Nutrition Environment Survey Data

Food insecurity is a chronic problem in the United States that annually affects over 40 million people under normal conditions. This difficult reality can dramatically worsen after disasters. Such events can disrupt both the supply and demand sides of food systems, restricting food distribution and access precisely when households are in a heightened need for food assistance. Often, retailers and food banks must react quickly to meet local needs under difficult post-disaster circumstances. Residents of Harris County and Southeast Texas experienced this problem after Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast in August 2017. The primary data collected by this project relate specifically to the supply side. The data attempt to identify factors that impacted the ability of suppliers to help ensure access to food, with a focus on fresh food access. Factors included impacts to people, property and products due to hurricane-related damage to infrastructure. Two types of food suppliers were the foci of this research: food aid agencies and food retailers. The research team examined food aid agencies in Southeast Texas with data collection methods that included secondary data analysis, a focus group and an online survey. The second population studied was food retailers with in-person surveys with store managers. Food retailers were randomly sampled in three Texas counties: Jefferson, Orange, and Harris. The data collection methods resulted in 32 food aid agency online survey responses and 210 completed food retail in-person surveys. Data were collected five to eight months after the event, which helped to increase the reliability and validity of the data. The time-sensitive nature of post-disaster data requires research teams to quickly organize their efforts before entering the field. The purpose of this project archive is to share the primary data collected, document methods, and to help future research teams reduce the amount of time needed for project development and reporting. This archive does not contain Personally or Business Identifiable Information.

粮食不安全（food insecurity）是美国的长期社会顽疾，常态下每年影响超4000万民众。灾害发生后，这一严峻现状会急剧恶化。此类事件会扰乱粮食系统的供需两端，在家庭对粮食援助的需求升至峰值之际，限制粮食的配送与获取渠道。灾后艰难情境下，零售商与粮食银行往往需要快速响应以满足本地需求。2017年8月飓风哈维登陆得克萨斯州墨西哥湾沿岸后，哈里斯县与得克萨斯州东南部的居民就亲身经历了这一困境。本项目采集的一手数据（primary data）聚焦于供给侧。该数据集旨在识别影响供应商保障粮食获取能力的各类因素，重点关注新鲜食品的可及性。相关因素涵盖飓风对基础设施造成破坏后，对人员、资产与产品产生的各类影响。本研究的研究对象分为两类食品供应商：粮食援助机构（food aid agencies）与食品零售商（food retailers）。研究团队通过二手数据分析、焦点小组（focus group）座谈与在线调查等数据采集方式，对得克萨斯州东南部的粮食援助机构展开调研。第二类研究对象为食品零售商，调研方式为对门店经理开展线下访谈。研究人员在杰斐逊、奥兰治与哈里斯三个得克萨斯州郡县中随机抽取食品零售商作为样本。本次数据采集共回收32份粮食援助机构在线调查问卷，以及210份完成的食品零售商线下访谈问卷。数据采集工作于灾后5至8个月开展，此举有助于提升数据的信度与效度（reliability and validity）。灾后数据具有时效性，要求研究团队在实地调研前快速统筹各项工作。本数据集归档的目的在于共享所采集的一手数据、完整记录研究方法，并助力未来的研究团队缩短项目开发与报告撰写所需的时长。本归档数据集不包含个人或商业可识别信息（Personally or Business Identifiable Information）。