Does Good Food Matter? A Food Balance Study of Cleveland

30 Pages Posted: 29 Jun 2012 Last revised: 5 Sep 2012

See all articles by Benjamin Y. Clark

Benjamin Y. Clark

University of Oregon - School of Planning, Public Policy & Management; University of Oregon - Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact

Jennifer Koperdak

Cleveland State University - Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs

Date Written: April 8, 2012

Abstract

This article seeks to expand the understanding of the impact of physical environment on life and health outcomes. The article first examines the balance of food outlets (grocery stores, fast food, and convenience stores) throughout Cleveland and surrounding communities. It then assesses the socio-economic determinants of alternative suppliers of health foods or grocery store alternatives (GSAs), these would include farmers’ markets, urban farms, and CSAs. And finally it assesses the roles of food availability on life expectancy. The results from this paper demonstrate that one of the strongest predictors of the location of GSAs are grocery stores — leading one to believe that GSAs are not filling any gaps in the availability of health foods. Secondly, this article demonstrates that it is the socio-demographic characteristics that appear to be driving life expectancy, not the availability of fresh foods or a glut of unhealthy fast food.

Keywords: Food balance, Food Desert, Food Access, Social Determinants of Life Expectancy

JEL Classification: H51, I12, I31, Q18

Suggested Citation

Clark, Benjamin Y. and Koperdak, Jennifer, Does Good Food Matter? A Food Balance Study of Cleveland (April 8, 2012). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2095196 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2095196

Benjamin Y. Clark (Contact Author)

University of Oregon - School of Planning, Public Policy & Management ( email )

Eugene, OR 97403
United States

HOME PAGE: http://byclark.github.io

University of Oregon - Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact ( email )

Eugene, OR
United States

Jennifer Koperdak

Cleveland State University - Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs ( email )

1717 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44115
United States

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