Fresh Food at the Dallas Farmers Market (photo by Doug Ferber)

"Place of residence plays a larger role in dietary health than previously estimated," said Manuel Franco, MD, PhD, lead author of two recent studies conducted at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

According to a press release from the Bloomberg School's Department of Epidemiology, “Our findings show that participants who live in neighborhoods with low healthy food availability are at an increased risk of consuming a lower quality diet.”

Some of the communities examined were found to have no supermarkets within easy traveling distance, but plenty of fast food outlets serving processed foods high in calories and saturated fats. Even in some communities with nearby supermarkets “the availability of items like fresh fruits and vegetables, skim milk and whole wheat bread” in those stores was often found lacking.

The research from Johns Hopkins echoes the findings of a number of local studies, including one published in 2008 by the N.Y.C. Department of City Planning:

The analysis shows a widespread shortage of supermarkets and neighborhood grocery stores in the city. It also measures the areas with the greatest level of need for fresh food purveyors based on neighborhoods with the highest levels of diet-related diseases and largest populations with limited opportunities to purchase fresh foods. Approximately three million New Yorkers live in high need areas.

The good news is that there are now a number of efforts underway across the country to address the lack of access to healthy food. “Move to Fruits and Vegetables" is part of a broad effort in New York City to increase access to healthy foods that includes support for farmers markets. The Food Trust, a nonprofit based in Philadelphia, was instrumental in creating a $120 million initiative in Pennsylvania to assist in financing supermarkets in underserved communities. Milwaukee’s Fondy Farmers Market is the centerpiece of efforts to promote access to wholesome food in central Milwaukee where there are only a handful of supermarkets.

The Fondy Farmers Market web site states:

…the market’s fundamental purpose is to provide the community with a place to buy fresh produce directly from producers in a congenial atmosphere and to provide producers with a direct market for their goods. Further goals include education about and support of regional sustainable agriculture. Fondy Food Center believes that small family farms are an essential component to growing a socially just, economically viable and environmentally sustainable local food systems. In operating the farmers’ market, our goal is to support small entrepreneurs and stimulate the local economy. We are committed to making educational and economic connections between urban residents and local farmers.

If you’d like to read the press release from Johns Hopkins cited above go to: Healthy food availability could depend on where you live -- so does the quality of your diet