Black families with food allergy see community gaps in food quality
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Key takeaways:
- Respondents took the Perceived Nutrition Environment Measures Survey.
- More Black respondents said that availability of allergen-free foods was somewhat or very important than white respondents.
WASHINGTON — Black families with food allergy reported that the food available in their community was low in quality, according to a poster presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Annual Meeting.
These findings are consistent even though these communities are not considered traditional food deserts, Mark Wlodarski, MS, senior data analyst, Center for Food Allergy & Asthma Research, told Healio.
“We’re still seeing a reporting of lower quality,” he said. “This is actually reflected even when you’re taking into account type of stores, whether it’s superstores or corner stores.”
The researchers noted that avoidance remains the primary strategy for families in managing food allergies, but access to safe foods impacts how well these families can avoid allergic reactions.
As part of their fourth year in the FORWARD study, 210 caregivers (51 Black and 159 white) of children aged 12 years and younger with food allergy completed the Perceived Nutrition Environment Measures Survey.
As part of the survey, participants were asked to rate six statements on a scale of one to five, with one indicating that they strongly disagreed and five indicating that they strongly agreed:
- “It is easy to buy fresh fruits and vegetables in my neighborhood.
- The fresh produce in my neighborhood is of high quality.
- There is a large selection of fresh fruits and vegetables in my neighborhood.
- It is easy to buy low-fat products, such as low-fat milk or lean meats, in my neighborhood.
- The low-fat products in my neighborhood are of high quality.
- There is a large selection of low-fat products available in my neighborhood.”
Average responses for white caregivers ranged between 2.5 and 3.5, with higher averages among respondents making $50,000 a year and more. Average responses for Black caregivers ranged between 2 and 3.5, with the highest averages among those making more than $100,000 a year.
“What’s most dramatic is just in the importance of allergen-free foods,” Wlodarski said.
When choosing a store, Black respondents considered the availability of allergen-free foods to be more important than white respondents, with 19% more Black respondents calling this availability “somewhat” or “very” important compared with white respondents.
“With Black participants, we see what I would definitely expect, which is that almost no one thinks it isn’t important. It was one of the most important things coming,” Wlodarski said.
Responses among white respondents were more spread across responses of somewhat important and a little important, with approximately 15% calling this availability not at all important.
These responses indicate that white families may have more options in their area and may not even think about the availability of allergen-free foods while they are shopping, Wlodarski said, although there was no significant difference noted in the distance to local grocery stores between the groups.
Also, Black respondents characterized the freshness, ease and price of available foods consistently worse than white respondents, with differences persisting across income brackets except for those respondents making more than $100,000.
Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that Black families with food allergy perceive disparities in the availability of quality food compared with white families.
“Black communities in urban areas are still being underserved,” Wlodarski said.
Wlodarski said that he and his colleagues plan on examining restaurant dining next.
“I want to analyze this along additional demographics that we have access to,” he said. “I would also be interested to rerun this in 2 or 3 years of these studies, when we have more Hispanic participants who have reached this point of study.”