Jenny Hong

HUM 395: Landscape Dossier

Creating an Oasis in Merced: A Case Study on Food Deserts

Merced County in California provides an interesting case study of the detrimental effects

of food deserts on public health and methods used to try and combat the lack of resources in a

more rural community. Through the assortment of sources below, it is clear that low-income

and communities of color are at a greater risk of living in a food desert which poses a great

risk to their health. In the efforts to combat the lack of nutritionally adequate foods to the

community, a combination of community efforts, governmental programs, and outside

programs must all work together in order to bring healthier food choices to the city and

improve the health outcomes of these underserved communities. My first source was from

the USDA Characteristics and Influential Factors of Food Deserts and it outlined the official

definition of a food desert which I thought was important to give context on what is officially

considered a food desert by the government. Source 2 is a census report of Merced County. The

percentage of the population that is in poverty, according to this census report, is 21.2% which is

above the 20% threshold that is set for what is considered a low-income area. I also included the

race and Hispanic origin chart to show how there is a large Hispanic/Latinx community that lives

in Merced and how food deserts tend to disproportionately affect communities of color. The third

source is a survey that was given to the citizens of Merced County regarding their top health

issues. I included this survey because although access to healthy food was not a top concern for

many residents, many of the issues that are included in the survey are largely related back to food

choices and the prevention of disease through dietary means. The fourth source is a scorecard

that is used by the city of Merced to ‘grade’ stores on a variety of factors such as walkability,

selection of fruits and vegetables, and if they are able to accept governmental programs such as

WIC or SNAP. This is mostly used as a way for the local government to assess the state of the
convenience and grocery stores in town rather than residents using it to evaluate grocery stores to

decide where to shop. Source 5 provides statistics regarding places people get their food such as

grocery stores, fast food restaurants, farmer’s markets, etc. This highlights the lack of grocery

stores and the abundance of convenience stores and fast food places. Not only is the lack of

grocery stores concerning but also the lack of accessibility even if there are grocery stores is

troublesome and shows how more than just placing a grocery store in a town is a solution to the

lack of healthy foods. Source 6 is a picture that depicts the new community garden that was

created in Merced. This is a good example of how the efforts from outside groups, the local

government, and community involvement led to a great project to help combat the inaccessibility

to healthy foods. Source 7 depicts another local program called Produce on the Go which

provides a selection of fresh fruits and vegetables to residents. Source 8 is a sample of a flyer

that was made by the local health department to bring awareness to health issues in the city and

tips on how to combat them. Source 9 is a study that was done to evaluate the effectiveness of

the Produce on the Go (POTG) program that was mentioned before. This highlights that despite

efforts by these local organizations, they lacked the community involvement that is necessary to

make these programs effective. It was found that these POTG sites were largely inaccessible by

public transportation and often lacked some of the more regional produce that is used by

different ethnic groups in the city. This contrasts with the community garden approach because

in the creation of the community garden, community members were consulted over what types of

produce they wanted to have in the garden, making residents more likely to use the garden. The

last source shows the link between the RFEI value (explained in the source but in simple terms

the ratio of grocery stores to fast food places) and the prevalence of diabetes and obesity. This

source shows that the lack of availability of produce directly increases the prevalence of obesity
and diabetes which is why food deserts are so concerning. By studying the case of Merced

county, hopefully public health officials and local groups can learn which methods are most

effective at bringing healthy food options to these underserved communities.

1. “Low-income tracts are characterized by a poverty rate equal to or greater than 20%
[...]Low access is characterized as by at least 500 people and or/ 33 percent of the tract
population residing more than a mile from a supermarket or large grocery in urban
areas, and more than 10 miles in rural areas” -USDA Characteristics and Influential
Factors of Food Deserts

https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/45014/30940_err140.pdf

2.

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/mercedcountycalifornia
3.

https://www.co.merced.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/12852/Community-Health-
Improvement-Plan?bidId=

4.

https://www.co.merced.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/4111/CX3-Community-
Profile-Rpt_Merced-County--092310?bidId=
5.

https://www.co.merced.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/4111/CX3-Community-
Profile-Rpt_Merced-County--092310?bidId=

https://youtu.be/hHtG1HKfzo4
6. https://youtu.be/hHtG1HKfzo4

Image from the Merced Community Garden

7.

“ Produce on the Go, the new provider that comes to campus every Wednesday, intends to
provide each student with the opportunity to access fresh local produce at an affordable
price. The workers provided free samples of healthy snacks, a raffle for students to win
prizes, free buttons, and free tote bags.”

http://blogs.ucmerced.edu/prodigy/2015/04/01/produce-on-the-go/
8.

Example of Handouts given to residents in Merced

https://www.co.merced.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/12852/Community-
Health-Improvement-Plan?bidId=

9.

Report on the effectiveness of the Produce on the Go Program in Merced.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5392042/
10.
Prevalence of Diabetes and Obesity in California as a function of RFEI