The food desert environment is recognized as a major obstacle for access to, and consumption of, healthy food choices by many low income and minority consumers. This has resulted in disparities in obesity and related chronic diseases such as Type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Efforts to address this problem have included increased nutrition education, school interventions and urban farming. Nutrition education and school interventions can only have a limited impact if, however, if healthy food choices are not readily available to the consumer. Urban farming and farm markets have demonstrated that consumers in these markets do want healthy choices, however the availability of products is limited to growing seasons. The research proposed here would develop a retail business to market and make available healthy, appealing shelf stable food choices to consumers in food desert environments. The small business would utilize a combination of vending machines and mobile food carts to make available shelf stable food choices that are both appealing and provide key nutrients of public health concern (i.e. fiber, protein, calcium). The Phase I research would consist of market research to identify the most desired and marketable healthy food products as well as a name and brand/image that would appeal to the target market. Additionally research would identify schools for vending machines as well as routes for the mobile food cart to travel (i.e. similar to an ice cream truck or less formal "produce trucks" which frequent some urban neighborhoods - bringing a product to the consumer where they live/work or go to school). Once a name and brand/image is identified the final aspect of the work proposed here would be the development of a marketing strategy for the business and mobile food truck. This would involve development of a website to include advergames for the business as well as use of social media to raise awareness of the business among local youth. Phase I objectives also include a 3 month piloting of the retail service in single market area.
