1.2 The 5 Dimensions of Food Security
Food Security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life (Ref: DSpace)
For many communities, and particularly historically marginalized communities, access to fresh fruits and vegetables is fraught with difficulties. Lack of access to a car or public transport, or mobility issues, can limit food choices for many individuals.
It has been shown that public infrastructure decisions have historically promoted inequality and racial segregation, which creates a knock on effect of negative health outcomes in marginalized communities. Systemic racism and conscious/unconscious biases in urban planning often reveal themselves in the realities of the built environment. Sometimes this is quite apparent, and other times it is not that obvious. As an example, a 2020 study published in the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management revealed that “communities in Pennsylvania with more people of color and single-parent families tended to have fewer bridges’'. The researchers found that bridges that were built in these communities tended to be “restrictive” or low-clearance, which, as it turns out, results in limitations on the goods and services that can reach these communities. (Ref: How infrastructure has historically promoted inequality | PBS News)
Mobile markets can circumvent these limitations and break down the barriers that some of the “designed-in” inequities have created through the promotion of the five A’s of food security:
The Five A’s of Food Security
Mobile markets can circumvent these limitations and break down the barriers that some of the “designed-in” inequities have created through the promotion of the five A’s of food security:
By providing culturally appropriate, fresh foods directly to communities, the mobile market can then be a powerful disruptor of systemic inequalities.