Latinos tend to live in neighborhoods with few supermarkets and other sources of healthy, affordable foods, but several promising solutions to improve access are emerging, according to a new package of research from Salud America!, a national network for Latino childhood obesity prevention funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and based at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Salud America!'s Better Food in the Neighborhood research package includes an in-depth review of the latest science on the U.S. food environment for Latinos, and policy recommendations based on that research, and an issue brief, animated video, and infographics.

Research shows that Latino neighborhoods have one-third as many supermarkets as non-Latino ones, corner stores with few healthy options, and more marketing of unhealthy foods.

Promising ways to improve Latinos' access to healthy food access include:

  • Healthy food financing initiatives offer incentives- tax credits, zoning incentives, equipment, as well as financial, legal, or technical assistance like marketing advice - to encourage supermarkets and farmers' markets to locate in underserved areas.
  • Adding supermarkets can lead to healthy body weights among Latino kids.
  • Farmers' markets have potential to increase Latinos' healthy food consumption.
  • At corner stores, initiatives that expand healthy food offerings increase healthy food purchases. For example, a New York City program increased the number and promotion of healthy options at 1,000 bodegas, leading to 45% more milk sales, 32% more fruit sales, and 26% more vegetable sales. The percentage of customers who bought healthier promoted options rose from 5% to 16%.
  • For participants in government food assistance programs, incentives that lower the cost of healthy food or enable electronic benefit transfer (EBT) purchases at farmers' markets can boost availability and consumption of healthy food. Latinos comprise 32% of Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) participants and 19% of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants.

"We must make it easier for Latino families to be able to choose affordable, healthy foods in their neighborhoods," said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! and the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Obesity is a problem among Latino kids. Nearly 40 percent of U.S. Latinos ages 2-19 are overweight or obese compared to 28.5 percent of non-Latino whites.

To examine the barriers preventing Latino children from growing up at a healthy weight, and provide suggestions on solutions, Salud America! is developing five new packages of research, infographics, and videos that cover:

  • Better Food in the Neighborhood (Dec. 8, 2015);
  • Healthier Schools (January 2016);
  • Active Spaces (January 2016);
  • Healthy Weight by Kindergarten (January 2016); and
  • Sugary Drinks (February 2016).

The Better Food in the Neighborhood research review includes these policy recommendations:

  • Continue the national Healthy Food Financing Initiative's work to boost healthy food options in underserved communities across the nation.
  • Have local governments encourage more supermarkets, farmers' markets or other healthy food sources to operate in underserved communities through zoning, land-use planning, and community development efforts.
  • Give farmers' market vendors financial and logistical support, such as reimbursement for wireless or electronic technologies to enable them to accept EBT purchases.
  • Provide financial incentives, such as coupons for healthy foods, to WIC or SNAP participants to encourage and enable greater purchases of them.

"It will take leaders at all levels working together to truly create healthier neighborhoods for Latino families," Ramirez said.

Access the full Salud America! "Better Food in the Neighborhood" research package here.