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NEW YORK CITY, Oct. 31 ??? The price of milk is 25 percent higher in New York City’s poorest neighborhoods compared to the rest of the city and many fruits and vegetables are not readily available to local residents, according to new research by The New York Academy of Medicine being presented Thursday, Nov. 1, at the annual International Conference on Urban Health in Baltimore.
Mean milk prices in 36 economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in four of the city’s five boroughs were found to be higher than the New York City average, said lead researcher Danielle Ompad, PhD, Associate Director of the Academy’s Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies.
Ompad and colleagues examined access to affordable, healthy, and fresh food in 106 bodegas, grocery stores, and supermarkets in disadvantaged neighborhoods in Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn. They found a scarcity of full-service supermarkets and limited availability of healthy fresh food choices in these ethically and racially diverse neighborhoods, and higher prices for staples like whole milk. They found that:
“It is unclear whether it costs more to store and sell milk in the city, or, whether shopkeepers are taking advantage,” Ompad said. “Regardless of the reason why, people who already have limited means are being forced to pay more than they should for something basic like milk.”
Researchers gathered information during the summer of 2006 about the availability and pricing of 71 grocery items in the following neighborhoods: East & Central Harlem, Chelsea, and the Lower East Side in Manhattan; Bushwick and Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn; the South Bronx, Tremont, and Hunts Point in the Bronx; and Corona, Jamaica, and Long Island City in Queens. Food items from each of the six branches of the food pyramid were chosen, as were commonly purchased items such as baby products, household supplies and ethnic foods.
Ompad will present results of the study, entitled “Availability and Cost of Healthy Fresh Food Choices in 36 New York City Neighborhoods,” on Thursday, Nov. 1, from 11:00-12:15 PM in the E.A. Pope room at the International Conference on Urban Health in Baltimore. This research was funded in part by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
About the Conference
The International Conference of Urban Health is sponsored by the International Society of Urban Health, an organization founded by The New York Academy of Medicine’s Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies as a forum to encourage global collaboration among researchers, scholars, and practitioners interested in the health effects of urban environments and urbanization. More information is available at the ISUH website at www.isuh.org.
About the Academy
Founded in 1847, The New York Academy of Medicine is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit institution whose mission is to enhance the health of the public. Our research, education, community engagement, and evidence-based advocacy seek to improve the health of people living in cities, especially disadvantaged and vulnerable populations. The impact of these initiatives reaches into neighborhoods in New York City, across the country, and around the world. We work with community based organizations, academic institutions, corporations, the media, and government to catalyze and contribute to changes that promote health. Visit us online at www.nyam.org
Posted on October 31, 2007
Contact:
Andrew J. Martin
Director of Communications
The New York Academy of Medicine
1216 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10029
212-822-7285
amartin@nyam.org
Reporters: to arrange interviews with NYAM medical and urban health experts, contact
Andrew J. Martin, Director of Communications
212-822-7285 / amartin@nyam.org
The 2012-2013 Duncan Clark Lecture - The Affordable Care Act: An Insider’s View
Featured Speaker: Sherry Glied, PhD, former Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
November 19, 2012 - The NYAM Section on Health Care Delivery welcomes Sherry Glied, PhD, former Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, who will deliver the 2012-2013 Duncan Clark Lecture on "The Affordable Care Act: An Insider's View."
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The New York Academy of Medicine with support from the New York State Heath Foundation released a new report, Federal Health Care Reform in New York State: A Population Health Perspective.
This report identifies opportunities that build on both the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act (ACA) and New York’s ongoing efforts toward improving the health of its 19 million residents.
Read press release
Read report
