Regional Planning Forum Booklet for the February 2013 meeting

7/28/2019 Regional Planning Forum Booklet for the February 2013 meeting

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/regional-planning-forum-booklet-for-the-february-2013-meeting 1/42

Friday, February 22, 2013

Ohio-Kentucky-IndianaRegional Council of

Governments

BRT

A Report on our

Region’s Status and

Next StepsTerry Garcia Crews,

SORTA/Metro and

Andy Aiello, TANK Food Deserts:

The Complications of Food Access on the Health of

Americans Frank Russell, UC Community

Design Center Food Desert Awareness

Campaign Renee Mahaffey Harris,

The Center for Closing the Health Gap



Ohio Kentucky Indiana Regional Council of Governments720 East Pete Rose Way, Suite 420 - Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

Please visit www.oki.org to register

February 22, 201310:00am – 11:45am

OKI Board Room

AGENDA

Welcome and Opening Remarks – Melissa Williams, OKI Land Use Commission

Feature Presentation I:BRT: A Report on our Region’s Status and Next Steps

– Terry Garcia Crews, SORTA/Metro and Andy Aiello, TANK

Feature Presentation II:Food Deserts: The Complications of Food Access on the Health of Americans

- Frank Russell, UC Community Design Center

Food Desert Awareness Campaign- Renee Mahaffey Harris, The Center for Closing the Health Gap

In Brief:OKI SRPP Outreach Campaign update – Travis Miller, OKI

Focus on Funding

Wrap-up and Opportunity for Announcements



February 22, 2013

WELCOME

Melissa Williams, Vice Chair Land Use CommissionOhio Kentucky Indiana Regional Council of Governments

‐ Welcome and Opening Remarks

Feature Presentation I:

Foreclosures: What’s Next? – Liz Blume, Community Building Institute

In Briefs:

OKI Transportation Alternatives Program – Don Burrell, OKI Senior Planner

and Bicycle & Pedestrian Coordinator

Recap of November 16th Forum

Small Group Discussion – Improving Outreach…

Feature Presentation II

Place Matters – Building Sustainable Communities; Kathy Schwab, Local

Initiatives Support Corporation of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky

Focus on Funding

Opportunity for Announcements



Transportation

3Environment

3

Health

2

November 16, 2012 Regional Planning Forum Summary of Attendees

25 attendees

Planning

11Economic

Development

4

Housing

2

Regional Planning Forum

February 22, 2013

STRATEGIC REGIONAL POLICY PLAN

Fiscal Year 2013 Fiscal Year 2014

STRATEGIC REGIONAL POLICY PLAN

UPDATE TIMELINE

Data and Trend

Update

Strategic Regiona

Issues

Re‐Visit and Evaluate

Po icy

Recommendations

Re‐Visit and Evaluate

Strategic

Regional

Policy Plan

PUBLIC INPUT OPPORTUNITIES



Emphasis areasEmphasis areas

•• InfrastructureInfrastructure

•• Housing and EducationHousing and Education

•• Economic Develo mentEconomic Develo ment

PUBLIC QUESTIONNAIRE

and Land Useand Land Use

•• Public HealthPublic Health

•• Climate ChangeClimate Change

•• Energy EfficiencyEnergy Efficiency

•• Changing DemographicsChanging Demographics

•• Quality

of

Life

AssetsQuality

of

Life

Assets



RESPONSE

•• 2,474 Total Responses2,474 Total Responses

•• 1,141 (46%) Written Comments1,141 (46%) Written Comments

•• 2,019 (82%) received during business hours2,019 (82%) received during business hours

•• Activity occurred throughout campaign (Oct.Activity occurred throughout campaign (Oct.‐‐Jan.) Jan.)

with peaks in midwith peaks in mid‐‐November and midNovember and mid‐‐ December.December.

•• Open 82 days. Average of 30/day.Open 82 days. Average of 30/day.

RESPONSE

1,141 (46%) Written Comments1,141 (46%) Written Comments

GENERAL

COMMENT

PUBLIC HEALTH

(68)

4%

ECONOMIC

DEVELOPMENT

(169 )

10%

LAND USE

(159)

Comment Topics

(264)

15% CLIMATE CHANGE

(33) 2%

ENERGY

(42) 3%

TRANSPORTATION

(588)

34%

PUBLIC FACILITIES

and SERVICES

(256)

15%

NATURAL

SYSTEMS

(73) 4%

HOUSING

(68) 4%



REGIONAL

TRANSPORTATION

(25) 4%

FREIGHT (RR/River)

(6) 1%

•• Transportation Written Comments (588)Transportation Written Comments (588)

BRENT SPENCE

(90) 15%

TRANSIT

(387) 66%

BIKE/PED

(140) 24%

AIR TRAVEL/CVG

(30) 5%

ROAD

IMPROVEMENTS

(110) 19%

Next Steps

•• Land Use Commission Working SessionLand Use Commission Working SessionApril 2013

•• Draft Strategic Regional IssuesDraft Strategic Regional Issues

•• Revisit Policy Recommendations Revisit Policy Recommendations

Fall 2013 – Spring 2014

ummer

Focus on Funding



State Fund Type Current Status

(open/closed)

Next Application Period Anticipated

OH Transportation

Alternatives

opens Feb 2013 Feb 2013

KY SNK opens Feb 2013 Feb 2013

OKI Funding Opportunities

KY Transportation

Alternatives

opens Feb 2013 Feb 2013

IN STP, CMAQ OPEN Remains open until expended

IN Transportation

Alternatives

OPEN Remains open until expended

IN Highway Safety (HSIP) OPEN Remains open until expended

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Date: February 27, 2013 ‐ Registration ends February 24, 2013

Cost: $49.00 (Includes the program, parking, Zoo entry, lunch, snacks)

ASLA, APLD, ISA, ONLA PGMS, PLANET CEUs approved

www.cincinnatizoo.org/events/sustainable‐urban‐landscapes‐symposium/



Fair Housing Basics for Local GovernmentsDate: Friday, March 8, 2012

9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Place: OKI (Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments)

720 Pete Rose Way, Suite 420, Cincinnati, Ohio

Instructor: Elizabeth Brown, J .D., Executive Director, Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME)

This course is FREE, butpre-registration is required. E-mail your name, title, organization, and contactinformation to [email protected].

Call E lizabeth Brown at 513-721-4663 for more information about the class.

2nd Annual Land Manager's ForumLOCATION: Cincinnati Nature Center

DATE: March 15th, 2013 from 8:30AM - 1:00PM

Admi ssi on : $15includes the Forum materials, Lunch by Whole Foods Mason, AND

m ss on to t e nc nnat ature enter.

Regional Trails Forum

Monday, March 18, 2013



ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Next Regional Planning Forum

y y ,



Terry Garcia Crews Metro CEO & General

Manager, Terry Garcia Crews has served as Chief

Executive Officer & General Manager of the Metro

transit system in Greater Cincinnati since Nov. 1, 2010. A transit professional with more than 20 years of experience in both the private and public sectors,

Garcia Crews previously served as General Manager &

CEO of LexTran in Lexington, Kentucky, and as

assistant general manager for SunTran in Tucson,

Arizona.

Prior to leading Metro, Garcia Crews was the General

Manager & President for Star Tran Inc., which provides

services to the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority in Austin, Texas.

Garcia Crews holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from

the University of Arizona, with a double major in Finance and Marketing. She is

married and has two children.

Andrew Aiello, General Manager for the Transit

Authority of Northern Kentucky, is responsible for the overall

management of the regional transit system which provides

approximately four million passenger trips each year.

Aiello has been with TANK since 2004, most recently serving

as TANK’s Deputy General Manager, where he was responsiblefor TANK’s external affairs including government relations,

marketing, planning and communications.

Prior to TANK, he served as Senior Planner for Atlanta’s

metropolitan planning organization, the Atlanta Regional

Commission, where he managed a large‐scale transit corridor

study for one of the nation’s most congested transportation corridors. Andrew

began his career in Atlanta with the Georgia Department of Transportation

managing the environmental compliance process for major transportation projects.

Aiello graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio with degrees in UrbanPlanning and Philosophy (Phi Beta Kappa).

Aiello is actively engaged in community activities including the Dean’s Advisory

Board for the College of Informatics at Northern Kentucky University, the Board of

Directors for the Northern Kentucky Workforce Investment Board, and the Board of

Directors of the Ohio Kentucky Indiana Regional Council of Governments.



Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)in the Greater

February 22, 2013

BRT Plans for

Southwest Ohio

Terry Garcia Crews,

Metro Chief Executive Officer

and General Manager



• Identified five corridors in Southwest Ohio

and Northern Kentucky for potential BRTservice

Initial Planning Study (PB)

• en e e ongomery oa corr or ashaving the greatest potential to support BRTservice

• Conducted a peer analysis and identifiedmost desirable characteristics for Cincinnatiregion

Transit Plan 2023

• Latent demand survey – 1,200 HamiltonCounty households

• BRT has highest latent demand of all transitservces es e

• BRT to Downtown – 4.6 million trips annually

• BRT to Uptown – 1.0 million trips annually

• Identified Six Corridors in Metro Service AreaSuitable for BRT

BRT Network

• High-frequency spine

• Glenway, Hamilton,

Vine, Reading,Montgomery &Madison

• Uptown transferconnections



BRT Vision

Specially designed vehicles High-profile stations

BRT Vision

Off-vehicle fare collection Bicycle access

BRT Vision

Dedicated bus lanes Platform boarding



BRT Vision

Traffic Signal Priority

Metro Plus

Montgomery Road Corridor

• 150 Bus Stops in eachdirection

• Many high ridership buss ops on exs ng oca rou e4 – Primary criteria for MetroPlus stop

• Much transfer activity nearuptown area – need toinclude Uptown in Metro Plus



Metro Plus Bus Stop Spacing

• Longer stop spacing (approx. 1 mile)

o Provides fastest serviceo Covers 60 -70% of existing riderso Re uires hi her levelof local service

• Shorter stop spacing (approx. 0.5 miles)o Better service to 90%+of existing riderso Requires less local service

Corridor Land Use

University of Cincinnati – Blue Ash

• 5,200 students

•layover for Rt. 4

Corridor Land Use

Kenwood TowneCentre

• Region’s largest

mall• Surrounded by

multiple shoppingcenters

• Along major I-71Interchange



Corridor Land Use

Neighborhood business districts

Corridor Land UseXavier University

Corridor Land Use

Uptown Cincinnati

Six major hospitals



Corridor Land Use

Uptown Cincinnati

University of Cincinnati

Corridor Land Use

Downtown Cincinnati

Government Square

Other Characteristics

• Operate every 15minutes during

weekdays peak times• Operate every 30

minutes evenings to10 p.m.

• 17 stops in eachdirection



Metro Plus Branding

Metro Plus Branding

Why Metro Plus

• Provides higher-speed alternative to majordestinations – 150 stops on route 4 to 17 on

Metro Plus• Makes regional travel more feasible by transit

• Improves service to Uptown

• Responds to public input



Public Transit in theDixie Highway Corridor

Andrew Aiello,

TANK General Manager

Previous Planning Efforts

Regional BRT

Identified Corridors

Dixie Highway Findings

COA Results

Dixie Hwy

2,500 Riders / Weekday

Strong Generators atBoth Ends

Boarding & Alightingc v y ong n reRoute



Opportunities

& Challenges

Opportunities Strong Generators at Both Ends

Diversity of Land Uses Served

“Low-Hanging Fruit”

Confusing Southern Alignment

Undermines Otherwise DirectService

Important and Well-UsedInstitutional and CommercialDestinations along SouthernAlignment

Corridor does not meet FTAguidelines for true “BRT”

Draft Recommendations -

“Enhanced Bus”

• Capital Improvements

• Vehicle / Station Branding

• • Bus Stop Consolidation

Results:

•Better service

•More riders

•Increased efficiency



Stop

Consolidation /

RealignmentGoals

Consolidate boarding activity Minimize passenger loss

Maximize ridership gains

mprove rave mes

Anti cipated Resul ts

1/3-1/4 mi. spacing vs. 300 ft.

85% existing riders retained

8% net increase*

25% improvement• Passenger Travel Times

• Operating Efficiency

Alternative

Scenario

Consolidate stops• 145 one-way to 38 one-way

Maintain a streamlined loop

Invest in frequency (30 min. or <)

Anti cipated Resul ts

1/3-1/4 mi. spacing vs. 300 ft.

More existing riders retained

3-5% net ridership increase

10% improvement• Passenger Travel Times



Next Steps

Draft an implementation plan

Solicit feedback on implementation plan

Questions?

Andrew Aiello - [email protected]

- - metro.com



Frank Russell is the Director of the

University of Cincinnati Community Design Center

and the Niehoff Urban Studio and is an Instructor in

Urban Design. He is a Registered Architect and Urban

Designer. He came to the University of Cincinnati in1990, helping to establish the Center for Urban

Design in 1990 and serving as Assistant Director and

Adjunct Assistant Professor. There he provided

teaching, research, and community outreach in

professional architectural and urban design. He has

carried out numerous community based urban

design and architecture projects throughout

Cincinnati and since 1996 has directed the

Community Design Center, a state sponsored community outreach department of

the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning. Beginning in 2002 Frank

initiated the Niehoff Urban Studio in partnership with the DAAP School of Architecture and and Interior Design and the School of Planning. This studio, located

off‐campus in Corryville, provides credit bearing interdisciplinary coursework of

students of a variety of disciplines focused on issues relevant to the center city. The

purpose of the studio is to engage community stakeholders with students and

faculty in a problem solving design and research activity.

Russell has written for Cities: the international Journal of Policy and Planning,

Design Review: challenging urban aesthetic control(Chapman and Hall, 1994), and

co‐edited New Directions in Urban Public Housing (CUPR Press, Rutgers 1998).

Frank Russell has been the recipient of major grants from the Ohio Arts Council and

the American Architectural Foundation/National Endowment for the Arts, and has

directed the Midwest Regional Mayor’s Institute on City Design sponsored by the

AAF, NEA, and the US Conference of Mayors. He holds an A.B. Art from Vassar

College(1983), received an Architecture Internship at the Institute for Architecture

and Urban Studies, New York City (1985), and a Master of Architecture degree from.

Harvard University Graduate School of Design (1989). Frank Russell has served as a

Commissioner of the Cincinnati Park Board and the Cincinnati Recreation

Commission and past Chair of the Urban Design Committee of AIA Cincinnati. He

currently serves as a Trustee of the Cincinnati Zoo, is a board member of the

Cincinnati Riverfront Advisory Council.



Renee Mahaffey Harris is a professional with proven success in corporate,

non‐profit and public sector environments, with proven expertise in developing strategicalliances, community development, community engagement and public policy.Renee attended Ohio University where she received a BS in Communications.

She spent a decade in the banking industry from in various positions from Director of CRAPrograms to Vice President of Community Development where she managed $74 millionresidential portfolio.

Renee spent a number of years in various positions managing public affairs and constituent relations for several elected officials including then Secretary of State Sherrod Brown,Cincinnati Mayor David Mann and Congressman Charles J. Luken.

Renee also spent several years as Director of the Local Initiative Support Corporation(LISC) where she managed a $1.5 million annual operating budget, leveraged $15 million inreal estate and capacity building projects and executed fund development plan of $5.5million in start‐up capital and capacity building initiatives.

She has served on a variety of community boards and committees including the board of the Greater Cincinnati Urban League; YWCA Board; UC Real Estate Advisory Committee;Member of Greater Cincinnati Port Authority and the Cincinnati Parks Foundation Board.

In 2008, Renee came to the Center for Closing the Health Gap as Executive Director. In thisrole she manages staff, programs and initiatives. Along with managing advocacy, publicrelations and community engagement initiatives of the center.



THE CENTER FOR CLOSING THE HEALTH GAP

Report from City of Cincinnati Food Access Task Force

BACKGROUND

This report is the work of Cincinnati's Food Access Task Force, established by City Council to address a

problem brought to Council's attention by the Center for Closing the Health Gap (CCHG)

(www.closingthehealthgap.org). Founded by former Cincinnati Mayor Dwight Tillery, CCHG is a

Cincinnati-based non-profit organization whose mission is "to lead the efforts to eliminate racial and

ethnic health disparities in Greater Cincinnati through advocacy, education and community outreach."

As authors of the motion establishing the Food Access Task Force, Vice Mayor David Crowley and

Councilmember Laketa Cole, Chair of the Neighborhoods and Public Services Committee, served as the

group's first honorary co-chairs. They also appointed members* from 14 interested organizations,

including CCHG, the Avondale Community Council, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the

Kroger Company. The co-chairs also named CCHG as the lead organization within the Task Force.

"We further move," the Council motion reads, "that the Food Access Task Force function as a pilot

program, focusing on the communities of Avondale and Walnut Hills in its initial year of

implementation." The motion goes on to describe the purpose of the task force as follows:

The purpose of the Food Access Task Force is to address the disparity that exists between lower

income communities and higher income communities regarding access to quality and healthy

food supplies. Specifically, the Task Force is needed to locate innovative solutions and national

best practices that have been used to eliminate this disparity. The Task Force is further needed to

recommend those practices that can be replicated with success in Cincinnati's communities.

This report accomplishes three specific objectives assigned to the Task Force by Vice Mayor Crowley and

Councilmember Cole:

1. Assess the needs of low-income communities related to the disparity in access to healthy foods

2. Identify innovative solutions and national best practices currently deployed against the problem

3. Make policy recommendations to City Council that will redress disparities in access to healthy foods

*Task Force Members

Renee Mahaffey Harris, CCHG (Co Chair); Daniel Oerther, University of Cincinnati (Co Chair); Patricia Milton, Avondale

Community Council; William Witten, Avondale Business Association; Rev. Clarence Wallace, Avondale Coalition of Churches-

Carmel Presbyterian Church; Ozie Davis, Avondale Do Right! Campaign; Sean Rugless, Greater Cincinnati - Northern KentuckyAfrican American Chamber of Commerce; Teressa Adams, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital; Jason Kershner, Cincinnati USA

Regional Chamber; Stacy Wegley, Hamilton County Public Health; Brenden Cull, The Kroger Company; Linda Woods, The

University Hospital; Sheila Posey, Uptown Consortium; Monica Hampton, Walnut Hills-Evanston Health Center; Mel Williams,

Walnut Hills Do Right! Campaign



2

INTRODUCTION

Why is the ratio of fast food outlets to retailers of healthy food so much higher in Avondale than in Hyde

Park? Both are densely populated urban neighborhoods with a strikingly similar number of residents, yet

a drive through each community reveals a pronounced difference in access to healthy food.

Neighborhood Population White

(%)

African-

American

(%)

Male/

Female

(%)

Median

Age

Median

HH

Income

Avg.

Home

Value

Hyde Park

(45208)

17,286 91 1 46/54 35.1 $88,780 $220,300

Avondale

(45229)

17,912 14 83 47/53 35.2 $20,741 $107,900

Source: www.neighborhoodlink.com

Home to stores of two national grocery chains and a weekly farmer's market open from June through

October, Hyde Park is an idyll of access to fresh, healthy food. Avondale, on the other hand, is what

health researchers call a food desert , a community with limited access to healthy foods and a

disproportionate number of fast food outlets. Food deserts tend to be low-income communities where

residents' access to healthy food is limited by one of three factors:

1. The absence of a full-service grocery store in the community (Aldi's closed its Avondale store in 2008.)

2. Lack of transportation among residents, making it difficult to shop in other communities

3. Limited nutrition knowledge among residents, constraining their ability to make healthy food choices

What's more, residents of food deserts like Avondale suffer long-term health consequences as a result

of disparities in access to healthy food. Chief among these health consequences are obesity and

diabetes. According to "Designed for Disease," a 2008 report from PolicyLink, a national research

institute, "People living in neighborhoods crowded with fast-food and convenience stores but relatively

few grocery or produce outlets have a significantly higher prevalence of obesity and diabetes."

Impact On Children

As the Center for Closing the Health Gap (CCHG) has pointed out, children in these affected

neighborhoods deserve special attention. Citing the rapid rise in childhood obesity, the Robert Wood

Johnson Foundation (RWJF) noted in a July 2009 report F as in Fat , "the childhood obesity epidemic is

putting today's youth on course to potentially be the first generation to live shorter, less healthy lives

than their parents."

In January, RWJF provided grants to 21 coalitions across the country, including one in Cincinnati led by

CCHG. The shared objective is to fight childhood obesity by using community advocacy to increase

access to healthy foods. RWJF agreed that Cincinnati's Avondale community is a textbook local example

of this national problem. The news release announcing RWJF's grants explains, "The Foundation places a

special emphasis on reaching children at greatest risk of obesity: African-American, Latino, Native



3

American, Asian-American and Pacific Islander children and children living in low-income neighborhoods

or neighborhoods that have limited access to affordable healthy foods…"

Community advocates are galvanized by this disparity in access to healthy food because they recognize

it as a serious – but reversible – community health issue. The persistence of food deserts triggers a

sequence of negative outcomes for residents of these underserved communities, including increased

obesity and diabetes among children and adults, followed ultimately by higher mortality rates. Echoing

the RWJF report, the authors of a 2009 report on childhood obesity from the Institute of Medicine and

the National Research Council of the National Academies, wrote "There is no more sobering thought

than the growing consensus that the life expectancy of many of today's children will be less than their

parents' because of the impact of early and continuing obesity on their health."

Advocacy Not Enough

Community advocates are ready to do battle, but advocacy is only half the solution. The other half lies in

the hands of policymakers who have jurisdiction over such activities as land use, food marketing, health

and nutrition programs, community planning and transportation, which can be managed to overcome

needless disparities in access to healthy food. Working together and focusing on Avondale as a pilot,community advocates and policymakers can deliver positive outcomes for Cincinnati residents currently

stranded in a food desert.

The first step is to acknowledge a simple fact from the preface of another PolicyLink report titled Why

Place Matters: Building a Movement for Healthy Communities. "Where you live determines how you

live," wrote the authors of this survey of place-based solutions implemented successfully in

communities across the country. Step two in the process is to roll up our sleeves and embrace the

hopeful assessment from this same report: "When policies and practices are put into place that improve

the physical, economic, social and service condition of communities, the lives of those within the

communities also improve."

Recognizing this fact, City Council established the Food Access Task Force and assigned to the group the

following three objectives:

1. Assess the needs of low-income communities related to the disparity in access to healthy foods

2. Identify innovative solutions and national best practices currently deployed against the problem

3. Make policy recommendations to City Council that will redress disparities in access to healthy foods

This report details the Task Force's assessment of community needs, identifies some innovative

solutions and best practices that can be replicated in Cincinnati and provides related policy

recommendations to City Council.

COMMUNITY NEEDS

Qualitative Research

“I feel like they moved (the grocery store) over there on Ridge and I thought that was very, very

uncalled for because they have biggs over there, they have Meijer’s over there, they got Wal-

Mart over there that sells food. They took it out of the community and took it over there



4

and that was very unnecessary and I am still bitter about it.”

- Avondale resident

“Can’t walk up the street anymore, it used to be easy to come up to (the grocery store) and get

what you can. Me and my family aren’t mobile so we have to call people for rides and pay them

for gas and gas is so expensive.”

- Avondale resident

“The market sells fruit, but they don’t keep up with their stuff. A lot of their fruit is molded, old

and nasty.”

- Avondale resident

The Task Force's assessment of community needs included qualitative and quantitative research. Shown

above are some of the comments from interviews with Avondale residents that were part of the

qualitative research. Each of these interviews underscored the daily burden imposed on people who

cannot easily travel beyond a food desert to other areas to shop for healthy food. Struck by these

observations, one member of the Task Force said, "It's eye-opening and sad to realize that the things

many of us take for granted are inaccessible to our neighbors."

Another element of the qualitative research was a walking tour and food store survey of Avondale by

members of the Task Force. Our objective was to see the neighborhood's food offerings through

residents' eyes, observing directly what kinds of foods and options are available. In some instances,

what we saw on our tour of neighborhood stores was deplorable.

At some food sellers, including vendors certified to participate in the federal government's women,

infants and children (WIC) nutrition program, we saw food on the shelves that should not have been for

sale. We saw food that was not only beyond its "sell-by" or "pull-by" date, but also past the more

serious "expiration" date. Manufacturers explicitly instruct retailers to throw away food items that

remain unsold beyond the "expiration" date. Walking the neighborhood confirmed all the comments we

heard in our interviews with residents and reinforced how limited the food choices are for someone in a

food desert who lacks transportation.

Quantitative Research

Our quantitative research involved a more formal evaluation of neighborhood food stores. We trained

22 residents to research the availability of fresh, healthy food at 21 food outlets: 12 fast food or takeout

restaurants, six convenience/general goods stores and three neighborhood markets. Researchers also

rated the cleanliness and perceived safety of each food outlet. All locations were observed by two teams

on two different days and at different times to ensure reliable results. For the purposes of this survey,

we defined "healthy foods" as recommended options from the food groups within the USDA's popular

food pyramid (www.mypyramid.gov). The food groups are grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, oils and meat

& beans.



5

Of all food outlets surveyed, the three neighborhood markets offered the highest percentage of healthy

foods, but only one of the three stocked more than 50% of the recommended healthy foods. A summary

of our findings is provided below:

Market 1

• 65% of healthy food items available, however only 20% of fresh foods (vegetables, fruits, lean

luncheon meats, or dairy) available

• Nearly all (97%) of the available fruits and vegetables were in good condition (firm/crisp, little

damage, good color, no dirt)

• Observers rated inside the store as safe, however there is a busy bus stop outside the store

Market 2

• 42% of healthy food items available

• Apples, oranges, and bananas were the only fresh fruits, but were rated in good condition

• 39% of whole grain items available

Market 3

• No fresh foods available

• 20% of healthy canned items available, but 100% of these were rated as old and dirty

• Researchers observed loitering outside the store; Environment was rated unsafe

Among the fast food and takeout restaurants, only two of 12 offered at least 30% of the recommended

healthy foods and only one of the six convenience/general goods stores met this relatively low standard.

See table below for a summary of the researchers' findings.

Restaurants

n = 12 Convenience/General goods

n = 6 Outlets offering at least 30% of healthy

foods2 16.7% 1 16.7%

Outlets with health or nutrition

information available8 66.7% 0 0%

Outlets with overall cleanliness rated

average or better9 75% 4 66.7%

Outlets rated as safe 12 100% 5 83.3%

Our research and conversations with store customers, employees and other neighborhood residentsrevealed a set of basic community needs related to disparities in access to healthy food. These needs

include a greater variety of fresh, healthy foods, better quality offerings and safer surroundings. Access

to transportation is also a high-priority need. There's no shortage of nearby grocery stores and other

outlets with high-quality food, but the term "nearby" is meaningless to the Avondale resident who has

no car and can't easily reach those other outlets on public transportation.



6

Avondale isn't the only food desert in Cincinnati. As Council indicated when it established the Food

Access Task Force, this project is a pilot that will yield solutions we can apply to other neighborhoods

whose residents lack access to healthy food. Dwight Tillery, President of CCHG, has said, "Just as we

would not deny people access to water in our cities, why would we deny them access to healthy

food? Both are essential elements for sustaining life."

Let's look now at successes from other communities that we can replicate in Cincinnati.

INNOVATION AND BEST PRACTICES

I. Establish a Dedicated Public-Private Funding Mechanism

Fresh Food Financing Initiative: Pennsylvania

A 2002 study by the Food Trust, a non-profit organization in Philadelphia, found that the city's

low-income neighborhoods needed at least 70 more supermarkets. Diet-related illnesses such as

obesity and diabetes were significantly higher among residents of these neighborhoods andresidents' food dollars were being spent outside the community instead of being recycled to

promote increased economic activity. "At first, the Food Trust was more interested in the health

issues," said David Adler, the organization's communication director, "but we began to see the

lack of supermarkets as an economic development issue that expanded our idea of what

constituted a healthy community."

Supermarkets, the Food Trust held, can create jobs, draw foot traffic and, ultimately, new

economic development activity to previously dormant sections of the city. Targeting

Philadelphia's underserved communities by zip code, The Food Trust also calculated so-called

"retail float" or the dollars being spent outside the neighborhood as a consequence of the lack

of retailers inside the neighborhood. Researchers determined that the retail float for food aloneranged from $11 million per square mile per year to $67 million per square mile per year inside

targeted low income zip codes.

Additional work done by another organization turned up more interesting information: The

Reinvestment Fund, a development finance corporation involved in Pennsylvania's supermarket

restoration efforts, found that every $1 invested in supermarket construction yielded $1.50

worth of additional economic activity and boost property values by 4 – 7 percent.

The Food Trust's conclusions motivated Pennsylvania State Representative Dwight Evans to act.

As co-chair of the Governor's Task Force on Working Families, he led the effort to establish a

public/private partnership to tackle the issue. In 2004, the Pennsylvania legislature created the

Fresh Food Financing Initiative (FFFI), which Representative Evans described as "An innovative

and creative use of public and private funding that is a sterling example of sound public policy."

FFFI was a first-of-its-kind grant and loan program to encourage supermarket development in

underserved neighborhoods across the state.

Pennsylvania contributed $30 million in public seed money, which the organization leveraged

into $165 million in private investment. The one-time investment from FFFI helps retailers of

fresh food overcome high initial barriers to entry in targeted communities, including land



7

acquisition, new construction, renovation of existing stores, energy efficiency upgrades and

worker training. As of June 2009, FFFI has committed $57.9 million in grants and loans to 74

supermarket projects in 27 Pennsylvania counties, ranging in size from 900 to 69,000 square

feet. In total, these projects are expected to give 400,000 residents greater access to healthy

food, create or retain 4,854 jobs and introduce more than 1.5 million square feet of new food

retail space.

Additionally, The Obama Administration kicked off its "National Conversation on the Future of

Urban and Metropolitan America" with a town hall discussion in Philadelphia focused on the

success of FFFI. This meeting included cabinet secretaries and other high-level members of the

administration. Highlighting the link between food access, healthy children and healthy

communities, the White House in a subsequent statement described FFFI as "a prime example

of the type of collaborative partnership and innovative thinking needed in urban and

metropolitan communities across the nation." And The Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention selected FFFI to receive its Pioneering Innovation Award for the initiative's efforts

toward obesity control and prevention.

Building on the success of FFFI in Pennsylvania, the Food Trust has gone on to establish similarinitiatives in New York, Louisiana and Illinois and is currently working to set up programs in New

Jersey and Colorado.

II. Attract New Kinds of Grocery Stores

Wal-Mart's "Urban Model" Stores

In March of this year, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, a sister paper to Cincinnati's

Business Courier, reported that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is adding a full-service grocery to its

existing Bloomington, Minnesota location without making the store much bigger. When the

store reopens it will be just over 120,000 square feet or approximately 35% smaller than theaverage Wal-Mart Supercenter.

The new Bloomington store, located within 20 miles of downtown Minneapolis, will be one of

the state's smallest Supercenters and a model format the company uses for future

developments or to convert other urban locations into Supercenters without having to expand

or rebuild them. (Supercenters combine Wal-Mart's mix of general merchandise with full-service

grocery stores.) According to Wal-Mart spokeswoman Amy Wyatt-Moore, "We're working

toward a format that's more efficient and a smaller prototype…to be able to deliver a

Supercenter experience for customers in urban markets."

At the same time it refines its new model Supercenter with a smaller footprint, Wal-Mart is

contemplating entry into other urban markets. In 2006, then CEO Lee Scott announced the

company's plans to open 50 stores in areas heavily populated by minorities and in need of jobs

and tax revenue. "Wal-Mart has never been afraid to invest in communities that are overlooked

by other retailers," he said. "Where those businesses see difficulty, we see opportunity."

Recent news stories from the Wall Street Journal, the Washington (DC) Business Journal and

Crain's New York Business cite the retailing giant's move to open grocery stores in Chicago,

Washington, DC and New York City, respectively. Company officials told a Wall Street Journal



8

reporter they are eyeing Chicago as a potential proving ground for their urban development

strategy. The paper quotes John Bisio, Wal-Mart's Chicago Director of Public Affairs saying "I

think people are starting to understand we can be relevant in the urban area and improve the

quality of life."

In DC, where the company has been searching for enough land to accommodate an 80,000 to

100,000 square foot store, a local developer reports being in conversations with the company

"about opening its first DC store." And in New York, a spokesman acknowledges the retailer is

looking for space, saying "New York City residents want and need better access to our stores so

they are not forced to travel to New Jersey or Long Island." (Data from the Food Trust group

behind Philadelphia's FFFI program showed that when compared to the national number of

supermarkets per capita, New York City has 137 too few supermarkets.)

Small Neighborhood Grocer: Oakland's Mandela Foods Cooperative

The City of Oakland provided funding to the Mandela Foods Cooperative, a 2008 start-up

employee-owned grocery store in West Oakland. Through market research, the ownershipgroup confirmed what they knew already as longtime residents of the low-income community

that sits between Oakland and San Francisco: West Oakland had six fast food restaurants, two

liquor stores and one grocery store geared primarily toward the region's Asian community.

The African American and Hispanic owners/employees pledged to offer a broader variety of

"wholesome, fresh and affordable foods grown on local family farms." They also plan to offer

"nutrition education classes and a cooperative economic investment program that provides

multi-level investment for community residents." Through its Community and Economic

Development Agency the City of Oakland awarded Mandela Foods Cooperative a $200,000 grant

for building/tenant improvements at its site. The City noted the new venture "will provide

wholesome, fresh and locally-grown foods at affordable prices…(and)…will provide jobs andinvestment opportunities for local residents through a cooperative business model that recycles

profits back into the community."

Stand Alone Produce Market: Green House Produce

When a large grocery chain closed its neighborhood store, Oakland's low- to middle-income

Auto Row district was left without a local provider of quality produce. To save the neighborhood,

the City of Oakland established a community development grant fund and announced its

intention to partner with community groups and faith-based organizations to attract new food

businesses to the area.

Shortly after putting out a request for proposals, the City received an intriguing pitch from an

entrepreneur who had been operating a produce market in another part of Oakland for 14 years.

Mr. Abdu proposed building a 400 square-foot produce market next to the neighborhood's sole

remaining grocery outlet, which offered excellent prices on canned and packaged non-

perishables, dairy products and household items, but no fresh produce.



9

A new produce market, Mr. Abdu reasoned, would help the existing grocer – and the

neighborhood – by giving customers and residents convenient access to fresh produce. The City

liked the idea and accepted Mr. Abdu's proposal, eventually awarding him a $30,000 grant to

build Green House Produce, which today offers residents a wide variety of fresh fruits and

vegetables.

III. Convert the Corner Store

Healthy Corner Store Initiative: Louisville

In 2007 Louisville's Center for Health Equity (CHE), a program of the city's Department of Public

Health, partnered with the YMCA of Greater Louisville to develop the "Healthy Corner Store

Initiative," an effort to increase access to healthy food for residents of a recognized food desert.

The basic plan was to increase the availability of healthy food in an underserved community by

offering financial incentives and other kinds of support to owners of corner stores to facilitate

the ordering, stocking and sale of fresh fruits and vegetables. The Healthy Corner Store Initiative

provided refrigerator cases, new signage, printed marketing materials and store façade

upgrades.

Additionally, CHE approached community groups and area businesses to solicit in-kind support.

This outreach yielded help in every area of the program's launch and evaluation: An architect

and graphic design firm donated the physical redesign of the store layout and the marketing

materials, respectively; Produce distributors donated new shelving and the first three weeks of

produce inventory, in addition to providing technical assistance related to selling produce; Local

chefs and nutrition educators collaborated with CHE on social marketing and nutrition education

programs in the schools and nearby neighborhoods; and students from the University of

Louisville's Masters Program in Public Health, evaluated the results at one of the pilot sites,

Smoketown DollarPlus.

Smoketown DollarPlus began offering fresh produce January 14, 2009. For perspective, the

median household income within that store's 40203 zip code is $13,458, compared to

Avondale's median figure of $20,741. In their follow-up survey of DollarPlus shoppers, titled

Healthy Corner Store Initiative: An Evaluation, the MPH Students report that 94 percent of

respondents reported purchasing more fruit than they had before the program began and 97

percent reported purchasing more vegetables. Provided below is data from the MPH students'

report comparing shoppers' purchasing behavior before and after the Healthy Corner Store

Initiative was launched. Although they didn't ask exactly the same questions in their pre- and

post-survey, it's clear the initiative made a significant difference in shopper's buying behavior.

For example, before the program launch, only 18% of respondents reported buying fruits and

vegetables once a week vs. 40% for fruit and 38% for vegetables just three months after the

launch.

Once a Week Once a Month Hardly Ever

Before

(Jan. 09)

After

(Apr. 09)

Before

(Jan. 09)

After

(Apr. 09)

Before

(Jan. 09)

After

(Apr. 09)

Frequency of



10

Purchasing Fruits &

Vegetables

18% 31% 43%

Frequency of

Purchasing Fruit

40% 36% 17%

Frequency of

Purchasing Vegetables

38% 36% 12%

In addition to promoting increased purchase of fruits and vegetables, the program generated

increased profits for the store. "The store's gross earnings from fresh fruit and vegetables

increased by about 300% in August compared with July," wrote one of the researchers in an

email response to questions about the program. The combination of increases in store profits

and more frequent purchase of fresh fruits & vegetables by neighborhood residents confirms

conversion of the corner store as a promising strategy in the battle against food deserts.

A group is already pursuing this work nationally. Called The Healthy Corner Stores Network

(HCSN) (www.healthycornerstores.org), the organization promotes efforts to bring healthier

foods into corner stores in low-income and underserved communities nationwide. Led by the

Community Food Security Coalition, The Food Trust, Public Health Law & Policy and Urbane

Development, HCSN brings together community members, local government staff, non-profits,

funders and others from across the country to share best practices, lessons learned and new

approaches to common challenges. The report Healthy Food for All, from HCSN participant

Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, provides short profiles of corner store projects

around the country that have successfully expanded the selection of healthier foods within

underserved communities.

IV. Provide Transportation Solutions

Grocery Shuttle Service, Fresno, California

As we noted, transportation continues to be one of the main barriers limiting residents' access

to healthy options within food desert communities. One solution is for grocery stores to offer

their customers free or low-cost shuttle service. For example, California's Vallarta Supermarkets

provides a free shuttle for customers from a low-income community near one of its stores in

Fresno. The company says the service that takes customers home from the store has helped

business. Quoted in a July, 2009 article in the Fresno Bee, district manager Jaime Romero,

describes the shuttle as "well worth it."

Curiously, this option is less widely used than it could be. Major grocery chains have no mention

of such a service on their websites, yet they are invested in other efforts to combat nutrition

problems in the communities. Perhaps all that's needed is some outreach to retailers and

encouragement to consider shuttle service as another way to combat local nutrition problems.

Also, new research can help determine why supermarkets that once had such programs no

longer offer them. Citing a program run by Ralph's supermarket, a 2002 study by the Center for



11

Advanced Studies in Nutrition and Social Marketing at the University of California, Davis,

concluded that supermarkets can improve their profit margins and the health of their customers

by offering shoppers free transportation. "It's a way for supermarkets to do well by doing good,"

said Dr. Diana Cassady, Director of the Center and senior author of the report.

Researchers conducted a market analysis of low-income neighborhoods in five California cities:

Bakersfield, Fresno, Long Beach, Oakland and San Diego. They determined that a supermarket-

sponsored shuttle service would be financially viable in any of the areas assuming at least 20%

of the households without cars would use the service once a week to buy $25 worth of groceries.

Depending on the zip code, estimated incremental annual revenues ranged from $545,700 to

$1.5 million.

In their report, researchers detailed two examples of successful shuttle programs serving

residents in low-income communities in Los Angeles. One program was run by Numero Uno

Market, a small chain of supermarkets and the other is run by three stores in the Ralph's

organization, a large California chain owned by Kroger. Numero Uno owned its fleet of vans

while the Ralph's stores contracted with a shuttle company to provide the service to customers.

Currently, however, neither chain offers the service and understanding why might persuadeother grocers to take up a program the UC Davis report credited with contributing more than

$1.4 million in incremental revenue to just one of the Numero Uno stores.

The idea of a grocery shuttle service is, of course, not new. Retailers have been using it for years

to serve special populations such as seniors, college students and residents of apartment

complexes. The main innovation here is reapplying to a different group of customers a business

service that has proven its worth and its return on investment.

Stores benefit from shuttle programs in six ways:

• Revenue from additional shopping trips by existing customers

• Chance to recruit new customers

• Increased sales from larger purchases, which customers can now transport easily

• Reduced losses from stolen carts, previously used by customers to take groceries home

• Free publicity from signage inside and outside transport vans

• Improved customer and community good will

Deliver Fresh Food to Neighborhoods: Mobile Market, Detroit

If the customer can't reach the store, then maybe the store needs to reach the customer. In a

Detroit neighborhood with 26 liquor stores and only one grocery, a community group called

Peaches and Greens (www.centraldetroitchristian.org) is taking that suggestion to heart.

Operated by Central Detroit Christian, a community development corporation, the Peaches &

Greens produce truck operates three seasons out of the year, delivering fresh fruits and

vegetables to residents in the service area of Central Detroit Christian. The program's goal is to

provide families in Detroit's central Woodward community with greater access to quality

produce while promoting healthy food choices. Set up like a small market, the truck sells



12

affordable produce to families on public assistance, homebound seniors and others who have

limited access to healthy foods.

Peaches & Greens manages their own community gardens, where volunteers grow greens,

tomatoes, and other vegetables used to stock the truck. The food is also offered at a

neighborhood produce market, and organizers are working to persuade liquor stores and corner

markets to stock their vegetables. “People will buy it,” says Lisa Johanon, executive director of

Central Detroit Christian. “We’ve heard the stereotype that urban communities won’t eat

healthy, but we’re seeing that isn’t true.”

Each of these examples targets a particular facet of this persistent problem. And all were helped in some

way by enlightened public policies, which must be paired with effective community advocacy to develop

a comprehensive solution to the disparity in access to healthy food.

We offer the following policy recommendations as ways of addressing the three main factors limiting

our fellow Cincinnatians' access to healthy foods: 1) The absence of a full-service grocery in thecommunity; 2) Lack of transportation in low-income neighborhoods with no grocery; and 3) Limited

nutrition knowledge among residents which constrains their ability to make healthy food choices.

These recommendations mirror those of a just-released report from the Institute of Medicine of the

National Academies titled Local Government Actions to Prevent Childhood Obesity . Communities across

the country are seeing the disparity in access to healthy food for what it is: a progressive problem that

first lowers the quality of life and then prematurely ends the lives of our neighbors.

City Council can and should enact the following policy changes to reverse this needless curse. In a

chilling report on the Black-White Mortality Gap titled "What If We Were Equal?," a group of

researchers, including Dr. Adewale Troutman, Director of Louisville's Metro Health Department,attributes "83,000 excess deaths per year among African Americans" to persistent health inequalities.

Said another way, it is no exaggeration to characterize this as a life and death issue.

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

Bold type = Most promising action steps.

I. Improve Access to Healthy Foods

In Retail Outlets: Increase community access to healthy foods through supermarkets, grocery

stores and convenience/corner stores.

1. Establish a metrics-based process for designating underserved neighborhoods as "food

deserts," entitling them to participate fully in special incentives and programs. (E.g.,

process might calculate ratio of fast food outlets to providers of healthy foods, among

other variables.)



13

2. Create incentive programs to attract supermarkets and grocery stores to underserved

neighborhoods (e.g. tax credits, grant and loan programs, small business/economic

development programs and other economic incentives).

3. Utilize the enforcement requirements for full-service grocery stores to enforce healthy

food practices at convenience stores and mini-marts in Avondale as a 12-month pilot.

Announce this pilot as a first step toward city-wide enforcement of healthy food practices

at all convenience stores and mini-marts.

4. Create incentive programs to enable current owners of small food stores in underserved

areas to carry healthier, affordable food items (e.g., grants or loans to purchase

refrigeration equipment to store fruits, vegetables and fat-free/low-fat dairy goods; free

publicity; a city awards program; or linkages to wholesale distributors).

5. Use zoning regulations to enable providers of healthy food to locate in underserved

neighborhoods (e.g., "as of right" and "conditional use permits")

6. Enhance accessibility to grocery stores through public safety efforts such as better outdoor

lighting and targeted police patrolling.

7. Convene a panel of residents from food desert communities to ensure this effort remains

connected to residents within the affected communities.

In Restaurants: Improve the availability and identification of healthful foods in restaurants.

1. Require menu labeling in chain restaurants to provide consumers with calorie information

on in-store menus and menu boards.

2. Encourage non-chain restaurants to provide customers with calorie information on in-store

menus and menu boards.

3. Offer incentives (e.g., special recognition or endorsement) for restaurants that promote

healthier options (for example, by increasing the offerings of healthier foods, serving age-

appropriate portion sizes or making the default standard options healthier, i.e., apples or

carrots instead of French fries, and non-fat milk instead of soda in "kids' meals").

In Communities: Promote efforts to provide fruits and vegetables in a variety of settings, such as

farmers' markets, farm stands, mobile markets, community gardens and youth-focused gardens.

1. Encourage farmers markets to accept Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women,

Infants and Children (WIC) food package vouchers and WIC Farmers Market Nutrition

Program coupons; Encourage and make it possible for farmers markets to accept

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program)

and WIC Program Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards by allocating funding for

equipment that uses electronic methods of payment.

2. Improve funding for outreach, education and transportation to encourage use of farmers

markets and farm stands by residents of lower-income neighborhoods, and by WIC and

SNAP recipients.

3. Expand the City's current pilot urban gardening program to add Avondale as one of the Cincinnati neighborhoods authorized to establish community gardens onunderutilized sites within the community. Request recommendations for appropriatesites within Avondale from the Food Access Task Force. Additionally, develop a set of measurable criteria such as average household income, presence of full-service



14

grocery stores, etc. that can be used going forward to determine other communities'eligibility for inclusion in the program.

4. Introduce or modify land use policies/zoning regulations to promote, expand and protect

potential sites for farmers' markets, such as vacant city-owned land or unused parking lots.

5. Develop community-based group activities (e.g. community kitchens) that link procurement

of affordable, healthy food with improving skills in purchasing and preparing food.

Through Public Programs and Worksites: Ensure that publicly run entities such as after-school

programs, child-care facilities, recreation centers and local government worksites implement

policies and practices to promote healthy foods and beverages and reduce or eliminate the

availability of high-calorie, low-nutrition foods.

1. Mandate and implement strong nutritional standards for foods and beverages available in

government-run or regulated after-school programs, recreation centers, parks and child

care facilities (which includes limiting access to high-calorie, low-nutrition foods).

2. Ensure that local government agencies operating cafeterias and vending options have strong

nutrition standards in place wherever foods and beverages are sold or available.3. Provide incentives or subsidies to government-run or -regulated programs and localities that

provide healthy foods at competitive prices and limit high-calorie, low-nutrition foods (e.g.,

after-school programs that provide fruits or vegetables every day and eliminate non-

nutritious foods in vending machines or as part of the program.)

Through Government Nutrition Programs: Increase participation in federal, state and local

government nutrition assistance programs (e.g., WIC, school breakfast and lunch, the Child and

Adult Care Food Program [CACFP], the Afterschool Snacks Program, the Summer Food Service

Program, SNAP).

1. Put policies in place that require government-run and –regulated agencies responsible for

administering nutrition assistance programs to collaborate across agencies and programs

to increase enrollment and participation in these programs (i.e., WIC agencies should

ensure that those who are eligible are also participating in SNAP, etc.)

2. Step up enforcement of regulations for the handling and sale of food among participants

in government-run and –regulated food programs such as WIC. Increased regulation will

include shelf management of expiration dates and review of certifications to participate in

the programs.

3. Ensure that child care and after-school program licensing agencies encourage utilization of

the nutrition assistance programs and increase nutrition program enrollment (CACFP,

Afterschool Snack Program and the Summer Food Service Program).

Breastfeeding: Encourage breastfeeding and promote breastfeeding-friendly communities

1. Adopt practices in public hospitals that are consistent with the Baby-Friendly Hospital

Initiative USA (United Nations Children's Fund/World Health Organization). This initiative

promotes, protects and supports breastfeeding through ten steps to successful

breastfeeding for hospitals.



15

2. Permit breastfeeding in public places and rescind any laws or regulations that discourage or

do not allow breastfeeding in public places and encourage the creation of lactation rooms in

public places.

3. Develop incentive programs to encourage government agencies to ensure breastfeeding-

friendly worksites, including providing lactation rooms.

4. Allocate funding to WIC clinics to acquire breast pumps to loan to participants.

Access to Drinking Water: Increase access to free, safe drinking water in public places to

encourage consumption of water instead of sugar-sweetened beverages.

1. Require that plain water be available in local government-operated and administered

outdoor areas and other public places and facilities.

2. Adopt building codes to require access to and maintenance of fresh drinking water

fountains (e.g., public restroom codes).

Availability of High-Calorie, Low-Nutrition Foods: Reduce access to and consumption of high-calorie, low-nutrition foods.

1. Implement a tax strategy to discourage consumption of foods and beverages that have

minimal nutritional value, such as sugar-sweetened beverages.

2. Adopt land use and zoning policies that restrict fast food establishments near school

grounds and public playgrounds.

3. Implement local ordinances to restrict mobile vending of high-calorie, low-nutrition foods

near schools and public playgrounds.

4. Implement zoning designed to limit the density of fast food establishments in residential

communities.

5.

Eliminate advertising and marketing of high-calorie, low-nutrition foods and beverages nearschool grounds and public places frequented by children and young people.

6. Create incentive and recognition programs to encourage grocery stores and convenience

stores to reduce point-of-sale marketing of high-calorie, low-nutrition foods (i.e., promote

"candy-free" checkout aisles and spaces.

II. Provide Transportation Options for Low-Income Residents with Limited Access to Healthy Foods

Transportation: Work with SORTA and grocery store retailers to provide additional

transportation options for residents living in food deserts.

1. Work with SORTA to realign bus routes or provide other transportation, such as mobile

community vans or shuttles to ensure residents can access supermarkets or grocery stores

easily and affordably through public transportation.

2. Persuade SORTA to dedicate a group of buses to grocery routes and retrofit these vehicles

to more easily accommodate grocery carts

3. Build or upgrade bus shelters near popular grocery stores to provide additional space for

shoppers with bags and/or grocery carts



16

4. Create incentive or recognition programs to encourage grocery stores to provide free or

reduced price shuttle service to customers traveling to or from designated food deserts.

III. Raise Awareness of the Importance of Healthy Eating

Media and Social Marketing: Promote media and social marketing campaigns about the benefits

of healthy eating and the importance of preventing childhood obesity.

1. Develop media campaigns utilizing consistent messages and multiple channels (print,

radio, internet, television, social networking, workplace and classroom materials and

other options) to promote healthy eating (and active living).

2. Design a media campaign that establishes community access to healthy foods as a health

equity issue and reframes obesity as a consequence of disparities in access to healthy foods.

3. Develop media advertising that counters campaigns for unhealthy foods targeting children

and young people, as did the opponents of targeted tobacco and alcohol advertising.

NEXT STEPS

The impressive successes of Philadelphia's FFFI program and other best practices mentioned above

show us how we can bridge what has come to be called the grocery gap. Closing this chasm is critical

because it's also a health gap and a neighborhood economic development gap. The surprisingly basic

nature of the community needs our Task Force discovered reveals an important fact about the issue of

access to healthy food.

The kind of disparity we observed can be invisible unless you're looking for it. It's easy to assume

everyone is just a whim away from high-quality, healthy choices for their next meal. However, as that

member of the Task Force said during the walking tour of Avondale, "…the things many of us take for

granted are inaccessible to our neighbors."

Knowing what we now know, how can we allow this level of disparity to continue in Cincinnati?



17

RESOURCES

“Food Desert.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food desert

State Legislatures Magazine, National Conference of State Legislatures. 2007. Replenishing Our Food

Deserts, Mark Winne

Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. 2009. Healthy Food For All , Dayna Burtness

California Center for Public Health Advocacy, PolicyLink, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. 2008.

Designed for Disease: The Link Between Local Food Environments and Obesity and Diabetes

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Trust for America's Health. 2009. F as in Fat: 2009

Institute of Medicine, National Research Council of the National Academies. 2009. Local Government

Actions to Prevent Childhood Obesity

PolicyLink, The Food Trust, The Reinvestment Fund. 2009. A National Fresh Food Financing Initiative

PolicyLink. 2007. Why Place Matters: Building a Movement for Healthy Communities

The Food Trust. 2004. Philadelphia's New Markets: Ripe Opportunity for Retailers

Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. March 20, 2009. Bloomington Wal-Mart to be small Supercenter

The Wall Street Journal. February 11, 2009. Wal-Mart Figures Time is Ripe for Chicago Push

Washington Business Journal. August 21, 2009. Wal-Mart on the prowl for a D.C. site

Crain's New York Business. October 6, 2009. Look who's eyeing NYC: Wal-Mart

The Food Trust. 2008. The Need for More Supermarkets in New York

University of Louisville, School of Public Health & Information Sciences. 2009. Healthy Corner Store

Initiative: An Evaluation

University of California, Davis. Center for Advanced Studies in Nutrition and Social Marketing. 2002.

Supermarket Shuttle Programs.

Documents

Regional Planning Forum Booklet for the February 2013 meeting