Access to healthy food is a key component to a vibrant urban food system.
K-State faculty studying ways to boost urban food systems in Kansas
Researchers say city planners are critical to ensuring access to healthy food
At a glance: A group of Kansas State University faculty members is working to improve food access across urban areas in Kansas by studying how city planning and policy can contribute to more equitable, resilient food systems – particularly for vulnerable, low-income communities.
More information:
Shakil Bin Kashem, shakilkashem@ksu.edu
Maria Binte Edrish, medrish@ksu.edu
Related: Sound Living
July 14, 2025
By Pat Melgares, K-State Research and Extension news service
MANHATTAN, Kan. – A group of Kansas State University faculty members is working to improve food access across urban areas in Kansas by studying how city planning and policy can contribute to more equitable, resilient food systems – particularly for vulnerable, low-income communities.
Shakil Bin Kashem, an associate professor in landscape architecture and regional and community planning, said the team is looking at ways that local governments can address gaps in healthy food access through such areas as better zoning, transportation planning and support for local food networks.
The interdisciplinary research team is supported by K-State’s Game-changing Research Initiation Program, GRIP, led by Eleni Pliakoni, who is the director of the university’s Urban Food Systems Initiative.
“What really pulled me into urban food system research is the idea that access to healthy and affordable food plays a big role in how healthy and strong a community is,” Kashem said. “If people can’t afford or access food easily, it puts a lot of stress on families, especially during emergencies.”
Urban food system is a term that encompasses all of the activities involved in feeding residents of a city, including production, processing, distribution and consumption. As an area of study, it takes into account land use, infrastructure and social and economic factors.
K-State’s project currently is focused on the Kansas City metro area, but includes work in other Kansas cities. Kashem’s research examines such challenges as food deserts, where families have limited access to fresh food, which is often due to having to travel a long distance to grocery stores coupled with poor public transportation.
“Good city planning can help make sure that healthy food is not a luxury, but something everyone can access,” Kashem said. “Right now, in most cases our city plans are not adequately addressing the constraints of the local food system.”
Team member Maria Binte Edrish, a K-State master’s student in landscape architecture and regional and community planning, is using Geographic Information System technology data to build maps and applying spatial and statistical methods to understand geographic patterns and relationships associated with a lack of access to healthy food.
She’s applying a measure called the Modified Retail Food Environment Index to evaluate neighborhood food access, comparing data from 2011, 2019 and 2024.
“I’m looking at how access to healthy food sources has changed over time, and whether there are statistically significant differences based on such socio-economic factors as SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) recipients or unemployment rates,” she said. “We’re trying to highlight the structural disparities that exist in a given city.”
Kashem said city planners could play a “critical role” in addressing disparities in food access, by promoting such programs as community gardens, farmer’s markets, incentives for small grocery stores and public transportation.
“Our food system is a complex network of actors, institutions and resources,” Kashem said. “It’s only through collaboration across these fields that we can build a truly resilient and equitable system, especially in the face of changing weather patterns, supply chain disruptions and rising food insecurity.”
Other K-State faculty involved in the project are Logan Britton, an associate professor in agricultural economics; and Hyung Jin Kim, an associate professor of landscape architecture and regional and community planning.
A longer discussion on the group’s work is available on the weekly podcast, Sound Living, produced by K-State Extension.
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K‑State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well‑being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county extension offices, experiment fields, area extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K‑State campus in Manhattan. For more information, visit www.ksre.ksu.edu. K-State Research and Extension is an equal opportunity provider and employer.