Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

5-2020

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

M.S.

Department

Geography and Geosciences

Degree Program

Geography (Applied), MS

Committee Chair

Walker, Margath

Committee Co-Chair (if applicable)

Mott, Carrie

Committee Member

Mott, Carrie

Committee Member

Levinson, Ariana

Author's Keywords

Food insecurity; Jefferson County; Kentucky

Abstract

The objective of this study is to investigate the availability of fresh and nutritious foods in Louisville’s West End communities. This study operates under the assumption that residents in Jefferson County have unequal access to food. This study also addresses the question of how residents and local non-profits feel about strategies that build community through food. This study is significant because across Louisville, more than 120,000 people are living with food insecurity, meaning they don't have reliable access to healthy, affordable food (Dare to Care 2019). Multiple reports that have been commissioned by local non-profits and metro departments in the west and south ends of Jefferson County have uncovered the same facts: that residents in impoverished areas do not have access to affordable foods that they need to increase life expectancy (Center for Health Journalism 2018). These reports do not examine the availability of nutritious foods from the perspective of residents and local nonprofits. The top three themes that were identified from the content analysis were: racism and classism, socialized isolation, and transportation. This analysis has shown that the interviews that were conducted with local non-profits and residents has provided a more in-depth narrative of the foodscape in the Western and Eastern downtown neighborhoods of Jefferson County, Kentucky.

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