Are Women Moving? Food Insecurity, Obesity, and Women’s Food-Access Strategies in Broward County Florida’s Food Deserts

Food insecurity or low-access to good quality, affordable foods affects
minority women and children disproportionately (Herndon, 2014; Ivers & Cullen,
2011; Lee, 2012; Wigg Dammann & Smith, 2009). Linked to the rise in nutritionrelated
and other health problems afflicting these populations (e.g., malnutrition,
obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure among others) (Azarbad & Gonder-
Frederick, 2010; Bove & Olson, 2006; Larson, Story, & Nelson, 2009), this issue
has been gaining some attention. Still, programs combating weight and “weightrelated
disorders” generally focus on individualistic solutions (Orbach, Bodies
2009)—such as increasing daily exercise and vilifying certain diets.
Dismissing important spatial and systematic aspects, these approaches
rather perpetuate problematic socio-political, economic, medical, and ideological
biases informing our understanding of poverty, health and food. This project
offers and alternative perspective. Most importantly, it 1) scrutinizes sexist,
classist and racist constructs across the literature on overweight, obesity, poverty,
and health; 2) examines the relationship between our food system, the growth in
nutrition-related diseases, and the intersections of gender, race, and class within
food insecure communities; and 3) analyzes interview data looking for important and resonating themes that could guide the development of more efficient local
food access strategies. As this study shows, these women’s experiences,
knowledge, and strategies have the potential of, not only helping eradicate food
insecurity across South Florida, but also combating a great number of the
nutrition-related health problems afflicting these populations.