Retail food environment assessments: a case study of consumer and community nutrition environment perspectives of Logan, Utah.

backgroundRetail food environments are unevenly distributed in communities, often leading to structural inequities. Understanding these inequities is critical for designing effective, equity-focused interventions, especially in understudied smaller metropolitan areas. The consumer nutrition environment, which include in-store factors and community nutrition environments, covering neighborhood-level access both influence food purchasing behaviors. Measuring these environments provides a comprehensive view of factors shaping food choices, essential for targeted improvements in healthy food access and equity. This study examined the healthiness of food available in Logan, a growing small metropolitan area with a distinctive "main street food corridor".

methodsA comprehensive food store audit was conducted using existing validated food audit tool across various store types and categories. Kernel density analysis in ArcGIS Pro was used to assess the location, type, and healthfulness of different food retail outlets throughout Logan based on Consumer Nutrition Environment Scores (CNES).

resultsKey findings show that Logan's foodscape is dominated by fast-food and full-service restaurants, making up over half of all stores. Our study revealed significant variability in CNES across different store types and categories with supermarkets and healthy specialty stores scoring highest, an indication of a better consumer nutrition environment, while convenience stores with gas stations scoring lowest, reflecting poorer support for healthy choices. Healthy specialty stores had superior CNES at the store-category level.

conclusionWhile disparities exist in the availability of healthy food options across store types in Logan, the dominance of fast-food and full-service restaurants presents both challenges and opportunities to promote healthier options through partnerships and interventions.