Food Availability Study-Santa Clara County

In March 2009, Food Empowerment Project trained and sent out about a dozen volunteers around Santa Clara County, California, to survey access to healthy foods in both high-income and low-income neighborhoods. We also looked at areas based on education, ethnicity, and income level. Our criteria for healthy foods consisted of fresh, canned, and frozen fruits and vegetables, as well as alternatives to “meat” and dairy.

Our report Shining a Light on the Valley of Hearts Delight: Taking a Look at Access to Healthy Foods in Santa Clara’s Communities of Color and Low-Income Communities was released on August 25, 2010.

Local Study Finds Disturbing Disparity in Availability of Healthful Foods







Focus groups – San José

As a follow-up to this study, Food Empowerment Project conducted focus groups in San José and worked with the community groups Somos Mayfair, Sacred Heart, and CommUniverCity before releasing a report on our findings in Bringing Community Voices to the Table.





GIS Maps for Santa Clara County

In collaboration with Santa Clara University (thanks to Marty Saunders and Professor Iris Stewart-Frey), GIS (geographic information system) maps were created that display which districts of the San José City Council, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, and the California State Assembly and Senate are most likely to be impacted by inequitable food distribution.

The maps have been organized according to ethnicity (Asian, Latino, Caucasian, and non-Caucasian ) and poverty rates (percent of low-income households per census tract).

Below you will find the non-Caucasian maps for each of the districts mentioned above.

San José City Council Districts map

California State Senate Districts map

Santa Clara County Board of Supervisor Districts map

California State Assembly Districts map

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