Small Business University Completes Stockton Research Project

 

In the past month, our Small Business University Program staff, Jorg Letkemann and Bryan Salcedo completed a food access market analysis for a community in Stockton, CA. The analysis covered the opportunities that exist within this area; more specifically, it assessed the possibility of opening a community-owned grocery store in the area.

The research targeted and assisted APSARA (Asian Pacific Self-Development and Residential Association) and the South East Asian community in Stockton, CA.

This food access market analysis provided insights into the neighborhoods surrounding APSARA to identify food access needs, problems, and opportunities in the community. The designated area of the food access market analysis spanned across 8 zip codes, all of which are lacking in grocery store options. In all 8 zip codes, there were only 5 major grocery stores. These included Rite Aid and Dollar General Market, both of which lack the variety of healthy foods that are sold in stores compared to a traditional grocery store. The research project was able to determine that the area was deprived of traditional grocery store options therefore opening a community-owned grocery store was a feasible project. The community-owned grocery store would provide healthy foods to the community and have a significant impact on the revitalization of the Southeast Asian communities in Stockton. The grocery store can also serve as an economic anchor for the lower-income area.

 

This research project couldn't have been completed without the resources that were offered at the Library at Fresno State. The librarians were quick to point you in the right direction for all research needs. For this particular project, having access to resources such as mapping software ArcGis and industry research software like IBISWorld was instrumental in completing this project. Various demographic resources were used to get the most accurate, up-to-date data that is available.