Keywords

Food banks -- Florida, Food security -- Florida, Poor -- Florida, Poverty -- Florida, Transportation -- Florida, Transportation -- Geographic information systems -- Florida

Abstract

Little academic research has been conducted examining access to transportation by those in need. The small amount of research that has been done focuses primarily on mobility issues of the elderly and the disabled, despite findings that income level is an important determinant in access to transportation. The few studies that have examined access to transportation in relation to income simply cite the difficulties that those in poverty face when attempting to access vital resources as problematic, yet very few focus specifically on this issue. This thesis examines how free food recipients commute to and from local pantries, and whether public transportation in the Orlando metropolitan area adequately services food bank resources utilized by low income individuals. Physical location data as well as survey questionnaires were used to determine commuting patterns as well as the overall availability and utilization of transit options of Orlando‟s low income population. Findings from this study show that even though nearly 50% of respondents do not own a car, public transportation remains a last option, making the Orlando area heavily dependent on cars, even for those with no direct access to one. Despite low public transit ridership, it was found that the majority of food pantries in Orange County are adequately serviced by LYNX, while pantries in Seminole County suffer from a severe lack of services.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2011

Semester

Summer

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Sociology

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0003913

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0003913

Language

English

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Sciences, Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic

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Sociology Commons

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