Food Environment Atlas

 

Food Environment Atlas

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. Research is beginning to document the complexity of these interactions, but more is needed to identify causal relationships and effective policy interventions.

The objectives of the Atlas are:

• To assemble statistics on food environment indicators to stimulate research on the determinants of food choices and diet quality

• To provide a spatial overview of a community’s ability to access healthy food and its success in doing so

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What information is included in the Atlas?

The Atlas assembles statistics on three broad categories of food environment factors:

• Food Choices—Indicators of the community's access to and acquisition of healthy, affordable food, such as: access and proximity to a grocery store; number of foodstores and restaurants; expenditures on fast foods; food and nutrition assistance program participation; quantities of foods eaten; food prices; food taxes; and availability of local foods

• Health and Well-Being—Indicators of the community’s success in maintaining healthy diets, such as: food insecurity; diabetes and obesity rates; and physical activity levels

• Community Characteristics—Indicators of community characteristics that might influence the food environment, such as: demographic composition; income and poverty; population loss; metro-nonmetro status; natural amenities; and recreation and fitness centers

The Atlas currently includes 168 indicators of the food environment. The year and geographic level of the indicators vary to better accommodate data from a variety of sources. Some data are from the last Census of Population in 2000 while others are as recent as 2009. Some are at the county level while others are at the State or regional level. The most recent county-level data are used whenever possible.

See Documentation for complete list of indicators, definitions and data sources.

Sustainable Table

 

Sustainable Table

Sustainable Table celebrates local sustainable food, educates consumers on food-related issues and works to build community through food.

The program is home to the Eat Well Guide, an online directory of sustainable products in the U.S. and Canada, and the critically-acclaimed, award-winning Meatrix movies - The Meatrix, The Meatrix II: Revolting and The Meatrix II½.

Sustainable Table was created in 2003 by the nonprofit organization GRACE to help consumers understand the problems with our food supply and offer viable solutions and alternatives. Rather than be overwhelmed by the problems created by our industrial agricultural system, Sustainable Table celebrates the joy of food and eating.

Today’s dominant form of agriculture relies on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, large amounts of water, major transportation systems and factory-style practices for raising livestock. Industrial farming creates over-processed, over-traveled, and under-nourishing food that may contribute to health problems like obesity, diabetes and heart disease. This type of food production causes pollution and creates environmental and public health problems that cost taxpayers both money and quality of life. Sustainable Table was launched to offer consumers a choice and to show that fresh food from small, independent family farmers is still available.

Eat Well Guide
The first project of Sustainable Table is the Eat Well Guide, a free, online directory of sustainably-raised meat, poultry, dairy and eggs from farms, stores, restaurants, bed & breakfasts and other outlets in the United States and Canada. Consumers enter their zip or postal code to find wholesome products available locally or when traveling.

The Eat Well Guide currently hosts nearly 9,000 entries, with new outlets added daily. Users can save their favorite listings and keep notes in the online Notebook feature. And in an effort to connect consumers locally, the Guide lists local and national organizations working on sustainable food issues.

The Eat Well Guide has received numerous endorsements from media outlets including the New York Times, Washington Post, Consumer Reports, Health Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, and Sunset Magazine.

AgSource Cooperative Services

AgSource Cooperative Services 

AgSource Cooperatives Services is a producer-owned cooperative dedicated to providing comprehensive agricultural testing, record management and information services through three primary areas of Agronomy, DHI and Food and Environmental.

AgSource Cooperative Services