West Michigan Food Insecurity: Using Cluster Analysis and Geographic Information Systems to Identify Needs

Background: Most food insecurity estimates are developed for large geographies (counties and states). With many hunger relief initiatives focused at the community level, Feeding America West Michigan (FAWM) partnered with the Student Consulting Center at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) to analyze its 40-county service area.

Objectives: To identify communities at risk of food insecurity and gain a more articulated understanding of community need with respect to food insecurity.

Methods: We analyzed the risk factors of food insecurity by census tract using 17 indicators. We used cluster analysis as a profiling technique to transform results into more manageable units of analysis.

Results: The work is being used to prioritize targeted interventions for areas with the greatest needs.

Conclusions: Cluster analysis provides opportunities to present results in ways drawing conclusions from separate indicators cannot. When incorporated into programmatic decisions, analytics can assist agencies like FAWM make more efficient use of resources by ensuring they get to those most in need.