How Siler City, NC, Integrated Healthy Food Access into Pedestrian Planning

Introduction

Siler City is a small town in the western part of Chatham County, located in the middle of North Carolina. Its commerce is based on agriculture and industry, such as textiles, furniture, hosiery and food processing, and in recent years, the town has experienced factory and poultry plant closings and related economic issues. The town has one of the highest percentages of Hispanic residents in the state. In 2013, approximately half of Siler City’s 7,972 residents were of Hispanic/Latino ethnicity/origin (compared to 8.4 percent statewide). More than a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line and many residents do not own motor vehicles. In addition, the city offers few public transit options and lacks many safe pedestrian routes to grocery stores and related vendors. As a result, Siler City residents have limited access to healthy food options.

Health disparities in food access are linked to poor dietary patterns and unhealthy weight, which are established risk factors for diabetes, heart disease and other nutrition- related diseases. Indeed, higher than average disparities in terms of health outcomes are evident in Siler City, given the high concentration of low-income residents with limited access to healthy food options, according to Chatham County Public Health Department’s Mike Zelek. The prevalence of unhealthy weight is a top health concern in Siler City, as it is in both Chatham County and the state of North Carolina.

Many Siler City residents, particularly those who live in and around the downtown area, rely on walking as the main way to reach local groceries and other food vendors. However, limitations in the town’s infrastructure presents pedestrians with challenges as they walk to grocery stores:

• Roadways act as barriers;
• High priority locations have sidewalk gaps;
• Several sidewalks are deteriorating or blocked by obstructions, such as vegetation or utilities;
• Many roadways lack shade and pedestrian lighting;
• Intersections often lack ADA-accessible facilities, such as curb ramps; and
• The city lacks safe connections between neighborhood areas, recreation areas, and healthy food opportunities.

Because these infrastructure challenges in Siler City affect both land use and public health, Siler City and Chatham County saw an opportunity in 2013 to integrate healthy food access into pedestrian planning. This approach enabled the town to devise strategies to improve its infrastructure for pedestrians and at the same time to ensure that residents were provided safe and convenient access to healthy food opportunities.

The Town of Siler City’s innovative linkage of public health with urban design draws on past land use and transportation planning, combined with new health-related research and analysis, as well as input and support from a variety of local and regional partners.

Acknowledgements

This case study relies heavily on information provided during interviews and subsequent communications with Mike Zelek, Health Promotion and Policy Division Director, Chatham County Public Health Dep’t (July 19, 2017) and Jack Meadows, Director of Planning and Community Development, Siler City (July 25, 2017). The Healthy Food Policy Project (HFPP) collaborators thank these individuals for their contributions. We have not included citations to the information they have contributed throughout the body of this case study, but have relied upon it unless another source is indicated. Siler City maps and photos are included, courtesy of the Town of Siler City, and are all found in the Siler City, NC, Pedestrian Master Plan (2013).

The HFPP also thanks its Advisory Committee members for their guidance and feedback throughout the project. Advisory Committee members are: Dr. David Procter with the Rural Grocery Initiative at Kansas State University, Dr. Samina Raja with Growing Food Connections at the University of Buffalo, and Kathryn Lynch Underwood with the Detroit City Planning Commission. Previous advisory committee members include Pakou Hang with the Hmong American Farmers Association and Emily Broad Leib with the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic. Renee Gross, JD, served as a project consultant from 2015-2018.