classified or placed food outlets. Spatial Modeling Activities Completed: A spatial examination of ethnic food outlet (EFO) accessibility was conducted for the City of Flint and Grand Rapids to test their impact on food security. Specifically, a modified revealed accessibility index was created to determine current EFO access levels. This index incorporated food outlet competition, food outlet usage, alternative travel distances, and travel cost factors. In addition, basic statistical and spatial measures (Lorenz curves, Gini coefficients, and clustering techniques) were used to assess EFO utilization. To determine which spatial and aspatial factors contributed to the observed EFO accessibility metric, a global and local model was implemented. Discussion of results: Several socio-economic, environmental, and urban form factors were found to affect EFO accessibility in the City of Flint and Grand Rapids. A notable finding is that the impacts of the significant factors varied spatially throughout each study site. (b) Activities completed: Seven additional key informant (KI) interviews were conducted. All 133 interview transcripts were completed by project research assistants. All demographic survey responses were entered into a database and cleaned. Finally, qualitative analysis of the interviews began with a collaborative codebook development process. The codebook will be used to code the interviews during year 4. Summary statistics: The KI sample was comprised of 72% women. With regard to race/ethnicity the KIs were 84% white, 4% black, 3% Latino, 6% Native American, and 1% Arab American. KI ages ranged from 24-76 with an average age of 44. 84% of the key informants had either a bachelor's or master's degree. 88% reported combined annual household incomes of $50,000 or more. (c) Activities completed: During year 3, 24-hour diet recalls were collected from 14 participants, and physical activity information was also collected from 14 participants. The Resident Food Security and Food Behavior Survey was completed by 48 participants. Year 1-3 data collection totals include 77 24-hour diet-recalls; 54 Actigraph physical activity measurements; and 95 Resident Food Security and Food Behavior Surveys. (d) Farmer Focus Group Activities Completed: Year 3 recruitment efforts continued to focus on small to mid-sized farmers, as well as farmers who are underserved and socially disadvantaged, racial and ethnic minority farmers, women, and beginning farmers. 10 focus groups were held in year 3, with a total of 69 participants, sampled from both predominantly rural but also urban communities within 20 miles of the 18 study cities. Focus group transcripts were completed for the 23 focus groups held between years 1-3. Surveys that included both demographic and farm data were collected from participants. During year 3, all 128 survey responses were entered into a database and cleaned. Finally, a collaborative codebook development process will be initiated towards the end of year 3. The codebook that is developed will be used to code the focus groups during year 4. Food Retailer Interview Activities Completed: Food retailers across Michigan will begin to be recruited at the end of reporting period for year 3. A diverse sample of national chain stores, regional supermarket companies, as well as independent supermarkets, ethnic markets, convenience stores and food market cooperatives will be interviewed regarding sourcing locally grown produce and strategies to increase the sale of locally-grown produce to low-income consumers. The Food Retailer Interview Guide will be finalized and pre-tested by the end of year 3. A sampling strategy will be implemented and research assistants trained in the Food Retailer Interview Protocol. (e) Activities completed: The six community partner organizations ran gardening programs during year 3 of the project. Four of the sites constructed raised bed gardens for program participants, while in the two other partner organizations, one worked with individuals growing produce collectively in community gardens while, the other worked with families whose children participate in after-school and school-yard gardening programs. At one of the partner sites, a wheelchair accessible raised bed was constructed, with the project participant reporting that the gardening program had "changed her life." Across the six partner sites, 35 gardening education classes have been offered to the program participants. Additionally, FAIM gardening partners have highlighted the ways that community-based organizations are critical sources of support in connecting individuals vulnerable of being food insecure to local food networks. The FAIM Project conducted six exploratory interviews with community-based organizations with different organizational structures, staffing capacities, durations of time working in the community, missions and activities, but all of whom engage their community in growing food. The interviews focused on discussing the ways community organizations are enhancing access to food in their local communities; how community-based organizations leverage work across the organization to support their food-related work; And strategies of supporting the capacity of community-based organizations so that they may continue to connect their community to land and food. (f) Activities completed: In Year 3, 207 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in courses taught byinvestigators: PI Taylor taught two courses: 17 students in her graduate course titled Food Systems- Implications for Unequal Access, and 54 undergraduate student in her course titled Introduction to Environmental Justice (the course contained two units on food insecurity). Co-I Lown taught two courses: 80 undergraduate students in Clinical Nutrition, and 13 undergraduate students in Community Nutrition. Co-I Rybarczyk taught 6 students in his course titled GIS Tech Workshop-GIS and Public/Environmental Health, incorporating public health and food access topics. Co-I Gasteyer incorporated units on urban agriculture, food access and food disparities into two undergraduate courses, Methods of Social Science Research and Organizations and Society. And Co-I White taught a semester long course: Critical Issues in Food Systems with 24 students enrolled. (g) Activities completed: During year 3, research assistants began developing a database of local to statewide public policies that promote food access as well as that support local/regional food systems. 24 different policies across the state were identified. Project coordinator Spolum meet with Growing Food Connections co-Principal Investigator Kimberley Hodgson (USDA AFRI Competitive Grant no. 2012-68004-19894) to learn about the national database of food policies their research team developed. Spolum also met with the coordinator of the Michigan Food Policy Council Network who has invited the FAIM team to present at the next Policy Council Network meeting in order to invite policy contributions to add to the database.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Taylor, Dorceta E. and Ard, Kerry J. 2015. Food Availability and the Food Desert Frame in Detroit: An Overview of the Citys Food System. Environmental Practice. Vol. 17(2).
  • Type: Books Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Taylor, Dorceta E. (2014). Toxic Communities: Environmental Racism, Industrial Pollution, and Residential Mobility. New York, NY: NYU Press.
  • Type: Websites Status: Under Review Year Published: 2015 Citation: http://faim.vsefforall.org
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2015 Citation: Rybarczyk, G. & Wetzel, R. Examining the revealed accessibility of ethnic food resources using a multivariate spatial modeling approach and GIS. Association of American Geographers Annual Conference, April 21-25, 2015.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2014 Citation: Taylor, Dorceta E. and Ard, Kerry J. Panelist. Understanding the Complexity of Detroits Food Environment: Access, Justice and Social Change. The American Sociological Association. San Francisco, California. August 16, 2014.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Other Year Published: 2015 Citation: Masters Project thesis was written in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with PI Dorceta Taylor as the 3 graduate students faculty advisor: - Canas B, Burdine J and Schantz. Examining Disparities in Food Access and Enhancing Food Security in Underserved Populations. Thesis chapters include: o A comparison of faith-based and non-faith-based community gardens in Toledo, OH o The role of school gardens in the science curriculum in Michigan schools. o The role of charities in emergency food assistance
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Masters Project thesis was written in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the graduate degree of Biomedical Sciences at Grand Valley State University with co-PI Debbie Lown as the graduate students faculty advisor: Citation: Popma-Metsaars E. The Nutrient Intake of Homeless Women in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Published in the Grand Valley State Thesis Journal
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Honors Undergraduate Research Project was written in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the undergraduate degree of Biomedical Sciences at Grand Valley State University with co-PI Debbie Lown as the students faculty advisor: Citation: Craven, S. Characteristics and Fruit and Vegetable Intake of Low-Income YMCA Veggie Van Participants in Grand Rapids and Muskegon, MI Published in Grand Valley State University Honors Journal
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2015 Citation: Lown D, Pompa-Metsaars E. Poster submission, The Influence of Raised-Bed Garden Participation on Fruit and Vegetable Consumption. Grand Valley State University 2015 Partner Showcase, Allendale, MI, January 30, 2015.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2015 Citation: Craven S, Lown D, Pompa-Metsaars E. Poster submission, Characteristics and Fruit and Vegetable Intake of Low-Income YMCA Veggie Van Participants in Grand Rapids and Muskegon, MI. Michigan Nutrition and Dietetics Association Annual Conference, Ann Arbor, MI, April 23, 2015.


Progress 09/01/13 to 08/31/14

Outputs
Target Audience: The target audiences reached during year 2 consisted of the diverse segments of the Michigan population who were exposed to the recruitment efforts, data collection processes, educational publications, interviews, articles and press releases about the Food Access in Michigan Project. In year 2 these audiences included: Key individual and organizational stakeholders working within the food system in Michigan. 127 key informants provided interviews and many of these connections assisted in (and will continue to support) project data collection efforts (such as farmer focus group participant recruitment). Many of these individuals live in or work with communities and individuals who are likely to be food insecure, are socially and economically disadvantaged, and are themselves racial ethnic minorities or serve racial or ethnic minority communities. Small and mid-sized farmers, including underserved and socially disadvantaged, racial and ethnic minority farmers, women, and beginning farmers were reached by project team recruiting efforts and 67 participated in farmer focus groups, many of these individuals include small farmers who are often struggling to run an economically viable operations; Low-income, economically-disadvantaged, racial and ethnic minorities who are vulnerable to becoming food insecure were the targets of the raised-bed gardening program recruitment efforts. 90 individuals participated in the raised bed gardening program across all of the sites. Homeless individuals who are acutely vulnerable to becoming food insecure were part of a specific recruitment effort in Grand Rapids, Michigan where 21 individuals completed diet, physical activity and/or food access/food insecurity surveys. Undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Michigan, University of Michigan-Flint, Michigan State University, and the University of Wisconsin were the target audiences for the university-level courses and advising from project faculty; 133 students were engaged in these educational opportunities across the four institutions collaborating on this project. Additionally, 24 students served as research assistants during year 2, seven of whom were racial minorities. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Training Activities- Six training opportunities have been provided to project research assistants: Key Informant Interviewing Skills Workshop: A 1 hour introductory training for research assistants around interviewing skills. Key Informant Interviewing – Interviewing skills review and Transcription Training: A 2- hour training for research assistants discussing questions or challenges in conducting interviews and well asproviding instruction for transcribing interview audio files. Content Analysis: Methodologies and Techniques in the Analysis of Qualitative Data: A 2-hour training on qualitative analysis techniques and coding methodology. Analyzing and Coding Qualitative Data using the software HyperResearch: A 2-hour training for research assistants introducing the qualitative analysis software. Physical activity, diet and health data collection methodologies: 2 hour training for research assistants at GVSU to collect energy intake data using a five-step 24 hour recall protocol, and physical activity using an ActiGraph GT1M activity monitor (6 undergraduate and 2 graduate students) Primary spatial data collection and analysis techniques: 8 hours of on-site training was provided to a new research assistant. The training involved reviewing past literature, and teaching appropriate project related database inventory, database management (QA/QC), and spatial analysis techniques. Professional Development Activities: 13 Other conferences, summits and seminars that provided opportunities to increase knowledge around local, statewide and national research and efforts focused on improving food access and addressing food insecurity included: Maren Spolum, Project coordinator. Invited to attend the Michigan Farm to Institution Network Meeting, October 17, 2013, Lansing, MI Maren Spolum, Project coordinator. Attended the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, November 2-6, 2013, Boston, MA. Maren Spolum, Project coordinator. Invited to attend the meeting “Food Metrics and Social Justice – Beyond Pounds and Meals”, co-sponsored by Gleaners Community Food Bank and the University of Michigan-School of Social Work, November 21, 2013, Detroit, MI. Maren Spolum, Shannon Brines (GIS consultant) and Ethan Schoolman (Post-doc) attended the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market Expo, December 10-12, 2013, Grand Rapids, MI Co-I Greg Zimmerman and community partner Nome Buckman attended the Food Summit hosted by the Upper Peninsula Food Exchange on November 7, 2013 in Sault Ste Marie, MI. Maren Spolum, Ethan Schoolman, and research assistants Juliana Pino, M’Lis Barlett, Ima Otudor, Beatriz Canas and Molly Lutton attended the Michigan Family Farms Conference, January 18, 2014, Battle Creek, MI Maren Spolum and Shannon Brines attended the Northwest Michigan Food and Farming Network’s Annual Food & Farming Summit, January 31, 2014, Traverse City, MI Gregory Zimmerman, Maren Spolum, Shannon Brines, research assistants Katelynn Cordero and Josie Fegan attended the Northern Michigan Small Farms Conference, February 1, 2014, Traverse City, MI Stephen Gasteyer and research assistant Chloe Hui attended the Everybody Eats: Cultivating Food Democracy conference, Saturday February 8, 2014, Lansing MI Maren Spolum, graduate students Beatriz Canas, Justin Burdine and Kristine Schantz attended the Homegrown Local Food Summit, March 30-31, 2014, Washtenaw Community College, Ypsilanti, MI Debbie Lown, Synergy Works!, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI. March 14, 2014. Debbie Lown, Michigan Food Hub Learning and Innovation Network, MSU Center for Regional Food Systems, Grand Rapids, MI. March 5, 2014. Emma Popma (Graduate Assistant at GVSU) attended the National Obesity Conference, Atlanta, GA, November 11-14, 2013. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? In order to educate communities of interest about the Food Access in Michigan project, the Principal Investigator, Co-Investigators, Project coordinator and research assistants have all engaged in numerous educational presentations and outreach activities, community presentations, been highlighted in articles in local newspapers, attended community events, conferences, seminars and summits, conducted television interviews and attended events hosted by community partners in order to engage their broader constituents. In order to present a coherent message across the state regarding the research partnership, Food Access in Michigan Project Talking Points were developed. Flyers were also developed to educate farmers being recruited for focus groups about the aims of the entire project and the aims of the farmer focus groups. These flyers were developed in both English and Spanish. The relationships established with individuals and organizations during year 2 will serve as critical avenues for dissemination of data analysis and results in subsequent years. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? (a)Identify the disparities in access to healthy foods in each municipality by examining the relationship between the demographic characteristics of the cities and the distribution patterns of various types of food outlets (including EBT retailers); - Year 3 plan: GIS Data collection efforts in year 3 will include: establishments accepting WIC; food assistance groups for central Michigan; and farm locations/demographics from the USDA Census of Agriculture. Spatial analysis of food access barriers and facilitators for each of the 18 study sites using the complete and cleaned databases will begin. Presentations and publications on work conducted in years 1 and 2 will be submitted to conferences and journals. (b) Identify the factors related to the presence of food deserts and food oases; - Year 3 plan: Key stakeholder demographics will be analyzed in year 3 along with a qualitative analysis of the interview transcripts. Articles and other products will be drafted for submission and dissemination. (c) Examine the relationship between access to healthy foods, purchasing and consumption behavior, and health outcomes; - Year 3 plan: Clean and analyze data collected during year 2, and present and publish articles based on findings. (d) Identify mechanisms through which producers and consumers can be connected more directly and effectively and help facilitate more efficient connection; - Year 3 plan: Approximately 6 more focus groups will be held with farmers across the state of Michigan. Farmer demographics will be analyzed in year 3, along with a qualitative analysis of the focus group transcripts. (e) Identify those who are vulnerable to becoming food insecure and facilitate their increased participation in local food networks; - Year 3 plan: The research team will continue to work with their community partners to build their capacity to deliver programmatic support to individuals across the state of Michigan who are interested in participating in urban agricultural activities and who are vulnerable to being food insecure. (f) Create two service-learning courses - one graduate and one undergraduate - related to food security and urban agriculture issues; - Year 3 plan: Project faculty will continue teaching courses developed in years 1 and 2 that address issues of food security and critically analyze different facets of the food system. (g) Promote national, state, and local food policies that will help to reduce food insecurity. - Year 3 plan: Based on the results of the analysis of different portions of the project above, the research team will identify and disseminate findings regarding policy solutions to reduce food insecurity among various constituent groups. Additionally, three publications are currently in development: Taylor, D. & Ard, K. An Assessment of the Food environment in Food Desert and Non-Food-Desert Census Tracts in Detroit. Johansen, R. and S. Gasteyer. Volunteers and Voluntolds: The Problematics of Labor in Urban Gardening. Johansen, R. and S. Gasteyer. An Integrated Assessment of the Neighborhood Level Impacts of Improving Green Space: Flint, Michigan

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? GOAL (a): Activities completed: The major activities completed in year 2 included finalizing the food outlet database and a carrying out a rigorous cleaning up of said data. The sub-type classification method proposed in year 1 was used to rectify all food outlet subtypes for each of the 18 sites during year 2. The spatial accuracy of all food outlets was verified for each point throughout the state of Michigan. In addition, eight new databases were collected to enhance the robustness of the overall database and analysis. Specifically, the eight new databases will contribute to a food access index and include: State of Michigan bicycle routes, Census tract (and zipcode) crime data, landcover data, average household spending on groceries at the census block group level, bus routes and bus stops from downloaded bus route data for transportation database, sidewalks, and EPA’s new smart location database, and medical clinics. In addition, all project related data was cleaned, organized, and placed in a geodatabase to ensure future data integrity. Specific objectives met: Year 2 objectives entailed the procurement of all food outlet data, subtype classification, and spatial verification of each food outlet. The former remains to be completed. Food outlet dot density maps were produced to illustrate the added amounts of data. In addition, eight food access indicators were added to the database. The GIS databases will be used to spatially analyze food access barriers and facilitators for each of the 18 study sites, and throughout the State of Michigan. Data collection efforts in year 3 will include: establishments accepting WIC; food assistance groups for central Michigan; and farm locations/demographics from the USDA Census of Agriculture. GOAL (b): Activities completed: 113 key informant interviews with major stakeholders working throughout Michigan’s food system were conducted (for a total of 127 interviews between years 1 & 2). 124 of the interviews have been transcribed by project research assistants. Many of these individuals live in or work with communities and individuals who are likely to be food insecure, are socially and economically disadvantaged, and are themselves racial ethnic minorities or serve racial or ethnic minority communities. Key stakeholder demographics will be analyzed in year 3 along with a qualitative analysis of the interview transcripts. GOAL (c): Activities completed: The scope of site data collection has increased to include Grand Rapids, and Ypsilanti, MI. 58 participants were recruited from Grand Rapids and Ypsilanti to complete 24-hour diet recall surveys in year 1 and 2: 14 from Baxter (years 1 and 2); 7 Growing Hope; 21 from Dégagé and16 from non-gardeners all living in the Baxter community. Complete, valid physical activity information was collected on 40 participants. In years 1 and 2, Resident food security and food behavior surveys have been completed by 106 individuals: 52 non-garden members in Grand Rapids, 23 garden members at Baxter Garden program in Grand Rapids, 7 garden members of Growing Hope in Ypsilanti and 23 homeless women at Degage‘s Open Door program in Grand Rapids. GOAL (d): Activities completed: A pre-test of the farmer focus group instrument was conducted and the focus group questions were revised based on data collected during the pre-test. Farmers were initially recruited at 5 different Michigan-based agriculture conferences, and recruiting efforts have focus on small to mid-sized farmers, as well as farmers who are underserved and socially disadvantaged, racial and ethnic minority farmers, women, and beginning farmers. Additionally, contacts were made at those conferences with key individuals connected to Michigan farmers (such as food hub coordinators). To date, 13 focus groups with a total of 67 participants have been held across the state of Michigan with small to mid-sized farmers. Farmer demographics will be analyzed in year 3, along with a qualitative analysis of the focus group transcripts. GOAL (e): Activities completed: The six community partner organizations ran gardening programs during year 2 of the project. Four of the sites construct raised bed gardens for program participants, while in the two other partner organizations, one worked with individuals growing produce collectively in community gardens while, the other worked with families whose children participate in after-school and school-yard gardening programs. There were 90 participants in the raised-bed gardening programs in year 2, and families from 4 community/school yard gardens were also recruited during year 2 (though there were challenges with data collection efforts in those sites). Across the six partner sites, 35 gardening education classes have been offered to the program participants, all of whom were identified as vulnerable to becoming food insecure as part of program eligibility. Topics included planting, canning/food preservation, composting, food safety, nutrition, fall season extension, and how to use fish emulsion organic fertilizer. Pre-season and post-season surveys, as well as harvest tracking forms were distributed at the gardening sites. Monthly meetings with gardening partners were held where sites reports hundreds of pounds of produce being grown (exact numbers will be available after data analysis in year 3). Data QC is currently being conducted. Demographic information will be analyzed in year 3 along with food security status and the effects of participating in gardening activities. Significant results: Over 90 participants grew hundreds of pounds of produce as a result of project activities during year 2, and increased their knowledge of gardening activities. In addition, anecdotal evidence from our partners suggests that a portion of the participants were using the produce grown during the program to mitigate times of potential food insecurity- this effect will be further investigated in year 3. GOAL (f): Activities completed: In Year 2, 135 students, from undergraduates to doctoral students, attended courses taught by (or were advised by) project investigators: Six graduate students on a project team advised by PI Dorceta Taylor produced a thesis based on research conducted throughout the year. Five of the six students were racial minorities. The chapters are listed above. A second cohort of graduate students will conduct research for a group thesis with Dr. Taylor in year 3- one of the three students is a racial minority. Additionally, Co-Investigator Monica White re-taught the course she created during year 1, designed for upper-level undergraduate students titled ENV 600—Urban Food Systems, Urban Agriculture and Food Security and the Environment in Detroit, 12 students were enrolled. PI Dorceta Taylor also taught 75 undergraduates in “Introduction to Environmental Justice” Course, which incorporated several units on urban agriculture and food insecurity in the U.S. and internationally. And PI Taylor advised 3 doctoral students whose work focuses on food systems and urban agriculture. Co-Investigator Greg Rybarczyk developed and taught an undergraduate course titled Community Food Access Planning, ENV 291, during the winter 2014 semester to 11 students. And Co-Investigator Stephen Gasteyer incorporated units on urban agriculture, food access and food disparities into three courses- 25 students wrote term papers on food access, communities engaged in addressing food access issues and local agriculture issues. GOAL (g): Nothing to report

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2014 Citation: Taylor, D. & Ard, K. Understanding the Complexity of Detroits Food Environment: Access, Justice, and Social Change. In Review.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2014 Citation: Johansen, R., K. Herman, S. Gasteyer. 2014. Green Spaces in Red Budgets: accounting for grassroots neighborhood greening efforts in Flint, Michigan's era of austerity. Midwest Sociological Society Annual Conference April 2-4, 2014 Omaha, NE
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2014 Citation: Taylor, D., & Ard, K. Panel presentation at the American Sociological Association annual meeting in San Francisco, CA. August 15-18, 2014.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Submitted Year Published: 2014 Citation: Popma E., Lown, D., Taylor, D., Spolum, M. Poster submission, Nutrient Intake of Homeless Women in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Obesity Conference, Boston, MA, November, 7, 2014.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Submitted Year Published: 2014 Citation: Lown, D., Taylor, D., Spolum, M. Poster submission. The Influence of Raised-Bed Garden Participation on Fruit and Vegetable Consumption. Obesity Conference, Boston, MA, November 7, 2014.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Submitted Year Published: 2014 Citation: Spolum M, Taylor D, Schoolman E, Gasteyer S, Lown D, Rybarczyk G, White M, Zimmerman G. Oral presentation submission, Strengthening Michigan's Food System: Examining Disparities in Food Access and Enhancing the Food Security of Underserved Populations. American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, November 15-19, 2014.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Other Year Published: 2014 Citation: 1 Masters Project thesis was written in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with PI Dorceta Taylor as the 6 graduate students faculty advisor: - Ahn S, Johnson K, Lutton M, Otudor I, Pino J, Yu C. Examining disparities in food access and enhancing the food security of underserved populations in Michigan. Thesis chapters include: o What Lunch in Michigan Really Looks Like: An Exploration of School Lunch Menus o Reimagining Food Security in Michigans Emergency Food Network: Linking Capacity and Effectiveness with Culturally Appropriate and Fresh Foods o Can Farmers Market Managers Help Ameliorate Food Insecurity through the Acceptance of Federal and State Food Assistance Program Benefits? o Examining the Link between Social Missions versus Actions to Promote Food Security in Michigan o Addressing Food Deserts in Michigan through Farmers Markets o Sustainable Techniques in Community Gardens and Urban Farms


Progress 09/01/12 to 08/31/13

Outputs
Target Audience: The target audiences reached during year 1 of the project consist of the diverse segments of the Michigan population who were exposed to the educational publications, interviews, articles and press releases about the Food Access in Michigan Project. Target audiences served by the raised-bed gardening program include low-income, economically-disadvantaged, racial and ethnic minorities who are vulnerable to becoming food insecure. Additionally, undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin and graduate students at the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and the Environment were the target audiences for the university-level service learning courses developed in year I (nine of the twenty-two students were racial minorities). Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Training Activities: Six training opportunities have been provided to project research assistants: Techniques in compiling and cleaning raw spatial data: 1 hour training for 17 research assistants (both undergraduate and graduate students, including six minority students). Primary spatial data collection and analysis techniques: Two research assistants at UM-Flint have received extensive training over the course of the academic year from Co-Investigator Rybarczyk regarding spatial data analysis techniques. Overview of qualitative research techniques: 4 hour training for 16 research assistants (both undergraduate and graduate students, including five minority students) Focus Group research methodology: 3 hour training for 11 research assistants (undergraduate students) Telephone interview research methodology: 2 hour training as well as individual feedback for 16 research assistants (both undergraduate and graduate students, including 4 minority students) Physical activity, diet and health data collection methodologies: Research assistants at GVSU received week long training on how to collect demographic and health data, Energy intake data using a five-step 24 hour recall protocol, and physical activity using an ActiGraph GT1M activity monitor (11 undergraduate and graduate students) Professional Development Activities: Other conferences attended by project coordinator and four UM project research assistants that provided opportunities to increase knowledge around local and statewide activities focused on improving food access and addressing food insecurity included: Homegrown Local Food Summit, February 22, 2013, Washtenaw Community College, Ypsilanti, MI Agriculture, Food Systems, and Human Values Conference in East Lansing, MI on June 21, 2013 Michigan Food Hub Network Statewide Meeting, Eastern Market, Detroit, MI July 9, 2013 How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? In order to educate communities of interest about the Food Access in Michigan project, the Principal Investigator, Co-Investigators, Project coordinator and research assistants have all engaged in numerous educational presentations and outreach activities, community presentations, been highlighted in articles in local newspapers, attended community events, conducted radio interviews and attended events hosted by community partners in order to engage their broader constituents. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Figure A Activities Year I Year II I) PROJECT MANAGEMENT Hire project staff X X - Hire and train research assistants X X Identify and form the Community Advisory Council X Connect to key orgs and stakeholders across Michigan X X Coordinate project administration, financial operation X X Communicate and coordinate activities across sites X X Convene meetings of project research team X X - Monthly conference calls and annual meeting X X Establish collaborative web infrastructure for project X X - Project website; Collaborative web space; Databases X X Write annual reports X X Conduct internal and external evaluations X X II) KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEWS Revise key informant interview questions X Develop key informant interview sampling strategy X Identify potential key informants X Train research assistants on interview methodology X X Conduct key informant interviews X X Analyze key informant interview data X III) FOCUS GROUPS WITH FARMERS Revise farmer focus group questions X Develop farmer sampling strategy X Identify farmers across the state of Michigan to survey X Train research assistants on focus group methodology X Conduct farmer focus groups X Analyze farmer focus group data X IV) RESIDENTIAL RAISED BED GARDENS PROGRAM Identify community partners X Design garden harvest tracking form X Design pre-post survey X Identify gardening participants, consent and support X X Develop & disseminate programmatic materials X X Collect pre-post harvest tracking & resident survey data X X V) SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF FOOD RETAILERS Identify and code food retailers X X Conduct mapping and spatial analysis of retailers X X * Expanded: SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF FOOD ENVIRONMENT Create database of farmers’ markets X X Create database of urban farms & community gardens X X Create database of U-pick farms X X Create database of food coops, locally-grown groups X X Create database of food assistance organizations X X Create database of health departments, WIC offices X X Create database of farms X X Create database of SNAP/EBT/WIC vendors X X Create database of the food supply chain X X Explore innovative GIS analytic methodologies X X VI) INTERVIEWS WITH FOOD RETAILERS Revise food retailer survey questions X Develop food retailer sampling strategy X Identify food retailers to survey X Disseminate food retailer survey X Analyze food retailer survey data X VII) PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, NUTRITION, HEALTH STUDY Train RAs in diet recall & Actigraph methodologies X X Develop participant sampling strategy X Identify participants and conduct PANH study X X Analyze PANH data X Nutrition education community outreach activities X X VIII) SURVEY OF RESIDENT FOOD SECURITY & BEHAVIOR Refine Resident survey questions X Develop resident sampling strategies X Build database of survey participants and partner orgs X X Disseminate survey across the state of Michigan X Collect and analyze resident survey data X IX) UNIVERSITY COURSES Develop undergraduate course X Develop graduate course X X X) PUBLIC EDUCATION Develop and disseminate public education materials X X Finish project website update X Figure A is an updated Schedule of Activities outlining the activities planned for year 2 of the Food Access in Michigan project: Concluding statement The following are the anticipated future outcomes of the project: Fact sheets, research briefs, press releases, and summary reports. Enhanced collaboration between farmers, retailers, consumers, and food advocates Research papers on access to healthy foods Michigan’s underserved urban residents Promotion of food policies and practices to enhance access to healthy foods. Web information on food security in Michigan. Greater awareness of food security issues and increased participation in food initiatives Conference and workshop presentations on findings of the project. Through creation of nuanced data systems, analysis, and collaboration with local partners, we have made significant progress toward enabling deeper understanding of the systems that contribute to food access and insecurity in Michigan. We are continually building complex and actionable knowledge on the mechanisms that may alleviate systemic barriers to food access.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Project goals, activities and accomplishments over the past year: Identify the disparities in access to healthy foods in each municipality by examining the relationship between the demographic characteristics of the cities and the distribution patterns of various types of food outlets (including EBT retailers). Activities completed: At the Introductory Meeting for the Food Access in Michigan (FAIM) research team (December 14, 2012, UM-Ann Arbor) it was quickly identified that an expanded amount of data is needed in order to research and analyze the complexities of the food environment affecting an individual’s access (perceived and real) and behaviors regarding food. Consequently, the breadth and depth of spatial analysis activities was significantly expanded in Year I. The following eight datasets have been developed and preliminary maps created: 1) Farmer’s markets, N=298; 2) Urban farms and community gardens, N=549; 3) U-pick farms, N=353; 4) Food coops, locally-grown and slow-food groups, N=174; 5) Food assistance organizations, N=2030; 6) Public health departments, health clinics and WIC clinics, N=248; 7) SNAP/EBT vendors, N=9510; 8) Food retailers: Tens of thousands of food retailer locations from multiple database sources were collected, merged, quality-control analyzed, and then preliminary maps were developed. N=2,384 retail grocers have been classified to date as well as 16,386 restaurants. Significant developments: Creation of an innovative sub-type classification methodology to more accurately identify different types of food retail outlets. Identify the factors related to the presence of food deserts and food oases. Activities completed: 249 major stakeholders working throughout Michigan’s food system have been identified and to date 14 key informant interviews have been conducted. Examine the relationship between access to healthy foods, purchasing and consumption behavior, and health outcomes. Activities completed: The first cohort of participants was recruited to participate in this portion of the study. 9 participants completed 24-hour diet recall surveys. Complete, valid physical activity information was collected on 15 participants, and 11 of the participants completed the resident food security and food behavior survey. Identify mechanisms through which producers and consumers can be connected more directly and effectively and help facilitate more efficient connections. Activities completed: Survey instruments for farmers and food retailers have been developed and interviews with these two populations will begin in year 2. Identify those who are vulnerable to becoming food insecure and facilitate their increased participation in local food networks. Activities completed: Six community partner organizations have been identified and raised bed gardening programs have been developed at each of the partner sites. To date, 79 participants have been recruited and approximately 30 more participants are expected. 71 raised-bed gardens have been successfully constructed at participants’ homes. Across the six partner sites, 35 gardening education classes have been offered to the program participants, all of whom were identified as vulnerable to becoming food insecure as part of program eligibility. Create two service-learning courses – one graduate and one undergraduate – related to food security and urban agriculture issues. Activities completed: In Year I, a graduate level prototype for a food systems course was developed by Principal Investigator Dorceta Taylor in tandem with the Master’s project process that students at the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment are required to complete as the capstone to their academic programs. The course combined faculty mentorship from Dorceta Taylor and project guidance by Project Coordinator Maren Spolum. Each of the seven students are focused on a specific portion of the food system at large, and each student will conduct site visits and interviews, in addition to collecting topic-specific data, in the cities covered by the FAIM study. Objectives met: Co-Investigator Monica White created a new curricula and course for upper-level undergraduate students titled ENV 600—Urban Food Systems, Urban Agriculture and Food Security and the Environment in Detroit. The course enrolled 15 students and was a capstone course designed to include a week-long, all-expense paid, service-learning trip to Detroit for the expressed purpose of participating in urban agricultural projects, assessing resident access to healthy food, and investigating the strategies that residents engage in, such as agriculture, to increase access to healthy food in Detroit. Promote national, state, and local food policies that will help to reduce food insecurity Nothing to report Impact The project team and community partner network capacity building has grown given monthly collaborative conference calls and meetings. Learning and resource sharing spaces have been structured into meetings, providing a platform for community partners and researchers to benefit from co-learning opportunities around factors influencing food insecurity, and strategies employed to mitigate the harmful effects food insecurity and improve access to healthy foods. A change in knowledge resulting from this collaboration is the expanded collection of data illustrating the complex food environments across Michigan and the use of innovative techniques to classify this data, which will result in the most robust and comprehensive dataset depicting a state’s food environment to date. Due to community partner implementation of the raised bed gardening program in Year 1, a change in conditions of the nutritional opportunities available to 71 families across Michigan shifted as they are gaining access to fresh food and produce one year ahead of schedule. Finally, 46 students participating in university courses or as research assistants on the FAIM project have engaged in changes in their knowledge and actions by applying the skills they’ve learned through project training opportunities, coursework and applied service opportunities, becoming more thoughtful and critical thinkers regarding the factors influencing food access and food security as well as effective solutions.

Publications

  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Dorceta Taylor. Featured in The Desert Oasis: Redefining food access in Michigan. Stewards. Article by Allie Goldstein. Spring 2013: 14-15.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Dorceta Taylor. Announcement of the USDA grant in the American Sociological Associations Footnotes. February 2013.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Dorceta Taylor. Featured in announcement of USDA grant in the American Sociological Association Environment and Technology Section Newsletter. January 4, 2013.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Dorceta Taylor. Dorceta Taylor to deliver MLK Lecture Jan. 21 at SNRE. Article by Kevin Merrill. http://www.snre.umich.edu/news/12-12-2012/dorceta_taylor_to_deliver_mlk_lecture_ jan_21_at_snre. December 12, 2012.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Dorceta Taylor. Professor Dorceta Taylor Lead Investigator of New Study. Article by Robin Grice. http://www.lsa.umich.edu/daas/news/ci.professordorcetataylorlead investigatorofnewstudytue11dec2012_ci.detail. December 11, 2012
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Dorceta Taylor. Taylor Leads Research Team Examining Food Security Across Michigan. Article by Kevin Merrill. http://snre.umich.edu/news/11-07-2012/taylor_leads_research_ team_examining_food_security_across_michigan. November 7, 2012
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Dorceta Taylor. U-M Researchers to Study Food Security Across Michigan. Article by Kevin Merrill. http://www.ns.umich.edu/new/releases/20967-u-m-researchers-to-study-food-security-across-michigan. November 7, 2012