Food access narratives as told by consumers and retailers engaging in a COVID-19-stricken urban food system: A brief report

Emma C Lewis; Penny Pei; Joel Gittelsohn

doi:10.1177/22799036231204355

Food access narratives as told by consumers and retailers engaging in a COVID-19-stricken urban food system: A brief report

J Public Health Res. 2023 Oct 9;12(4):22799036231204355. doi: 10.1177/22799036231204355. eCollection 2023 Oct.

Authors

Emma C Lewis¹, Penny Pei¹, Joel Gittelsohn¹

Affiliation

¹ Human Nutrition, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Abstract

Small food retail ("corner") stores in many underserved urban settings face challenges to stocking healthy, affordable foods. The food supply chain is considered one of the most important sectors of the economy and has suffered recent negative impacts due to the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, from farm to consumer. As part of the larger Baltimore Urban food Distribution (BUD) Study, we examine corner store owner and consumer perceptions of the impact of COVID-19 on navigating an urban food environment using a brief, reflective, semi-structured oral interview framed as "storytelling." Open-ended responses are documented, transcribed, and analyzed for key themes. Presently, we discuss initial key findings in hopes of helping to ensure sufficient value added for corner store owners and consumers who will interact with the BUD mobile application as part of a full-scale trial being implemented in Baltimore, Maryland.

Keywords: COVID-19; Corner store; food system; mHealth; storytelling; urban.

Abstract

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