Latino USA, which is broadcast on NPR, did a story about our research findings on Hispanic immigrant women’s perspectives on healthy food and local neighborhood food access.  Our research used in-depth, hour long interviews to gather data on these women’s perspectives on healthy food and where they preferred to buy their food.  They generally reported being skeptical of the quality, freshness and flavor of produce and meat purchased in supermarkets and reported that even though the prices were higher, they preferred to buy produce and meat at farmer’s markets and small, local slaughter houses. They felt that these retail outlets provided food that more closely matched their values and preferences for food.  When we did a spatial analyses for a larger sample of Hispanic immigrant women, we found that having a farmer’s market in their residential neighborhood was associated with significantly higher consumption of fruit and vegetables.  Furthermore we found that having a farmer’s market and/or a small slaughter house in their neighborhood was associated with significantly higher consumption of meat.  Having local access to a supermarket was not associated with any of the measured dietary outcomes.

The Latino USA story can be heard here and the original research paper is here.