title: "Food is directed to the area": African Americans' perceptions of the neighborhood nutrition environment in Pittsburgh.
abstract: Studies have shown racial disparities in neighborhood access to healthy food in the United States. We used a mixed methods approach employing geographic information systems, focus groups, and a survey to examine African Americans' perceptions of the neighborhood nutrition environment in Pittsburgh. We found that African Americans perceive that supermarkets serving their community offer produce and meats of poorer quality than branches of the same supermarket serving White neighborhoods (p<0.001). Unofficial taxis or jitneys, on which many African Americans are reliant, provide access from only certain stores; people are therefore forced to patronize these stores even though they are perceived to be of poorer quality. Community-generated ideas to tackle the situation include ongoing monitoring of supermarkets serving the Black community. We conclude that stores should make every effort to be responsive to the perceptions and needs of their clients and provide an environment that enables healthy eating.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, 702 Parran Hall, 130 DeSoto Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA. supriya@pitt.edu
authors.forename: Supriya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Sandra C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.forename: Andrea M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Kriska
authors.forename: Stephen B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D001290:Attitude; D003258:Consumer Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004032:Diet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005502:Food / Q000191:economics; D063427:Food Quality; D005523:Food Supply / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010414:Pennsylvania / Q000453:epidemiology; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult