Assignment 4: Would you rather?

Topic: Food Accessibility in the City of Hudson

Team members: Tanaya Kadam, Sharvi Jain, Jinsook Lee, Devaki Handa

INTRODUCTION

The city of Hudson lies in a massive food desert. Our team is trying to assess food purchase patterns from the only local Walmart store versus mobile food trucks if they were to increase in number. This investigation will help us understand what people of different income ranges would choose — cheaper food from Walmart that is at a distance and might require one to travel by car, or readily accessible, relatively expensive organic food from mobile truck; and how many households get benefited.

MODEL

Environment: The political boundaries of Hudson city (Walmart, and households, specifically)

Agents:

Mobile food trucks, cars, people.

Parameters:

1. Mobile Farmers’ markets

• Location/ Routes
• Number
• Quantity of produce in each mobile truck

2. Walmart

• Distance and travel time from houses.

3. Demography

• Number of households.
• The rate of car-ownership
• Income range

4. Cost

• Cost of food products.