Buying Local at Grocery Stores in Nova Scotia: Implications for Food Security and Healthy Eating
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Date
2013-05-10
Authors
Noseworthy, Beverly
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Abstract
Background: Food security and fruit and vegetable consumption are two priority action
areas of Healthy Eating Nova Scotia. Through many collaborative efforts this strategic
plan aims to increase the availability of nutritious, locally produced foods in the province
and, in particular, to make fruits and vegetables more accessible and affordable for lowincome
households. In 2010 the Nova Scotia (NS) Food Security Network and Mount
Saint Vincent University partnered with the NS Department of Health and Wellness and
community organizations throughout the province to conduct a food costing survey in
order to determine the cost of a basic nutritious diet.
Purpose: This two-phase, mixed methods study used secondary data analysis and
qualitative methods to: 1) determine the availability and relative cost of nutritious locally
produced foods in grocery stores throughout NS; and 2) to examine, from the
perspectives of key stakeholder groups, the implications of lo
cal food availability and
relative cost for food security and healthy eating in NS.
Methods: In Phase I data collected as part of the 2010 NS Participatory Food Costing
Project were entered into Microsoft® Office Excel® (Microsoft Corporation)
spreadsheets and statistically analyzed to determine the availability and relative cost of
locally produced foods from a stratified random sample of 46 grocery stores. In Phase II
these findings were presented to members of agricultural awareness, health and nutrition
organizations who participated in either focus group or individual interviews to reflect
upon and interpret the research results in light of their mandates. A semi-structured
interview protocol developed to guide the discussion provided a framework for
qualitative data analysis. Audio recordings of the interviews were transcribed verbatim
and content analysis was conducted with the assistance of the qualitative research
software, NVivo (QSR International).
Results: Analysis of the food costing results revealed that 20.7% of the National
Nutritious Food Basket (NNFB) items in grocery stores were locally produced in the
Maritime Provinces. Locally produced NNFB items were lowest in price in 75.4% of the
grocery stores with local availability. When presented with these findings, focus group
participants identified limited access to local foods and the perception that local is
expensive as possible barriers to food security and healthy eating, and the lower relative
cost of local foods and the perception that local foods are nutritious as enablers.
Participants suggested that supporting direct delivery of local foods to grocery stores and
investing in rural infrastructure would serve to strengthen local food availability.
Conclusions and Implications: Consumers do not have access to a wide variety of
nutritious, locally produced foods in grocery stores in Nova Scotia in June. Moreover,
some local food items lack sufficient local identifying information. In contrast to
perceptions that local foods cost more, in grocery stores in Nova Scotia NNFB items with
the lowest relative price are usually locally produced. The findings highlight the need to
increase the availability of nutritious, locally produced foods, especially fruits and
vegetables, in grocery stores in order to promote food security and healthy eating.
Implications of these findings are discussed and recommendations provided.
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Keywords
Food security , Nutrition , Healthy Living , Grocery Stores