Food Resource Accessibility

Task: determine the appropriate measures and measurement tools needed to conduct a food resource
accessibility assessment of Montclair. Students will also conduct an assessment of one census tract in Montclair
using these measurement tools and compile the results into a preliminary report that includes all measures and
tools, details the assessment results, and identifies any challenges associated with using the tools or conducting
the assessment.

Timeline
(2 hours each week)
Week 1 (2/18): Research on assessing food resource accessibility; previously done assessments ​(3 sources each)
Week 2 (2/25): Planning out how we will create the assessment ​(Brainstorming and outline of project)
Week 3 (3/3): Create the assessment ​(Assessment Created)
Week 4 (3/17): Assessment of one census tract; research census data of the area and complete the census
Week 5 (3/24): Compile list of places to distribute survey and research legality and restrictions behind it
Week 6 (3/31): ​Set up a template and guide for turning the data, once collected, into graphs and charts in order
to analyze the data
Week 7 (4/7): ​Set up a template for displaying data. Predict some strategies to address possible food
accessibility issues in Montclair so once the survey is distributed and the data is collected they will have options
on corrective action.
Week 8 (4/16): Finalize project and submit this document and the survey to canvas

Week 1 research:
Resources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Healthier Food Retail: Beginning the
Assessment Process in Your State or Community. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services; 2014.
Cohen, B., Andrews, M., & Kantor, L. S. (n.d.). Community Food Security Assessment Toolkit.
Retrieved from https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=43179
Community Food Assessments. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://clf.jhsph.edu/projects/community-food-assessments
Community Food Access Assessment. (2015). Retrieved from
https://mocofoodcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/MoCo-Food-Access-Report-2015.pdf
Marquis, C. et al. (2017). Healthy Hampshire Food Access Assessment Report. Retrieved from
http://www.healthyhampshire.org/content/6-resources/food-access-assessment-report_finalna.pdf
Nutritional Environment Assessment Tool. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://neat.mihealthtools.org/
Pothukuchi, K. (n.d.). Community Food Assessment: A First Step in Planning for Community
Food Security - Kameshwari Pothukuchi, 2004. Retrieved from
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0739456X04264908?journalCode=jpea
WhyHunger. (2013, June 14). Community Food Assessment: Introduction. Retrieved from
https://whyhunger.org/category/articles/community-food-assessment-introduction/

Week 2 Brainstorming:
● https://www.montclairlocal.news/2019/09/20/lunch-debt-montclair-schools-nj/
 ● Compile demographics and statistics of those who live in Montclair (average socioeconomic status,
ethnicity, race, educations level, average house pricing/ taxes, amount of grocery stores in area,
transportation options)
● Use those demographics to center in on certain low socioeconomic areas or highly taxed areas and areas
with minimal food stores to collect data
● Create a food accessibility questionnaire that is simple and straightforward that can be distributed to
individuals in those areas to assess their access to foods
○ Sample questions include:
■ Where do you typically buy groceries?
■ How often do you eat out?
■ What mode of transportation do you use to get to a grocery store or restaurant?
■ Do you participate in any supplemental assistance programs for purchasing food such as
SNAP?
■ How often in the past year have you purchased food from a farmers market?
Week 3 Creation:
● http://www.city-data.com/city/Montclair-New-Jersey.html
● Survey on a word document
Week 4: Research of one census tract
https://2020census.gov/en.html
I took the census in order to gain a better understanding of it then analyzed my results

Week 5: Where to distribute survey

● Based off of the data below there seems to be a concentration of low-socioeconomic status surrounding
Glenfield park and Mission Street
● The survey could possibly be distributed via a table in Glenfield Park or a door-to-door distribution on
Mission street.
● Glenfield Park
○ Permit for Special Events
○ Phone for Parks and Rec Essex County: 973-268-3500
○ Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. is the Essex County Executive
● Mission Street
○ Door-to-door survey distribution
○ The surveys can be done at the door or left in the mailbox with a postage envelope for
individuals to mail their surveys back to Montclair Community Farms
● Holland Terrace (very affluent area: med income >$250,000)
○ Door-to-door survey distribution
○ The surveys can be done at the door or left in the mailbox with a postage envelope for
individuals to mail their surveys back to Montclair Community Farms
● Vera Place (very affluent area: med income >$250,000)
○ Door-to-door survey distribution
○ The surveys can be done at the door or left in the mailbox with a postage envelope for
individuals to mail their surveys back to Montclair Community Farms
Week 6: Organization of data

● Once the surveys are collected take the percentages of each box to determine the most popular response
to each of the above questions.
● The percentages should be displayed in each box above.
● Each category could be turned into a histogram (a total of 4 histograms) in order to display the data
further and identify any common trends.
Week 7: Preliminary Report Template

Assessment Results
Glenfield Park

Statement Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly

Agree % % % % Disagree
%

Food Stores

I typically purchase my
groceries at a large food store
such as ShopRite, Wegmans,
Whole Foods, or Stop and Shop.

I typically purchase my
groceries at smaller food stores
such as bodegas, mini-mart, or
local grocer.

I shop at farmers markets 2-4

times a month during the warm
months.

I shop at farmers markets 1-2

times a month during the warm
months.

I do not shop at farmers markets.

Overall, I am satisfied with my

food shopping experiences.

Transportation/travel

I drive to go food shopping.

I take public transportation to go

food shipping.

I use a rideshare app such as

uber or lyft to go food shopping.

I walk to go food shopping.

I have to travel over 30 minutes

to the grocery store.

I have to travel over 1 hour to

the grocery store.
Assistance

I participate in any supplemental

assistance programs such as
WIC of SNAP.

I often obtain food from pantries

or soup kitchens.

Health

I have a medical condition that

requires a special diet.

I could potentially have a

medical condition pertaining to
diet.

Overall, my health is good and I

eat a balanced diet full of fresh
fruits, vegetables, grains, and
protein.

I rarely eat processed foods such

as chips, soda, or candy.

I often eat processed foods such

as chips, soda, or candy.

Mission Street

Statement Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly

Agree % % % % Disagree
%

Food Stores

I typically purchase my
groceries at a large food store
such as ShopRite, Wegmans,
Whole Foods, or Stop and Shop.

I typically purchase my
groceries at smaller food stores
such as bodegas, mini-mart, or
local grocer.

I shop at farmers markets 2-4

times a month during the warm
months.
I shop at farmers markets 1-2
times a month during the warm
months.

I do not shop at farmers markets.

Overall, I am satisfied with my

food shopping experiences.

Transportation/travel

I drive to go food shopping.

I take public transportation to go

food shipping.

I use a rideshare app such as

uber or lyft to go food shopping.

I walk to go food shopping.

I have to travel over 30 minutes

to the grocery store.

I have to travel over 1 hour to

the grocery store.

Assistance

I participate in any supplemental

assistance programs such as
WIC of SNAP.

I often obtain food from pantries

or soup kitchens.

Health

I have a medical condition that

requires a special diet.

I could potentially have a

medical condition pertaining to
diet.

Overall, my health is good and I

eat a balanced diet full of fresh
fruits, vegetables, grains, and
protein.

I rarely eat processed foods such

as chips, soda, or candy.
I often eat processed foods such
as chips, soda, or candy.

Holland Terrace

Statement Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly

Agree % % % % Disagree
%

Food Stores

I typically purchase my
groceries at a large food store
such as ShopRite, Wegmans,
Whole Foods, or Stop and Shop.

I typically purchase my
groceries at smaller food stores
such as bodegas, mini-mart, or
local grocer.

I shop at farmers markets 2-4

times a month during the warm
months.

I shop at farmers markets 1-2

times a month during the warm
months.

I do not shop at farmers markets.

Overall, I am satisfied with my

food shopping experiences.

Transportation/travel

I drive to go food shopping.

I take public transportation to go

food shipping.

I use a rideshare app such as

uber or lyft to go food shopping.

I walk to go food shopping.

I have to travel over 30 minutes

to the grocery store.

I have to travel over 1 hour to

the grocery store.
Assistance

I participate in any supplemental

assistance programs such as
WIC of SNAP.

I often obtain food from pantries

or soup kitchens.

Health

I have a medical condition that

requires a special diet.

I could potentially have a

medical condition pertaining to
diet.

Overall, my health is good and I

eat a balanced diet full of fresh
fruits, vegetables, grains, and
protein.

I rarely eat processed foods such

as chips, soda, or candy.

I often eat processed foods such

as chips, soda, or candy.

Vera Place

Statement Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly

Agree % % % % Disagree
%

Food Stores

I typically purchase my
groceries at a large food store
such as ShopRite, Wegmans,
Whole Foods, or Stop and Shop.

I typically purchase my
groceries at smaller food stores
such as bodegas, mini-mart, or
local grocer.

I shop at farmers markets 2-4

times a month during the warm
months.
I shop at farmers markets 1-2
times a month during the warm
months.

I do not shop at farmers markets.

Overall, I am satisfied with my

food shopping experiences.

Transportation/travel

I drive to go food shopping.

I take public transportation to go

food shipping.

I use a rideshare app such as

uber or lyft to go food shopping.

I walk to go food shopping.

I have to travel over 30 minutes

to the grocery store.

I have to travel over 1 hour to

the grocery store.

Assistance

I participate in any supplemental

assistance programs such as
WIC of SNAP.

I often obtain food from pantries

or soup kitchens.

Health

I have a medical condition that

requires a special diet.

I could potentially have a

medical condition pertaining to
diet.

Overall, my health is good and I

eat a balanced diet full of fresh
fruits, vegetables, grains, and
protein.

I rarely eat processed foods such

as chips, soda, or candy.
 I often eat processed foods such
as chips, soda, or candy.

Report Predictions:
The lower-socioeconomic status neighborhoods we are surveying in Montclair are Glenfield park and Mission
Street. We anticipate that there will be higher percentages in these communities who have greater food
insecurity and will answer agree or strongly agree to questions such as shopping at smaller stores such as
bodegas and minimarts, have to travel further to buy groceries, having to take public transit or walking to get
groceries, using government assistance to afford food, and eating a higher percentage of processed food. On the
other hand we anticipate there to be lower percentages of people being food insecure in the
higher-socioeconomic status neighborhoods of Holland Terrace and Vera Place. We anticipate that there will
be higher percentages in these communities who have greater food security and will answer agree or strongly
agree to question such as shopping at larger food stores like Whole Foods or Shop Rite or shop frequently at
farmers markets, they drive to get their groceries, they do not have to travel far to get groceries, and eat
relatively balanced diets.