A Farmers’ Market in a Food Desert: Evaluating Impacts on the Price and Availability of Healthy Food

Authors

Kristian Larsen, University of Toronto
Jason Gilliland, The University of Western Ontario

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-2009

Volume

15

Issue

4

Journal

Health & Place

First Page

1158

Last Page

1162

URL with Digital Object Identifier

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2009.06.007

Abstract

Several studies have examined supermarket access for low-income residents, but few have explored how access to healthy food changes when a new food retailer such as a farmers’ market opens in a place previously known as a ‘food desert’. This paper uses a ‘before and after’ approach to examine the impact of the introduction of a farmers’ market on the price and availability of healthy food in an underserved urban neighbourhood. The farmers’ market had a major impact on grocery prices in the neighbourhood, which decreased by almost 12% in 3 years.