Lack of Easy Accessibility as a Potential Barrier to Adequate Fruit and Vegetable Consumption by Limited-Resource Individuals

Encouraging people to use their resources to purchase more fruits and vegetables is often at the top of the list of topics addressed by nutrition educators. Still, most populations are not consuming nearly enough fruits and vegetables according to a 2003 FAO/WHO Expert Report on Diet, Nutrition, and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases. This is particularly troubling given the surge of new research suggesting that fruits and vegetables can help prevent nutrient-deficiency disorders and also reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Low-income individuals and households tend to spend less on and consume fewer fruits and vegetables than do their higher-income counterparts. A survey by the Economic Research Service (2004) shows that 19% of low-income households bought no fruits and vegetables from grocery stores over a two-week period, compared to only 10% of high-income households. A number of factors affect fruit and vegetable consumption, including accessibility, affordability, lack of motivation to eat more, cost, and specific preferences. Data gathered from 176 low-income individuals residing in Middle Tennessee showed that consumption of both fruits and vegetables by limited-resource individuals was well below the recommended intake. Thus it is of continuing interest to researchers to determine the reasons of potential reasons for this finding. The purpose of this study was to assess the availability of fruits and vegetables in stores which were easily accessible to the participants in the dietary-intake study. In-person surveys were conducted at fifty stores that were within a one-mile radius of five food banks to determine which fruits and vegetables were available in each and the quality of those that were present. These stores included any that was listed as a grocery store in a computer database, regardless of the size of the store. A large percentage of the stores had no fresh fruits or vegetables available. Most sold canned, while only a few had frozen fruits or vegetables. The fresh fruits that were most often available included apples, bananas, and lemons. Lettuce and cabbage were the most commonly available fresh vegetables. The variety of canned items was greater, with green beans being the mostly widely available. It is concluded that more fresh produce should be offered in stores that are in areas of easy accessibility to low-income neighborhoods. It is also recommended that a follow-up study be done to compare the prices of the items available, and whether increasing their presence in the local grocery stores leads to increased consumption