This document summarizes a project to convert corner stores in East Los Angeles into healthier food options. It discusses: 1) The background and need to address the "food swamp" environment in East LA with limited access to healthy foods. 2) The benefits of corner store conversions in increasing healthy produce access in urban food deserts. 3) The project's research aims around selecting viable corner store candidates, best practices for marketing conversions, sustainability factors, and impact on consumer behaviors and health. 4) Details of the project including a social ecological framework, community engagement activities, social marketing campaigns, surveys of students and the community, and analysis of the interventions' effects.

1. Corner Store Makeovers in
East Los Angeles: Changing the Food Environment
Alex Ortega
Deborah Glik
Mike Prelip
Ron Brookmeyer
Mike Blockstein
Reanne Estrada
Nathan Cheng
Jeremiah Garza
Brent Langellier
Mienah Sharif
Rosa Elena Garcia
UCLA Center for Population Health & Health Disparities

2. Background: Food Swamp
East L.A. has been characterized as a
“food swamp,” with poor access to
comprehensive grocery stores and
foods recommended as a basis for a
healthful and balanced diet…
Image by Public Matters
Getty Image
California Center for Public Health Advocacy, 2007

3. Relative • Increases healthy produce in urban
food deserts (Glanz & Yaroch, 2004; Raja, Ma
Advantage of & Yadav, 2008)
Corner Store • Builds upon existing community
resources (Bolen & Hecht, 2003)
Conversions • Sustainable profit when converted
properly (Bolen & Hecht, 2003)
Some Ingredients for Sustainable
Conversion (Bolen & Hecht, 2003)
•Location
•Business entrepreneurship
•Customer acceptance
•Access to wholesalers
Images by Public Matters

4. Closing the Gap in “Market
Makeover” Literature
Four Research Aims:
1. How do we select corner stores which
are viable candidates for conversion ?
2. What are the best practices to market
and promote corner stores in resource
poor communities?
3. What factors are related to the
maintenance and sustainability of
corner store conversions?
4. What impact do corner store
conversions have on the consumption
and health behaviors of patrons and
Images by Public Matters community residents?

5. Market Makeover

6. Project 3 – conceptual framework
Social ecological model:
• Micro: individual, household
• Meso: community, organization
• Macro: society, public policy
Implications:
• Multilevel interventions
• Multilevel research

7. Corner Store
Conversions
Youth Social
Engagement Marketing

8. Patron Survey
Corner Store
Conversions
Key Informant
Interviews

9. Corner Store
Conversions
Community Media
Related to Food
Social Marketing

10. Corner Store
Conversions
Community Survey
Social Marketing

11. Focus Groups
Youth Engagement
Proposed Student
Survey

12. YASH- Before & During
Transformation
Students rolling up
their sleeves to
create a healthier
market!
Transforming it into a healthier market serving the Latino community!

13. Celebrating the Grand Re-Opening of YASH, Oct. 29, 2011
Community came out to
celebrate and enjoy the
information booths, garden,
and fun! Photos courtesy of CAB members

14. After the Makeover!
YASH now
has a bountiful
selection of
healthy fruits
and
vegetables
and a lovely
garden out
back

15. Social Marketing Campaign
Multi-Pronged including:
a) Community events and presentations
b) Performances
c) Video screenings
d) Door-to-door canvassing and outreach efforts
e) Cooking demonstrations
f) Media coverage
All Social marketing activities have goal to increase
awareness of healthy eating and promote
the made-over stores!

16. Youth-Led Social Marketing Activities Reach Latino Community
Youth in costumes Youth conduct
participate at community video screenings
events at ELA Civic
Center, create
buzz for store
Outreach
materials
promote
Photos courtesy of CAB
store/
members & Public Matters healthy
eating

17. Social marketing and nutrition education
• Create buzz about the made
over store
• Promote healthy food
• Culturally appropriate
• Overall goal is to make over
the market for healthy food
• Just offering healthy food is
not enough—people have
to buy the food

18. Social Marketing-Media Coverage
• We’ve had extensive coverage in:
• Television (Univision, ABC7, Channel 22)
• Print (La Opinion, LA Times, EPG Publications, UCLA Bruin,
among others)
• Radio (NPR, BBC)
• Live web-chats (Latino Net, UCLA SPH WebCast)
• Conference presentations (SCPHA)

19. Community Support has been fabulous!
We’ve had tremendous support of our CAB
members, community agencies, students and
volunteers who provided:
• In-kind support for reproduction, media
coverage, incentives, outreach efforts (value
over $3000)
• Office/meeting space for makeover & research
activities
• 960 volunteer hours!

20. Community Survey
• Design:
• Comparison group study using 4 intervention stores and 4 control
stores,
• Longitudinal
• Timeline:
• Conducted prior to the store conversions and 2 years later
• Sample size:
• 125 per cluster (1000 total at baseline; 1000 follow-up)
• Communities:
• 8 geographic areas (about 4 block radius around each index store)
in East Los Angeles
• Language: English & Spanish
• Incentive: $25 cash

21. Community Survey
• Domains:
• Food purchasing patterns (usual places, corner stores , general
corner stores, target corner store)
• Food preparation and consumption patterns- specific focus
on fruits and vegetables
• Attitudes about corner stores
• Depressive symptomatology
• Food insecurity
• Health status
• Knowledge, awareness related to social marketing nutrition
campaigns (Champions for Change, FoodPlate, etc)
• Demographic variables (age, education, ethnicity/race,
immigrant status, language, etc)

22. Questions?