Shortages

The following are a selection of images, captions, and quotes from Flint residents who participated in the photo project on food access in Flint and the impact of COVID-19. Most of the photos show intersecting themes, for example one photo and caption might illustrate family, cooking and healthy eating. Photos on these pages are just shared in one category to help show the breadth of data we received.

These data illustrate the theme of food shortages.

This theme appeared 88 times in the data.

We define the food shortages theme as descriptions of not being able to buy certain foods due to a lack of supply.

Flint Residents Shared

A few paper towel packages on a mostly empty grocery shelf
“Paper aisle out of stock on many brands.”
Tuna salad
“The beginning of lockdown, there wasn’t any meat left on the shelves so I ate A LOT of tuna fish.”
Flour and sugar shelves at the grocery store
“Sugar/flour aisle @ a local grocery store.”
Sprouts growing in a jar by a window
“I couldn’t find sprouts during lockdown so I ordered seeds online and grew my own.”
Empty vegan cheese shelf
“This was the 3rd time I saw that Aldi was out of vegan cheese.”

To learn more about the Flint Leverage Points Project, watch our Flint Food System Video.

To learn more about this photo project, visit our Briefing Notes page.

Explore other themes, images, and data.

*Note: The statements provided here represent the voices of the Flint residents who participated in this research project. They are not necessarily reflective of the values or opinions of Michigan State University or its affiliates.

Photo Project