Alina Enoiu Humanities and Social Science
Healthy Corner Stores Movement
Many communities in the San Francisco Bay Area struggle with food insecurity or the lack of access to healthy and affordable food, making them more likely to suffer from diet-related diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Because these communities have a base of corner stores where people already shop, such as liquor stores or other smaller-scale stores, bringing healthy options to local corner stores may be a more effective strategy than developing larger supermarkets. My project will examine whether the federal governments strategies of providing financial incentives to storeowners is an effective way of increasing the availability of healthy food. I will also learn how local and state governments can make the process of corner-store conversion not only more appealing but easier and less demanding for storeowners. My research will involve looking at government policies as well as interviewing storeowners and other key players in the healthy corner store movement.
Message To Sponsor
Being selected as a SURF fellow means that I can devote a substantial amount of my summer to my research. Rather than having to juggle a job, I can focus on creating a project that I will be proud of. At the completion of the SURF fellowship, I hope to have gained a better understanding of the healthy corner store movement in the bay area as well as have collected data that will contribute to an exemplary senior thesis. Writing a thesis is important because it allows me to leave college knowing that I have made a contribution to academia.