Talk to me in numbers

Here's another sweet interactive data visualization tool:


Food Environment Atlas


Basically, this map helps show that "food environment factors"—such as store/restaurant proximity, food prices, food and nutrition assistance programs, and community characteristics—interact to influence food choices and diet quality. Maybe that's a "duh" statement, but it's a good first step in a super complex problem. The USDA qualifies that more research is needed to identify causal relationships and effective policy interventions. 


There are 13 indicators you can choose from and within each of those, another set of more detailed choices. Whatever you choose gets mapped and shown on the atlas. I love to visualize, and this is an excellent first step in visualizing what factors cause food insecurity. 


For example, you could click on one indictor and get a map that shows where the price ratio of green, leafy veggies compared to starchy veggies is high. Or you could find out the percentage of recreation and fitness facilities per 1,000 people across the country. Is spinach way more expensive than potatoes, and there aren't any gyms nearby? That's going to add up to more obesity and more health problems.


You can even get up close and personal with your map. Try clicking on your county. In my home county - Portage, Ohio - there were 1,386 households in 2006 that owned no car and would have to travel more than a mile to a grocery store (not a convenience store). In 2008, there were 79 stores where you could use food stamps, and 88 in 2009. Unfortunately, the county level is a close as you can get. Challenges and solutions tend to be most effective when viewed on the most local level possible, so I hope they get even more down and dirty in the next iteration.


I'll admit the map's a little slow. I'd love to see these folks work with Google to come up with an awesome map that's even more user-friendly (though this ain't bad). Google - do it! 

"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist." - Archbishop Dom Helder Camara, Brazil

From Neighborhood to Nation

Just attended the Community Food Security Coalition's (CFSC) food policy conference. I want to delve into a bunch more fascinating topics that were touched upon at the conference in other posts, but I can sum up what I learned here:


Food is not just food. 


Food is...

• ...Health
• ...Jobs
• ...Security
• ...Peace
• ...Community
• ...Education

Mind the Gap

Coolest interactive infographic ever:

Map the Meal Gap

Executive Summary from Feeding America

In order to address the problem of hunger, we must first understand it. Feeding America undertook the Map the Meal Gap project to learn more about the face of hunger at the local community level. By understanding the population in need, communities can better identify strategies for reaching the people who most need food assistance.

At Feeding America, our mission is to feed America’s hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks and engage our country in the fight to end hunger. Although we seek to meet the needs of food insecure individuals and families, it is not always easy to identify the need for food within each of our communities. Traditionally, Feeding America has used state and national level USDA food insecurity data to estimate the need (e.g. “50 million Americans are at risk of hunger”), but food banks are rooted in their local communities and need better information at the ground level in order to be responsive to their unique local conditions.

Until now, the number of people falling below the federal poverty threshold has been the indicator most typically used for identifying the need for food at the local level because it is one of the few indicators available at the county level. However, national food insecurity data reveal that about 45% of those struggling with hunger actually have incomes above the federal poverty level and 53% of poor households are food secure1. Thus, measuring need based on local poverty rates alone provides an incomplete illustration of the potential need for food assistance within our communities. More accurate assessments of need across all income levels within our service areas can assist Feeding America and our network of food banks in strategic planning for charitable food services that best support hungry Americans, as well as inform the public policy discussion so that vital federal nutrition programs can better serve those in need. Most importantly, better community-level data can serve as an important resource for engaging community leaders and partners in the journey from aspiration (ending hunger) to achievement through a quantifiable and data-driven approach.

New Face of Hunger in America

Years ago, when I used to picture someone considered to be "food-insecure" in the U.S., I thought of a guy asking for coins on the street. True, but that's a super tiny part of the real picture. Turns out I have friends who are food-insecure, and you do, too. Or you yourself are.

What does it mean to be food-insecure? The USDA says you are either uncertain of getting enough food for your household, or you use coping mechanisms to do so (like using SNAP food stamps, going to a food pantry or eating a diet with less variation and quality). 

How many people are we talking? In 2009, the USDA found that 17.4 million households were food insecure at some point during the year. Doesn't mean they didn't have enough to eat everyday, but at some point. That's a TON of people. One out of six. And guess what? Most are people of color.

It's a lot cheaper to eat unhealthy foods,
like this delicious - but not nutritious - pizza.

USA Today, which is generally not one of my favorite sources of info., had an article about a new breed of Americans going hungry:

Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America, the nation's largest hunger-relief charity with a network of more than 200 food bank partners, says there is a growing problem with suburban poverty, "where new clients are individuals who have never needed to rely on the charitable food system."

"Not everyone who is food insecure is literally going hungry," says Mark Nord, sociologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service. "Some are able to head off hunger by reducing the quality and variety of their diets. But if food insecurity is severe or prolonged, it is likely to result in hunger."

What can you do? A lot of people qualify for Federal or state assistance and don't even know it - you can own a home and have a job and still qualify. Find out and tell a friend.

P.S. I had the pleasure of meeting Feeding America's CEO Vicki Escarra at her office in Chicago and she is a force to be reckoned with - smart, serious and passionate. More on that amazing group later...

The Match.com of food

Small Oregon farmer who grows juicy, organic strawberries seeks school cafeteria manager who wants healthy local food to put on its lunchroom trays... 

Where do these two star-crossed lovers meet? FoodHub.

Basically it's an online matching site that connects local buyers (schools, hospitals, other institutions) with local sellers (farmers and ranchers). It's where food people connect!

According to EcoTrust (the geniuses behind it):

"FoodHub is a dynamic marketplace and online directory that makes it easy and efficient for professional food buyers and sellers to research, connect, and do business."

There are all kinds of useful search parameters within the site - price, distance, quantity - to help users find exactly what they need. You can sign up now for free. Check out Oregon Public Broadcasting's story:

"Vicki Hertel runs Sun Gold Farms near Forest Grove. She’s been limited to selling her fruit, veggies, and nuts at farmer’s markets, or directly to families.

Vicki Hertel: 'But as far as reaching caterers and restaurants, schools, and other kitchens, unless we met that at the markets, it was near impossible to make connections, unless we wanted to send one of us out on the streets and knock on doors. And we’re too busy farming to be able to do that.'

Hertel was one of the first to test out the network. She says it’s not technically hard, and it’s already yielded some connections." 

This is seriously the kind of effective innovation that could be a relevant model for buyers and sellers across the country.