For this blog post I looked at the University District neighborhood, which is comprised mostly of Ohio State, the shops/restaurants on High Street, and off-campus student housing. The area I considered is shown in the screenshot below.
The food environment of this area is pretty much clustered along High Street. There are some cafes and dining halls located on campus, however most restaurants and grocery stores are immediately on or just off of High Street. The walkability of High Street is not the best in my opinion. The sidewalks are in poor condition, there is limited lighting at night, and drivers often speed or drive recklessly. The crosswalks at the intersections are safe to use, however the crosswalks between intersections seem dangerous because you have to rely on drivers yielding to pedestrians to cross. One benefit, however, is that the COTA bus system runs frequently up and down high street making it easy to travel for those who don’t have a car or don’t want to walk.
Unfortunately, access to healthy food in this area is fairly limited. Since this neighborhood pretty much caters to college students, there is an abundance of cheap fast-food establishments such as Wendy’s, McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, Waffle House, and more. There are relatively healthier options such as Panera and Subway, but these options are still not as healthy as making food for yourself. The only real place to get a healthy meal is at the Kroger further down High Street. Here families can purchase fresh produce, meat, and other food items to make healthy meals for themselves. Otherwise, the healthy restaurant options are limited.
I would consider the area to be food insecure. This might be surprising at first when you consider the number of restaurants along High Street, but since there is only one grocery store, Kroger, located within a reasonable distance if you don’t have a car I think that this makes the options for nutritious and healthy foods scant. A person cannot reasonably sustain his/herself solely by eating out at the restaurants on High Street. This food is good for a night out every once in a while, but ultimately there needs to be options for people to buy ingredients to make healthy meals for themselves since this is often cheaper and more nutritious than eating out. The screenshot below shows just how many cheap, unhealthy options there are immediately next to campus.
While I would consider this area to be food insecure due to the lack of healthy options, I would also call it a food swamp. This is because the area is saturated with fast and junk food establishments. There are plenty of options if you are looking for something quick, cheap, and filling to get a meal in, but it is not sustainable for a family living nearby. The Kroger is the only access point for healthy options and might be difficult for some families to get to.
I think that the best way to improve the food environment of this area is to offer healthier food options or add another market that is closer to campus. A good idea might be to host a monthly farmer’s market so that people can come and buy fresh produce and also support local farmers. Another Kroger, Whole Foods, or Aldi that is closer to campus would also be good because it would provide an option for healthy food that is within a better walking distance than the Kroger already on High Street. The neighborhood could also encourage non-chain restaurants to move in. Instead of bringing in establishments such as White Castle or Chipotle, they could encourage delis or bakeries to set up shop so that there are options other than chain fast-food restaurants.