Youth Perceptions of the Food Environment in One Seattle, WA Neighborhood: A Qualitative Study

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study aimed to understand youths’ perceptions of the food environment in one “healthy food priority area” in Seattle, WA. With a convenience sample of 13 youth, we conducted semi-structured interviews and analyzed the data using content analysis. We found five themes: 1) cost drove family food-purchasing decisions, 2) access to cars mitigated the lack of food retailers, 3) families used limited resources to travel farther to obtain cultural food, 4) youth disliked school lunch, and 5) youth recognized issues facing their communities. Youth want to share their unique perspective of the food environment and help improve food access.

KEYWORDS:

• Food environment
• qualitative research
• youth
• food access

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge Ashley Nguyen for taking detailed notes during several interviews.

Disclosure Statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.