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Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Food Access in Two Predominantly White Cities: The Case of Lansing, East Lansing, and Surrounding Townships in Michigan

Author

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  • Dorceta E. Taylor

    (Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, 195 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA)

  • Katherine Allison

    (Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, 301 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA)

  • Tevin Hamilton

    (Pacific Environment, 473 Pine Street #3, San Francisco, CA 94104, USA)

  • Ashley Bell

    (Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, 301 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA)

Abstract

Access to fresh, healthy, affordable foods is a pressing concern in cities worldwide. American cities are no exception. Although many scholars study food access in large cities, small and mid-sized American cities can provide valuable information about inequities in the food system. This paper focuses on two adjoining, racially mixed Mid-Michigan cities—Lansing and East Lansing. It examines the extent to which different food outlets exist in the cities and surrounding townships. It probes the following questions: (1) How are food outlets distributed throughout the cities and suburbs? (2) What is the relationship between neighborhood demographic characteristics and the distribution of food outlet types? We collected data on food outlets from September 2020 to June 2022 using Data Axle as our primary source of information. We used ArcGIS 10.8.1 for the spatial mapping and SPSS 28 for statistical analyses. We conducted regression analyses to identify the difference in the likelihood of finding food retailers in census tracts where 0–20% of the residents were People of Color (VL-POC), 20.01–40% of the inhabitants were People of Color (L-POC), 40.1–60% of the residents were People of Color (H-POC), and more than 60% of residents were People of Color (VH-POC). There were 1647 food outlets in the study area: 579 were in Lansing, 220 were in East Lansing, and the remaining 848 were in the surrounding townships. Restaurants dominated the food landscape, while small groceries and convenience stores were the grocery sector’s most common food outlet types. Supermarkets and large grocery stores comprised only 5.6% of the study area’s food outlets. The study finds a nonlinear relationship between the racial composition of census tracts and the prevalence of food outlets. The VH-POC census tracts had very few food outlets. For instance, the tracts had no supermarkets, mass merchandisers or supercenters, small grocery or convenience stores, pharmacies or drug stores, or farmers’ markets. The findings illustrate the diversity and complexity of the Lansing–East Lansing metropolitan area’s food landscape.

Suggested Citation

  • Dorceta E. Taylor & Katherine Allison & Tevin Hamilton & Ashley Bell, 2023. "Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Food Access in Two Predominantly White Cities: The Case of Lansing, East Lansing, and Surrounding Townships in Michigan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-49, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:20:p:15065-:d:1263270
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    2. Destiny Treloar & Dorceta E. Taylor & Ashley Bell, 2024. "Understanding Food Insecurity and Participation in Food Assistance Programs among Hispanic/Latino Residents of Hialeah, Florida, before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-52, September.

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