Food access in low socioeconomic neighbourhoods : a study on community experiences of the local food environment in Woolston, New Zealand.

Food insecurity is a serious issue in low socioeconomic areas throughout New Zealand. The relationship between inadequate access to healthful foods in neighbourhoods of low socioeconomic status is well established throughout national and international literature. Food access in the context of food security is not seen as an immediate issue here in New Zealand, which prides itself as being an egalitarian nation, yet research shows that an estimated one in five children (19%) lives in households with severe to moderate food insecurity. The study described in this paper aimed to better understand how the community experiences their local food environment in a low socioeconomic area, Woolston. A local alternative food initiative, Roimata Food Commons, was also explored to better understand if and how such an initiative could promote equitable access to healthy food in the Woolston. This study employed a mixed-method approach, incorporating quantitative and qualitative research methods to explore the research aim and questions. This research is important to understand socio-spatial relationships in local neighbourhoods which could have implications for policy initiatives, health outcomes and community development. Data were collected from observations, an online survey and semi-structured interviews with Woolston community members and Roimata board members. The key findings from this study were 1) there is inadequate geographical access to healthy food, 2) all of the participants interviewed from the study travel outside of Woolston to buy healthy food, 3) the quality and variety of healthy food in Woolston is limited 4) the quality and variety of healthy options in the local supermarket is inferior to a supermarket in neighbouring higher socioeconomic area 5) Roimata Food Commons can promote equitable food access. These findings contribute to a growing body of research concerning food access and food security issues in low socioeconomic populations and provide contextualized community focused knowledge. The study has incorporated the voices of community members as well as voices from a local food initiative who foresee the potential to make a change