A team of Case Western Reserve University researchers recently had an article published in the Journal of Community Health titled “Small Improvements in an Urban Food Environment Resulted in No Changes in Diet Among Residents.”
The CWRU researchers were:
- Darcy Freedman, professor in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences;
- David Ngendahimana a postdoctoral scholar at the Mary Ann Swetland Center for Environmental Health;
- Elaine Borawski, the Angela Bowen Williamson Professor of Community Nutrition;
- Erika Trapl, director of the Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods and associate professor in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences; and
- Ashwini Sehgal, professor at the School of Medicine.
Additionally, Bethany Bell of the College of Social Work at the University of South Carolina and Jill Clark of the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at Ohio State University were authors on the article, which was published in March.
In their paper, the researchers examined the impact of a food hub in an urban neighborhood in Cleveland. The goal of the food hub was to improve access to healthy, local and affordable food; help residents build social connections and support for health eating; and create job opportunities. The researchers found that many aspects of the food hub were not implemented fully. While there were healthier foods available, the researchers found no changes in diet quality, caloric intake, and fruit and vegetable intake in the neighborhood.