Survey highlights fresh produce and local food access
A community survey in the Tamworth and Hunter New England region has found supermarkets remain the main source of food, while quality, freshness and proximity influence where people shop.
“We learnt that Tamworth residents were most likely to shop at a major supermarket while small supermarkets were the most popular shopping choice in Manilla and Barraba.”
More than 160 people have taken part in a community survey examining food shopping habits and access to healthy and affordable food in the Tamworth and Hunter New England region.
The survey forms part of Deakin University’s Map My Food project, which is examining how people access food and what could be done to improve local food systems.
Survey responses showed most people buy food from supermarkets, while greengrocers and butchers remain popular options. Quality and freshness were among the factors influencing where people shop, along with the distance people need to travel to reach food outlets.
The survey was completed last year, with 38 per cent of respondents from Manilla, 35 per cent from Barraba and 21 per cent from Tamworth.
Dr Cindy Needham from Deakin Centre for Global Preventive Health and Nutrition at the Deakin Institute for Health Transformation said the research team was now visiting communities to discuss the early findings and next steps while continuing to analyse the data and prepare the results for publication.
“Quality and freshness of produce strongly influenced shopping behaviours and the time needed to travel to food outlets was also a big factor for people,” she said.
The early findings indicate differences in shopping patterns between Tamworth and the surrounding communities.
“Early insights suggest people living outside of Tamworth are traveling long distances to access big supermarkets,” added Needham. “We learnt that Tamworth residents were most likely to shop at a major supermarket while small supermarkets were the most popular shopping choice in Manilla and Barraba.”
The survey also identified strong support for local food retailers in the smaller communities. Residents also identified the availability and affordability of fresh produce as areas that could be improved through local retail outlets.
Needham said the Map My Food project was supported by funding from the Australian Government’s Medical Research Futures Fund. The research team is seeking further funding to explore community suggestions for improving access to healthy food.
“We have recently submitted an NHMRC Partnership Grant which would support the roll-out of community-led food cooperative, Box Divvy, into rural areas and examine the health and wellbeing impacts on the community over time,” Needham said.
The project team will also share the information collected through the research with local organisations working to improve food systems. According to her, the information collected will be shared with local organisations as they work to improve local food systems.
The team is also collecting feedback on the Map My Food online tool, which was co-designed with the community.
The tool will be further refined for use in other settings and to help communities explore complex food system issues.
