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Capturing Disruptions to Food Availability After Disasters: Assessing the Food Environment Following Hurricanes Florence and María

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 June 2021

Lauren A. Clay Open the ORCID record for Lauren A. Clay [Opens in a new window] ,
Rachel Slotter ,
Britta Heath ,
Veronica Lange (Leach)  and
Uriyoán Colón-Ramos
Lauren A. Clay*
Affiliation:
Department of Health Administration and Public Health, D’Youville College, Buffalo, NY, USA School of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, NY, USA
Rachel Slotter
Affiliation:
Biden School of Public Policy and Administration, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
Britta Heath
Affiliation:
Department of Health Administration and Public Health, D’Youville College, Buffalo, NY, USA
Veronica Lange (Leach)
Affiliation:
Department of Global Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
Uriyoán Colón-Ramos
Affiliation:
Department of Global Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA Department of Exercise & Nutrition Science, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
*
Corresponding Author: Lauren Clay, Email: clayl@dyc.edu.
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Abstract

Objective:

The aim of this study was to describe the results of food environment assessments completed after Hurricane Florence in North Carolina (2018) and Hurricane María in Puerto Rico (2017), and provide recommendations for assessing disaster food environments.

Methods:

Adapted structured observation protocols were used to conduct rapid assessments of the availability, price, and quality of specific foods in retail markets.

Results:

In both settings, unhealthful food items (soda, chips, fruit-flavored drinks) and milk were widely available and at lower prices than domestic averages. The adapted instrument in Puerto Rico allowed for documentation of greater availability of canned items compared with fresh or frozen foods. In both settings, researchers noted the inability of the instrument to document items that are important to assess postdisaster: ready-to-heat and ready-to-eat foods; food preparation facilities and supplies; hygiene supplies; and empty shelf-space.

Conclusions:

The instruments, despite their limitations, were able to capture food availability issues in postdisaster environments. Future instrument adaptation is necessary to capture availability of all major food groups, healthful and unhealthful options, shelf-stable, ready-to-eat, and ready-to-heat foods versus other formats (fresh, frozen), and cooking and hygiene supplies.

Keywords

food availabilityhurricanefood environmentdisaster responsefood security
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 17 , 2023 , e17
Copyright
© Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2021

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