Food Access After Disasters

Abstract

Problem, research strategy, and findings Access after disasters to resources such as food poses planning problems that affect millions of people each year. Understanding how disasters disrupt and alter food access during the initial steps of the recovery process provides new evidence to inform both food system and disaster planning. Our research took a supply-side focus and explored the results from a survey of food retailers after Hurricane Harvey in three Texas counties. The survey collected information on how the disaster affected a store’s property, people, and products and the length of time a store was closed, had reduced hours, and stopped selling fresh food items. We found that a focus only on store closures and property damage would underestimate the number of days residents had limited fresh food access by nearly 2 weeks. Further, stores in lower-income communities with chronically low access to supermarkets (food deserts) were closed longer than other stores, potentially compounding pre-existing inequalities. To plan for a more equitable food supply after a disaster, planners should embrace more dimensions of access, encourage retailer mitigation, and assess the types of retailers and their distribution within their communities. Takeaway for practice Practicing planners aspire to ensure equitable access to resources (e.g., food, education, and health care). In the context of food access, planners should consider that a) common proximity-based measures of accessibility (e.g., food deserts) may underestimate inequality and that the inclusion of multiple dimensions of access may provide a more accurate picture, b) efforts to encourage business resilience can complement food systems planning, and c) targeted engagement with local food retailers, food suppliers, and food aid agencies is important for both day-to-day community needs and for disaster planning.