Find Healthy Food with FoodScore

Among the many exciting projects underway in King County, thanks to funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the FoodScore project holds promise as a tool for both rural and urban residents who want to find healthy food nearby. According to Richard Gelb, Performance Management  Lead with the County’s Department of Natural Resources and Parks, the FoodScore project is inspired by the WalkScore website which uses GIS data to overlay scalable maps to show businesses and services that are in walking distance from a specific location.

The objective of FoodScore is to help residents find healthy food, identify where healthy food is in short supply, and engage/inform those who have a role in improving the food environment of King County. FoodScore is one of 55 projects underway in King County as part of the Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) initiative, supported with stimulus funds. The goals of CPPW are to increase physical activity, improve nutrition and reduce smoking.

FoodScore will be a map-based website that uses extensive data from King County business permits to show where you can buy food: at stores of any size, restaurants, even food carts.

To find out more, contact Richard Gelb with the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks at (206) 296-8374 or richard.gelb@kingcounty.gov.

About the author: Karen Holt Luetjen has been a food-related educator through her work for Seattle Tilth and WSU Extension, and is currently coordinating a conference on urban agriculture scheduled for December at the University of Washington’s Center for Urban Horticulture.

Related posts:

1. Tasty Maps of Food Assets
2. A National Push to Make Healthy Food Available to All
3. Vibrant Street Food Culture Plays A Role In Healthy Communities

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