Charting the Foodscape: Dietary Options and Food Imagery in Edmonton

Principal Investigator
Kim Raine
Karen Tomic

Co-Investigators
John C. Spence
Carl Amrhein

Project Overview
Increasingly, researchers are implicating food choices in health and well-being. Food selection is affected by food accessibility, availability, quality, price, variety, and advertising. All of these factors play out in the local landscape—what we call the foodscape—and can be explored through a combined geographic, public health, and nutrition perspective. The research involves mapping the location of grocery stores (as a potential source for healthy, affordable foods) and fast-food outlets (as a potential source of high-calorie, low nutrient value foods) in Edmonton. Accessibility to these two food service types is calculated for each neighbourhood and for high need populations to identify potentially underserved areas.

All food options available in two Edmonton corridors (118 Avenue and Whyte Avenue) were compared and contrasted. Then, in-depth observation and analysis was undertaken in six field sites: Abbotsfield, Highlands, Alberta Avenue, Garneau, Strathcona, and 99th Street. Finally, two focus groups were also held. The first, in Abbotsfield, sought to explore issues facing low-income residents. The second focus group examined the community consequences of an abandoned supermarket in the Highlands neighborhood. The research results will contribute theoretical information about the spatial aspects of food purchases, as well as engage policymakers in providing options for improved access to healthy food services. Practical information for the public will also be made available through a workshop for Edmonton residents.

Contact
Mildred T. Masimira
Project Coordinator
masimira@ualberta.ca

Time Frame
2004-2007

Funding Agencies
Canadian Institutes of Health Reasearch
GEOIDE
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada