The Food Environment Assessment Survey Tool development team has been working with our community members doing action research. We use action research to make sure that we include the thoughts, feelings and beliefs of YOU, the people we are measuring. Last month, in our July 22, 2020 blog, we talked about the process we used with nominal group technique focus groups. This month, we’re blogging about the groups who talked about grocery shopping. Check out what our participants told us below. Maybe you have had some of these same experiences!
Getting there really is half the battle. Transportation—actually getting to and from the store—was a big barrier for many people. Our participants talked about having trouble finding rides. Others mentioned being limited in what they could carry when they used public transit. Sometimes, limits on what one could carry had to do with their purchases. For example, you couldn’t carry something very heavy or awkwardly sized on public transit. Some people also talked about rules on public transit that limited the number of packages a person was allowed to bring. We could just talk about the weather! We learned that bad weather is a big bummer, either too hot in the summer or too cold and wet in the winter. Bad weather can make everyone miserable, but it seems to be particularly troubling for our participants. People might have trouble rolling, or managing their assistive devices if the streets or sidewalks were wet or poorly maintained. Shopping can’t happen at warp speed. Our participants told us that there were often physical barriers inside grocery stores that made shopping take extra-long. Grocery store aisles might be too narrow or cluttered with boxes during stocking or special displays. These obstacles could block the path for users of mobility carts, wheel chairs, and other assistive devices. It looked so good, but it was just out of my reach. Every single group that participated told us that they often have trouble reaching things. Items that were on high or low shelves, inside produce crates, or inside coolers were just out of reach. The biggest challenge is checking out! Checkout at the grocery story was challenging for many of our participants. Some of the barriers that participants noted were narrow checkout lanes, counters at the wrong height, and unreachable credit card readers. Most found self-checkout particularly frustrating. Others commented that even when self-checkout was okay for them, they often had questions. There weren’t enough cashiers available to answer the questions. Our research participants told us that shopping at grocery stores is a tall order for most of them. We don’t have all the answers for how to resolve these questions. One thing to remember is that this study was completed before the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, many of us have had to change our shopping habits. More and more of us are ordering food delivery, and maybe that is the best way to make grocery shopping easier. Not coincidentally, that’s the topic of next month’s Action Research!
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