Abstract
Limited access to foods that make up a nutritious diet at minimal cost may influence
eating behaviors and, ultimately, obesity. This study examined the number and type
of food stores (convenience, grocery, supermarket) on federal reservations in Washington
State, and the availability and cost of foods in the US Department of Agriculture
Community Food Security Assessment Toolkit market basket, to describe the food environment
of American Indians. Stores were identified by telephone survey of tribal headquarters,
a commercial database, and on-site visitation. Foods were assessed using a standardized
instrument containing 68 items in seven major food groups during April and May 2009.
Store type and availability and cost of foods were recorded on a checklist. Fifty
stores were identified on 22 American Indian reservations, including 25 convenience,
16 grocery, and 9 supermarkets. Across all stores, about 38% of checklist items were
available, with supermarkets having the most and convenience stores the fewest. Foods
from the dairy and sugars/sweets groups were the most prevalent, while fresh fruits/vegetables
were the least. Cost of the most commonly available items was lowest in supermarkets.
Seventeen reservations did not have a supermarket on their reservation, and the nearest
off-reservation supermarket was about 10 miles from the tribe's headquarters, which
was used as the standard for distance calculations. These results demonstrate that
American Indians living on federal reservations in Washington State may have limited
access to foods that make up a nutritious diet at minimal cost.
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Biography
M. O'Connell is a medical resident, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle
Biography
D. S. Buchwald is a professor, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle
Biography
G. E. Duncan is an associate professor, Department of Epidemiology, Nutritional Science Program, University of Washington, Seattle
Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
March 2,
2011
Identification
Copyright
© 2011 American Dietetic Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
