Getting groceries home: The often invisible challenges of transportation and poverty

How far would you be willing to carry a gallon of milk home?

For many people with low incomes, it’s not a choice. And for those who must carry their groceries one or even two miles, the number of bags and overall shopping weight is an important consideration.

“Transportation barriers limit food security just as much as financial barriers,” said Washington State University Extension faculty Bryan Mader, who was hired to devise ways Extension can boost community health outcomes statewide. “Public transit rules, long travel distances, physically carrying groceries home — these all impact healthy eating.”

WSU Extension’s Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) in Spokane worked with Mader and undergraduates in WSU’s College of Nursing to create a survey that identifies barriers to healthy eating. The EFNEP survey showed that low-income participants in their nutrition program were encountering transportation issues.

Reliable transportation, in particular, is an indicator of a person’s overall health. In Spokane and other urban regions statewide, many residents with lower incomes use public transit to access groceries, often navigating multiple bus routes while carrying heavy bags. Confusion about boarding policies for carts and groceries created additional obstacles for some riders, according to the survey.

“People were confused about what they thought they could bring onto public transportation, such as the number of grocery bags or the bulkiness of those bags,” Mader said. “There were some misunderstandings surrounding boarding rules, and we worked successfully with our partners at Spokane Transit Authority (STA) to clarify those rules and improve their consistency throughout the region.”

After learning more about healthy eating habits through EFNEP, the vast majority of adults and youth report being more motivated to eat fruits and vegetables — but fresh produce is heavy to carry, so making transportation easier can positively affect nutrition.

“Our survey showed people were leaving food at the food bank instead of taking it home to their families,” said Evelyn Whitmer, Washington state EFNEP director. “Community health is not just about eating the right foods but also making it easier for people to get food home.”

Though nutrition education and food resource management remain critical to improving health outcomes, the survey data suggests that transportation infrastructure also determines someone’s food security level, Mader said.

“It was a small survey with about 30 respondents, but it was meaningful, statistically actionable, and likely reflects the broader experiences of low-income populations in Spokane,” he said.

Mader credits local partners like Spokane Transit Authority for helping clarify public transit boarding rules to those with low incomes and WSU’s College of Nursing students for their drive to help boost local community health in underserved populations through solid research.

EFNEP and Mader hope to build on this success in other counties and metropolitan areas of Washington state.

“It’s not just about eating healthfully. Getting enough food equates to school success and community participation,” Whitmer said. “If a kid’s hungry, it’s hard for them to learn or be physically active. Hunger also makes it challenging for adults to be productive at work or at home.”