Winnebago County Intern Creates A County-Wide Food Map
Reflection by Josue Flores
OSHKOSH - Working as an AHEC intern in the Winnebago County Health Department proved to be a great experience from which I have learned so much.
The project I worked on this summer was conceived within Re:Th!nk, a large coalition of community members whose mission it is to promote healthy living in Winnebago County. Under the supervision of my mentor Matthew Madsen who is an AmeriCorps Member, I worked on a project that addressed the issue of food accessibility, or the degree to which food is accessible in Winnebago County. Specifically, the purpose of my project was to identify areas where the residents of the county have limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
This kind of work is relevant to public health because studies suggest that food accessibility is correlated with health outcomes. For example, people who have limited accessibility to nutritious food have a higher risk of becoming obese.
To address the issue of food accessibility, my project consisted of creating a food map of Winnebago County. A food map shows the locations where people can obtain food; however, for our purposes the map focused specifically on fresh produce.
My responsibility was to conduct surveys at grocery stores, convenience stores, food pantries and pharmacies using the Fruit and Veggie Audit Tool from Wisconsin Department of Health Services. I collected information regarding their selection of fresh produce, their participation in low-income assistance programs, and general store information.
Based on the data from the surveys, I created a food map using Google, which the health department intends on embedding on www.rethinkwinnebago.org for public access.
Two noteworthy trends emerged from the map.
First, fresh produce was most accessible in the Fox Cities along Lake Winnebago. The majority of the retail establishments as well as food pantries were clustered in this area.
Second, fresh produce was least accessible in the southern and western regions of Winnebago County. These areas are food deserts because the people in these rural areas have limited access to fruits and vegetables.
Although this work is preliminary, in the meantime this map can be used to inform the public about the locations of healthier foods. In the future, these findings can be used to perhaps promote policy changes such as offering tax credits to entrepreneurs for establishing stores in the food deserts of the county. Enacting such policy changes would create an environment in which the entire community can practice healthier eating behaviors. These changes have the potential to resolve the disparities in access to healthier food and improve the health of the community.
In addition to the food mapping project, [during the CHIP internship] I also had the opportunity to shadow several people in the health department. This aspect of my internship gave me a good understanding of how a health department functions. One experience I found especially rewarding. I shadowed a public health nurse who runs an immunization clinic once a month on the day WIC clients pick up their checks. The language barrier makes it challenging for this nurse to recruit Latino WIC clients. Since I speak Spanish, I was able to help her recruit some people from this segment of the population. From this and other shadowing experiences, I learned first-hand what prevention means.
I am grateful for having had the opportunity to participate in the Community Health Internship Program. I will definitely take these experiences into my career as a physician in the future.
Related materials:
About CHIP
The Community Health Internship Program (CHIP) is a program of the Wisconsin AHEC System, administered through the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. The CHIP program links college undergraduate and graduate student interns with local health departments, community health centers and other community health agencies throughout the state to work on public health projects to benefit the local community or region.
"The program would not be possible without the support and commitment of local health departments and community agencies," says Nancy Sugden, director of the Wisconsin AHEC System. "On-site mentors provide technical support and assistance and facilitate shadowing opportunities to help interns gain an understanding and appreciation of the broad range of public health activities undertaken at the local level."
Students selected for the program are usually college juniors or seniors, first year health professions graduate students or other graduate students with a strong interest in public health. The program is offered at county health department sites and other locations statewide. Students receive a modest stipend to cover their living expenses during the eight-week program. A similar program is offered in Milwaukee.
The statewide CHIP program currently places 20-30 interns each summer in locations across the state, and the Milwaukee CHIP program places another 30 students in the Milwaukee and southeast Wisconsin region. To be eligible for consideration, applicants must demonstrate a strong academic record and interest in a career path related to public health.
Posted on November 21, 2011
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