Working to Eliminate Food Deserts in the Pittsburgh Area

[Goinback2011]

Originally Posted by corpgypsy

The issue of food insecurity and hunger is not limited to geography. The map may well be reflecting socioeconomics as well as geography, here in Pittsburgh.


Great post to shed some light on the issues . Also I appreciate the listing of some of the many organizations attempting to ease the insecurities and immediate problems.Thank you

Downtown is hardly a low-income area, nor are the parts of Mt. Lebanon and Scott Township shown on the map. It's clearly a map based on the locations of grocery stores.

[tyovan4]

The P-G has a more detailed map: Food Deserts | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

[tyovan4]

Some additional information as well - looking at a broader Allegheny County perspective. Link is to the Health Department's Community Needs Assessment: http://www.achd.net/cha/CHA_Report-Final_42815.pdf

Map of food deserts within Al Co on page 28.

"According to the 2010 ACHS, 37% of County residents didn’t believe there was a large selection of fresh fruits and vegetables within their neighborhood. By contrast, 57% of residents reported that there are many opportunities to purchase fast foods within their neighborhood. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has identified several food deserts
within Allegheny County. A food desert is defined as “areas without ready access to fresh, healthy and affordable food.” People living in food deserts lack nearby grocery stores, but may have access to corner stores or fast food chains with no healthor fresh food options. To qualify as a food desert, the urban or rural area must qualify as low-income and lowaccess.
Low-income is defined as a poverty rate of 20% or greater or a median family income at or below 80% of the
surrounding area median family income. Low-access is defined as at least 33% of the population living either more
than a mile away from a supermarket in urban areas or 10 miles away in rural areas. USDA identified several
food deserts in Allegheny County as depicted in Figure 11: “Allegheny County Food Deserts Identified by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture 2014.”

[RogersParkTransplant]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I wish the map had a key. From what I can tell, yellow means food desert, and orange borderline food desert. It's not 100% clear though.

Honestly however, I have issue with the classification in numerous areas. There are grocery stores, for example, in the Middle Hill, Bloomfield, Garfield, East Allegheny, and Beechview, yet all are defined as food deserts on this map.

I'm just looking at the North side, but that made me think yellow meant borderline and orange meant actual food desert. I'm mainly saying this because Troy Hill, Spring Hill, Northview Heights are all in orange, whereas the Central North side and Deutschtown are yellow, and that makes sense since that's where the Giant Eagle and the Farmer's Markets happen. They also have a lot more bus routes over on that side of 279, so it makes sense to me that those hills have better food access than Troy Hill/Spring Hill/Northview.

Spring Hill is always going to be a bit isolated due to the topography, but it will be interesting to see if the new brewery makes a difference. I know, I can feel everyone rolling their eyes, but it's more than just a brewery, it's a good-sized old farmhouse type structure with a huge yard. There's already a vegetable patch and proper beekeeping going on, and I think they want to expand it. Spring Hill Brewing will only take up one portion of the building, and so it's easy enough to imagine some kind of little shop selling basic groceries next to it.

It's crazy that Troy Hill doesn't have a regular grocery store, but the little market at Pear & the Pickle is a really nice addition. I would be thrilled if Spring Hill also got a little deli like that, with Boar's Head meats etc. -- maybe up at the brewery, or maybe even in the little shopping area on Rhine that currently seems to specialize in cigarettes and lottery tickets.

[gg]

Originally Posted by wpipkins2

The P17 is not the only bus servicing Lincoln and Homewood. The P17 is an express bus with limited service for the morning and evening rush. The 82, 86, 71D, and 77 serve Homewood and Lincoln. All of the buses have frequent service with the exception of the 77. The P17 serves Lincoln Park and Penn Hills commuters. The P17 used to service East Hills but was scaled back during the last round of service cuts. All of the bus routes listed provide access to East Liberty with the exception of the 71D Hamilton.

The Hill District has a Shop N Save now.

The true food deserts would be places like Clairton and Elizabeth. You cannot walk to a grocer and the PAT coverage of those areas is very limited. These areas also lack Jitney service which is vital to poor neighborhoods. If I was poor and without transportation I would much rather live in Homewood or Lincoln.

And this of course is exactly the update that was needed. I could have guessed wpipkins would come through as you usually do. Thanks. I hope the :Shop and Save is doing great. I think that is very important. Thanks again for you great input as usual. Enjoy.