Affordability and Availability of Healthy Foods in Massachusetts
Presenter: Mari Patrick Cornwall-Brady
Faculty Sponsor: Qian Zhao
School: UMass Amherst
Research Area: Mathematics and Statistics
ABSTRACT
Food insecurity is a persistent public health concern in the United States, affecting nearly 18 million households in 2023. In Massachusetts, approximately 11.5% of residents faced food insecurity during that year, with every county impacted. While federal programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provide essential support, access to affordable and nutritionally diverse foods remains uneven across communities. This project investigates the affordability and accessibility of healthy foods in Massachusetts, with a specific focus on the diversity of vegetables available in retail outlets. Using 2023 NielsenIQ scanner data, we evaluate vegetable offerings across thousands of stores in Massachusetts. We employ species richness and Simpson’s Diversity Index to measure vegetable diversity and combine these with price information to assess store level food accessibility. Preliminary results reveal variation in vegetable diversity across store types and counties, highlighting inequities in food availability. Our work demonstrates the potential of combining large-scale retail data with ecological diversity measures to inform future policies and interventions addressing food insecurity.