Community Food Security - read the Hunger Commission's food access study and download free food access study materials including curriculum for nutrition education workshops.

Transportation (continued)

On top of the money spent toward transportation, participants that were bus patrons said that they had to set aside a large amount of time just to get to the grocery store. For example, one participant shopped at Sav-Max because it was the closest stop to her on the bus system. This included a 1.5-mile walk to the nearest bus stop and then a 3-mile bus ride. Due to this distance, she had to shop more frequently because, with a 1.5-mile walk from the bus stop, she could not carry as much. Many other residents, including people that biked or walked directly to the store also had to shop often, in effect, spending more money. Many participants said that in the past they had used grocery carts to take groceries home from large shopping trips, but several stores had added locks to their carts.

The quality of bus service was also an area, which needed improvement. Many people complained that bus drivers were not sensitive to people with groceries or children, often leaving them behind if they saw them approaching. This negative perception of bus service affected the participants' trust of the bus system, and limited the amount of groceries a person bought when using the bus. One resident complained, "Bus drivers make up stops as they go along, they are not sensitive to the disabled and will leave you if they see you walking with kids or groceries." Regardless of whether this was fact or not, the perception held true for some residents of the community. In their frustration, they would go to great lengths to circumvent the bus system altogether including using taxicabs that could cost up to $20 a grocery trip.

People who used taxicabs also usually combined walking and using the bus for their large shopping trips. The biggest downside to using a taxicab was the cost. Participants explained that there are different prices for different cab companies, but generally it was about $4.00 for the first mile, and $2.80 each additional mile. Even going to a local store like Sav-Max would cost a person living as close as 2 miles $6.80 one-way. People resorted to different measures to counteract these expensive costs. Many people walked and/or rode the bus to the grocery store and took a cab back, in order to transport more groceries. Aside from the cost, cabs also could take as long as 45 minutes to arrive at the store, too long for some perishable items to stay fresh. People said that if they called a cab early to shorten the time they had to wait outside, they were charged for any time the cab had to wait. To overcome these challenges some participants had been able to get to know specific drivers and had established a business relationship. Some drivers even provided flat rates to regular customers. But for the most part, many participants did not have much trust due to the uncertain waiting times for cabs and inconsistent cab costs. A common remark among the participants was, "If you call a cab, you have to wait 45 minutes for it because cabs don't want to be in this area." People that shopped outside the area and then took a cab back had less of a problem with this issue, but instead paid close to $20.00 to get home. The length of time for each trip, frequency of trips, and cost for each trip all had one common result: less money in the budget to buy food.

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