Price, UT

Healthy food access, Built environment | 2025

Uncovering barriers to healthy food access in a rural community to inform targeted interventions.

Access to healthy food options is important for building health and well-being. In Price, Utah, a small rural community, residents with low incomes and Latino residents are concentrated in a few neighborhoods with limited grocery store options, inadequate transportation, and walkability challenges. Get Healthy Utah, a nonprofit organization that works to make Utah a healthier place to live, will work with local organizations to generate data that reflect the experiences of Price residents and uncover the root causes of inequities in healthy food access, including transportation and the built environment. 

Get Healthy Utah will collaborate with the Southeast Utah Health Department, the Southeastern Regional Development Agency, and local organizations on this project. Additional partners include Carbon Medical’s Price clinic, Utah State University Extension, and Price City. Working with the Southeast Utah Health Department’s epidemiologist, Get Healthy Utah will scan data sources related to food access in Utah, such as the Utah Wellbeing Survey and the Utah Healthy Places Index, to identify data gaps and opportunities for further collection. To ensure strong community engagement, staff from Get Healthy Utah will partner with local churches, including the Notre Dame de Lourdes Catholic Church and its Hope Center, to involve residents in designing and conducting healthy food walk audits that assess the availability, accessibility, and quality of healthy food options in their neighborhoods. Additionally, town hall meetings will be held in targeted neighborhoods to gather residents’ perspectives on their access to healthy food. The project will culminate in a final report shared with community members, partners, and key decisionmakers, offering recommendations for targeted interventions, such as improved walkability and enhanced transportation options.

Get Healthy Utah anticipates that the data and recommendations from the project will be used by Price City and the Southeastern Regional Development District for future planning decisions about land use, transportation, and food access services. The recommendations and strategies identified by the project will also support Price City’s work as a part of the Healthy Utah Community designation program.