This assignment is a service learning project for this course: a mapping project which we will use to provide information to Faith Family Medical Clinic’s Journey to Health program. 37216 On a map of the assigned zip code, you will pinpoint the following:
1. All establishments where food may be purchased. Color code them by type of establishment: convenience store/gas station market, grocery store, warehouse “big box” store (Sam’s Club, Costco, etc.), fast food/inexpensive restaurant, fine dining restaurant.
2. Farmer’s markets and community gardens (there is at least one existing map on the web of community gardens.)
3. Bus routes that run through the zip code. Try to identify the number of buses/route changes a person in your zip code would need to travel from a residential area of the zip code to a market to buy food.
Once you have determined the location of establishments that sell food and the bus routes through the zip code, determine whether you believe the area to be a “food desert.” Look up the definition of “food desert” in terms of public health services to help you make the distinction.
You will also gather data regarding the cost of food in your zip code. What is the relationship of the type of retail establishment to the type of food sold? Accomplish this by researching the cost of the following foods at each type of retail establishment in your zip code (given that your zip code has one of each type of establishment listed in #1 above):
a. A gallon of milk
b. An apple (price per pound if you cannot price an individual apple)
c. A jar of peanut butter
d. A can of chili with beans
e. A loaf of white bread
f. A dozen eggs
Graph the cost of each type of food on a line graph using the same colors you used on the map to identify the type of retail establishment. Did the results match what you expected?
Write an individual reflection on the project. What did you learn? What surprised you? Is food readily accessible? Is the food that is accessible what you would consider nutritious? Would it be easy or challenging for someone with heart disease or diabetes to eat according to the dietitian’s recommendations in your zip code? What do you perceive to be the biggest problems in your zip code, from a nutrition standpoint? What solutions could you offer for those problems?
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