Portland State University PDXScholar Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses Fall 10-21-2016 The Village Market: New Columbia Goes Shopping for Food Justice Jane Therese Waddell Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds Part of the Food Security Commons, and the International and Community Nutrition Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Waddell, Jane Therese, "The Village Market: New Columbia Goes Shopping for Food Justice" (2016). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 3288. https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.3279 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. The Village Market: New Columbia Goes Shopping for Food Justice by Jane Therese Waddell A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Studies Dissertation Committee: Karen J. Gibson, Chair Nathan McClintock Maude Hines Siobhan C. Maty Portland State University 2016 © 2016 Jane Therese Waddell i Abstract The Village Market is a nonprofit Healthy Corner Store that has been open since May of 2011 in the mixed-use, mixed-income New Columbia housing development in Portland, Oregon’s Portsmouth neighborhood. The venture began as a “community-led” effort in partnership with Janus Youth Programs and Home Forward. The project was conceived after a private enterprise in the small grocery space designed into the development failed, leaving the neighborhood without easy access to healthy foods. This dissertation is a case study of the development process, the operation of the market, and the degree to which it addresses food justice and health equity concerns, among others, of residents. It is a case study of the Healthy Corner Store movement that uses food regime theory and political economy perspectives to critically examine the translation of Healthy Corner Store movement theory into practice, highlighting the perspectives of New Columbia residents on the endeavor. It explores the transition of the store from a community-led project to a management-led social enterprise, and the impacts of that approach on local autonomy, food justice, health equity as well as its successes and shortcomings. The store’s situation in a mixed-income community meant that it had a particularly diverse set of expectations to navigate, and the changes to the store over time reflected Village Market’s growing understanding of the implications of that situation but also a limited capacity to accommodate residents’ differing tastes and the price sensitivity that many of them exhibited in their shopping habits. ii Acknowledgements It has now been some years since I embarked on a quest for a “right livelihood” that took me back to school. I was very much following my nose, and went down many rabbit holes in the process. I probably took enough credits to fulfill a second master’s degree as I figured out where I did and didn’t fit. While it is by no means complete, my journey thus far has benefitted greatly from the contributions of some wonderful people. A few individuals helped me discover critical pieces of the jigsaw. I am particularly beholden to Claire Strawn and Priya Kandaswamy, in whose courses I finally found what I had been looking for but didn’t yet have words to articulate. Sy Adler and Sheila Martin gave me much to consider with respect to how my interests related to disciplinary boundaries. My dear friends and colleagues, Ron Pate and Marianne Ryder, offered invaluable intellectual companionship that helped me see this whole project through to completion. Initial committee members Ellen Basset and Barry Messer offered insights into my proposal that helped me refine my research questions and temper my expectations. Enduring committee members Siobhan Maty and Maude Hines encouraged my work, helped me stretch outside my comfort zone, and provided thoughtful feedback. Karen Gibson was a wonderful chair and editor who encouraged me to find my own voice. Special thanks go to Nathan McClintock, my pinch-hitting committee member, for his willingness to come in relatively late in the game as well as for his meticulous editing. Robert Ingram, Carolyn Parsons, Charles Robertson, and Therese Lugano all played critical roles in this project, helping me to better understand the community I was researching (and the communities within it) and connecting me with people to talk with. I iii must also thank everyone who agreed to be interviewed for sharing their perspectives with me. I learned so much from you, and I hope I represented you faithfully. This project attuned me to the judgment entwined in our beliefs about food and nutrition. My fearless leader at Clackamas County Extension, Kelly Streit, provided me an example of nutrition work done with empathy and participant direction through her Plot to Plate program. Thanks to her and all of my fellow Master Food Preservers/Family Food Educators past and present for giving me much food for thought. To my friends and family, I am grateful for all you did to help me on my path. The Menze and Ude clans have cheered me on in all my pursuits. Nathalie Weicker had a knack for calling me just when I needed to talk. Diane Yensen enticed me out for many a row and run that kept me moving forward even when I felt stuck. Coach Lisa Schlenker taught me to push myself beyond what I thought were my limits on the water. It gave me the confidence to take on such an ambitious project on land. Bill McMillen issued me a much-needed pep talk when things looked pretty bleak and reminded me that failure was not an option. And, through her jewelry studio, Cindy Proctor provided a welcome respite from the drudgery of the research process and became a friend and mentor. I don’t think I could have gotten through all that transcription without the creative outlet I found there. Two special men have made all the difference. My husband Ed was an unwavering source of support along the way, and most importantly, knew how to make me laugh when I really needed it. My father, Robert J. Waddell, has encouraged me in all my endeavors for as long as I can remember. Words cannot express how much I love you both. iv Table of Contents Abstract ………………………………………………………………………….…….…. i Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………………… ii List of Tables …………………………..……………………………………………….. vii List of Figures ……………………………………………………………………...….. viii Chapter 1: Introduction ………………………………………………………………….. 1 Research Problem and Context ……………………………………………………… 1 Theoretical Orientation ……………………………………………………………… 3 Document Structure ………………………………………………………………..... 5 Chapter 2: History ……………………………………………………………………...... 7 Chapter 3: Literature Review ………………………………………………………….. 31 Mixed-Income Communities ……………………………………………………… 34 Food Equity ………………………………………………………………………… 41 Health ……………………………………………………………………………… 70 The Social Economy as Economic Development …………………………………. 90 Summary …………………………………………………………………………. 109 Chapter 4: Research Design and Methods …………………………………………… 113 Research Questions and Expectations …………………………………………… 113 Research Strategy and Design …………………………………………………… 119 Chapter 5: Varied Perspectives on Food and Health ………………………………… 136 The Healthy Corner Store Movement ……………………………………………. 136 The Village Market ………………………………………………………………. 146 Resident Non-Participants ……………………………………………………….. 166 Discussion ………………………………………………………………………... 189 v Chapter 6: The Nonprofit Dimension ………………………………………………… 195 Village Market Outcomes ………………………………………………………… 197 Local Autonomy ………………………………………………………………….. 205 Food Justice ………………………………………………………………………. 210 Health Equity ……………………………………………………………………... 216 Discussion ………………………………………………………………………… 220 Chapter 7: Mixing Incomes, Ethnicities, and Ages ………………………………….. 227 Subsidized Senior Renters ……………………………………………………….. 227 Subsidized Renters ………………………………………………………………... 231 Market-Rate Residents and Neighbors …………………………………………… 237 African Refugees …………………………………………………………………. 242 Latin American Immigrants & Refugees …………………………………………. 243 Cross-Group Comparisons ………………………………………………………... 246 Discussion ………………………………………………………………………… 248 Chapter 8: Findings, Conclusions and Limitations …………………………………… 258 Findings …………………………………………………………………………… 258 Conclusions ……………………………………………………………………….. 265 Limitations ………………………………………………………………………... 269 Contributions to Scholarship, Policy, and Practice ………………………………. 271 Future Work ………………………………………………………………………. 272 References …………………………………………………………………………….. 275 Appendix A: SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ……………………………….. 316 Appendix B: FOCUS GROUP OUTLINE - GENERAL ……………………………. 318 Appendix C: FOCUS GROUP OUTLINE - IMMIGRANT & REFUGEE GROUPS . 320 vi Appendix D: FOOD REGIMES AND FOOD MOVEMENTS TYPOLOGY ……….. 321 vii List of Tables Table 1: Comparison of Census Tracts 39.01 and 40.01 Pre and Post Redevelopment .. 12 Table 2: Modes of Inquiry by Research Question ……………………………………. 122 viii List of Figures Figure 1: High Poverty Hot Spots in North Portland …………………………………. 11 Figure 2: Half Mile Radius around the Village Market ………………………………. 19 1 Chapter 1: Introduction Research Problem and Context During the 1960s and 1970s, around the time when many whites left cities for the suburbs, grocery stores followed, leaving central cities with very few full service grocery stores (Nayga & Weinberg,