Running head: COMMUNITY REPORT 1
Community Report: Fresh Food Access in Azusa, CA
Sara Brown
MPH Program, University of Southern California
PM 563: Organizing and Mobilizing Communities for Public Health
Dr. Jane Steinberg
August 18, 2020
COMMUNITY REPORT 2
Community Report: Fresh Food Access in Azusa, CA
The city of Azusa was established in 1898 and is located approximately 27 miles from
Los Angeles. It is located at the base of the San Gabriel mountains and is 9.13 square miles with
a population of 49,479. The Hispanic/Latino population accounts for 63.6% of the city’s
population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2018). Within the city, approximately one-third of adults are
obese and 12% of adults have been diagnosed with diabetes (Los Angeles County Department of
Public Health, 2018). Additionally, 40% of the Azusa population lives more than 1 mile from a
grocery store, with 20% of the community experience food insecurity, and 81% of students
qualifying for free or reduced priced meals (County of Los Angeles Public Health Department,
2018).
Azusa has several assets that are of value to the community. There are multiple parks that
are available, and there is an abundance of churches with food banks. Additionally, there is a
WIC center, many convenient stores, and health care clinics throughout the community. Further,
the Azusa Unified School District has an Adult Education department, and there is a private
university, Azusa Pacific University, in the community that has numerous community service
projects within the city and contributes to the economy of Azusa. The Azusa Library also has a
Neighborhood Connections program, in which a bilingual Community Resource
Specialist/Social Worker helps individuals find access to employment, housing, health care,
education, citizenship, family and senior services, and food.
Some weaknesses that are present in the Azusa community are that there is a deficiency
of fresh food access. As previously mentioned, 40% of the Azusa population lives more than 1
mile from a grocery store, 20% of the community experience food insecurity, and 81% of
students qualifying for free or reduced priced meals (Los Angeles County Department of Public
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Health, 2018). Additionally, there has been a significant increase in homelessness due to the
Metro Gold Line expansion. From 2015 to 2019, the homelessness population has increased
from 23 to 321 (City of Azusa, 2019). Figure 1 illustrates the high percentage of adults who are
obese and corresponding metabolic diseases known to be associated with obesity, the growing
incidence of homelessness within the community, and demonstrates the grocery store to fast food
ratio within the city (Harrington et al., 2019; Los Angeles County Department of Public Health,
2011; City of Azusa; 2019).
Figure 1: Azusa Demographics
We had the opportunity to interview two individuals from the Azusa community: Ricky
Garcia, the clinic administrator of El Proyecto del Barrio, the Azusa Health Center, and Amanda
Tafoya, an Azusa resident. Major problems that Mr. Garcia discussed were that there are
frequent comorbidities in patients and a lack of health literacy from patients. The Azusa Health
Center offers services that aid individuals apply for Covered California and Medical; however, it
is not advertised on their website and many residents are uninformed about the additional
COMMUNITY REPORT 4
services the health center provides. An additional problem that clinic faces is that many patients
are undocumented individuals or are recent immigrants, and as a result, there is a deficiency of
trust between the health care professionals and patients.
Figure 2: El Proyecto del Barrio: Azusa Health Center
Amanda Tafoya is an Azusa resident and has resided within Azusa for over 10 years. In
addition to being a resident of the city, she also completed a social work internship within Azusa.
Ms. Tafoya stated that it does not feel safe walking around neighborhoods, particularly in the
evenings. It was mentioned that her family does not buy groceries within the city limits, but
rather purchases groceries from neighboring cities due to a more diverse produce selection.
Moreover, she stated that work is difficult to obtain within the city and many families are
challenged to sustain adequate amounts of food. Convenience food consumption is a struggle for
the community due to its proximately to residential homes. Further, Spanish is the primary
language spoken in Ms. Tafoya’s household, and she believes that having bilingual signs would
be beneficial for recent immigrants and the older population of Azusa.
For the city of Azusa, we have selected the health issue of fresh food access. As seen by
the map below in Figure 3, there is minimal access to fresh foods and a lack of establishments
for families to purchase produce within the city limits. Based on the maps shown in Figure 3 and
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4, Azusa can be classified as a food desert. A food desert is an area where there are minimal
options for affordable, fresh foods. There are three major grocery stores within Azusa and
several tienditas, local “mom and pop” shops, which are usually a combination of a market and a
liquor store. There is a deficiency of grocery stores in low-income neighborhoods and are
restricted to low-density, high-calorie foods. As the community interviews revealed, many
families go to neighboring cities to go the grocery store for fresh foods or rely upon the food
banks within the city.
Figure 3: Supermarket Access
COMMUNITY REPORT 6
Figure 3: Food Sources in Azusa
To address the health issue of fresh food access in the city of Azusa, we have developed
the goal to increase fruit and vegetable intake by 1 serving a day (or 5 servings per week). There
are 4 objectives to help Azusa attain this goal. First, by August 2022, there will be a developed
and established mobile Farmer’s Market. This is to assist Azusa residents’ access to fresh
produce. Second, by August 2022, there will be a growth in fruit and vegetable access at
tienditas by at least 15%. This will be accomplished through the Healthy Corner Store initiative,
a program that delivers training, infrastructure modification to augment healthy food inventory,
and supply consumer education in local “mom and pop” shops (The Food Trust, 2014). Third, by
the 2022-2023 academic school year, the Azusa Unified School District will adopt Nutrition to
Grow On: A Garden-Enhanced Nutrition Education Curriculum for Upper Elementary School
Children (Nutrition to Grow On). The Nutrition to Grow On is a curriculum that utilizes school
gardens to assist in teaching science, math, history, nutrition, and health (California Department
of Education, 2013). This is to teach and encourage children to grow and consume more fresh
produce, while increasing access to local produce for their parents. Fourth, by August 2022, one
COMMUNITY REPORT 7
dozen fresh fruit cart operators will have business grants. By assisting the fruit cart operators,
this will increase the options and locations for fresh produce. Figure 4 illustrates where the
potential sites for these four initiatives to occur.
Figure 4: Locations for School Gardens, Healthy Corner Store Locations, Mobile Farmers
Market and Fruit Cart Locations
The first 6 months of this program will be planning and preparation. This will focus on
coalition building and securing funding. At the beginning of 2021, legal concerns regarding the
Healthy Corner Stores and fruit cart business grants will be addressed. During this time, we will
also begin a formative evaluation for each of the objectives of the program. January 2021 is
when program implementation will start and management of the coalition’s project will begin.
Figure 5 illustrates the planning and preparation phase of the program.
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Figure 5: Planning, Preparation, and Implementation
The Healthy Corner Store initiative will begin by April 2021 with 10 tienditas
participating. The Fruit Cart businesses will begin operating by May 2021, with permits being
filed and obtained by March 2021. The Mobile Farmers Market will begin testing routes May
2021 and officially begin a regular route June 2021. The Nutrition to Grow On school gardens
will start their review with the school board in January 2022, with planting the gardens beginning
in June 2022 and teacher training occurring July 2022. Figure 6 demonstrates the timeline for the
program implementation.
Figure 6: Implementation Timeline
COMMUNITY REPORT 9
The coalition or community advisory board for this project should include the California
Certified Farmers Market, the Azusa Unified School District, the Azusa City Council, the
University of California Extension Service, the Los Angeles County Consumer Business Affairs,
Office of Small Business, and the U.S. Small Business Administration. Additionally, it is
advantageous to include governments and non-profits in order to achieve access to Farmers
Markets. This would include the Azusa City Council, Fresh Approach, and the California
Certified Farmers Market. To increase produce selection at tienditas, it is essential to work with
non-profits and local businesses. This includes Proyecto MercadoFRESCO and local tienditas.
The school-based gardens will need the assistant of government agencies and non-profits, which
would include the Azusa Unified School District, the University of California, Davis, Extension
Services, the California Teachers Association, and California Resource Connections, Inc.
Further, to facilitate business licenses to the Fruit Cart stands, working with government
agencies is essential. These agencies will include the Los Angeles County Consumer Business
Affairs, Office of Small Business, the U.S. Small Business Administration SCORE, and the
Azusa City Council. Any volunteers needed may be sourced from Azusa Pacific University.
COMMUNITY REPORT 10
Community Report Card
INDICATORS BENCHMARKS GRADES
Good Health & Wellbeing Overall C
Roughly two-thirds of residents believe that they are Emotion Needs are B
having emotional and social needs met (Los Angeles Met
County Department of Public Health, 2018). There is Chronic Diseases C
very little recreation space within the city, making Physically Active C
physical activity difficult. Due to the high obesity rates,
chronic diseases are prevalent within the city.
Resources Overall B
With the Azusa Library’s Neighborhood Connections
Health Centers C
program and the many food banks ran by local churches
and free meals offered to children and seniors, there are Food Assistance B
many resources available to citizens. There is a lack of
health centers, with there being 1 with extended hours. Social Assistance A
There is a lack of awareness of resources to citizens. Awareness of C
Resources
Education Overall B
Approximately 34% of 3rd graders are meeting California 3rd Graders Meeting C
English Standards, but roughly 75% of residents obtain a English Standards
High School Diploma/GED (Los Angeles County High School Diploma B
Department of Public Health, 2018). There are several Academic Support B
after school homework support groups and free and Food Assistance A
reduced meals are given to eligible students.
Food Overall D
There are 3 grocery stores within city limits and over 30
fast food chains. There are no Farmers Markets and Accessibility to Fresh C
many markets are also liquor stores. Produce
Fast Food Saturation D
Safety & Security Overall C
Approximately half of residents report experiencing Housing C
housing burdens (Los Angeles County Department of Employment C
Public Health, 2018). Unemployment is relatively low, Crime B
but the homelessness population has increased
exponentially due to the Metro Gold Line expansion.
Crime rates are below the county average (Los Angeles
County Department of Public Health, 2018).
A = Excellent; B = Good; C = Needs Improvement; D = Not Meeting Expectations
COMMUNITY REPORT 11
References
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The Food Trust. (2014). Healthy Corner Store Initiative.
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U.S. Census Bureau. (2018). Azusa city, California; Los Angeles County, California; California.
Quick Facts.
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