Translations: Lessons learned for better outcomes

Translating documents, advertisements or other materials can be a real headache for many organizations, especially with periodic news stories reporting on the explosive growth of groups, like Asians and Latinos. For example, one recent report by the Census Bureau cited in Texas Tribune tells us that Asians now have a higher population growth rate in Texas (5.5%) – faster than the overall population growth rate for the state of 1.6 percent.[1]  Latinos, however, continue to fuel a majority of the population growth in Texas and many U.S. communities.  The projected population growth in Texas is vividly illustrated by Figure 1 below. [2]

 Figure 1 Projected Texas Population by Race/Ethnicity

  

According to these projections of the Texas population by the Texas Demographic Center (January 2019), the period between 2020 and 2050 will realize a dramatic multicultural population boom of 108.9 percent for Non-Hispanic Blacks, 509.7 percent for Non-Hispanic Asians, and 113.4 percent for Hispanics – indeed, a significant change that is likely to  significantly increase the demand for language translation services. The same report revealed that four of the top ten counties in Texas that are projected to absorb this growth are located in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metro area (see Table 1 below):  Collin County (1.7 million persons); Denton County (1.7 million persons); Dallas County (1.4 million persons); and Tarrant County (1.4 million persons).  If your organization serves or plans to serve Asian and Latino persons with your services or products, a sound translation strategy will be especially important. 

Indeed, one medical institution recently contacted me with an urgent question:  With so many Asian groups in Dallas County, which languages should be targeted for translation?  This sense of urgency is especially acute in industries related to healthcare, legal, and public safety where even minor errors in translation can have serious consequences. For example, communications and medical interventions in linguistically diverse U.S. communities during the Covid-19 pandemic were compromised by the absence of information regarding the racial-ethnic identity and language characteristics of highly impacted communities.    Indeed, about 22 Asian countries are represented in North Texas by the Census Bureau while Latinos are represented by 21 countries – numbers that clearly underscore the need for translation support.  Moreover, Asian countries include hundreds of languages with different dialects.[3]  And while Spanish is common to Spanish-speaking countries, their dialects are known to vary across these countries.[4]

 Table 1: Top 10 Texas Counties with Greatest Numeric Change between 2010 and 2050

 

 The translation strategy that an organization adopts, however, can produce negative outcomes and undermine community goodwill if not done carefully and professionally.  To clear up some of the confusion associated with translations, I would like to share some lessons learned from my 45 years of practical experience in conducting surveys and experiments with Latinos and Asians for a broad spectrum of private, public and academic clients.  While I am not a linguistics expert, I have studied the use of language in these studies, and this experience has been reinforced by teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in Hispanic marketing, multicultural research methods, survey research methods, statistics, and mass communications. Thus, the lessons learned are not just subjective impressions about language usage but grounded in academic and real-world experiences. Although I have addressed language translation issues in the past, recent events pointed to the need for an update on this topic.

 Lesson 1:  The language that Latinos and Asians use to communicate is not uniform and shaped by key characteristics such as age, nativity, income and education. 

For example, a non-English or foreign language is more likely to be used by persons who are foreign-born, older, less educated and lower income. Persons who are are more likely to communicate in English include persons who are native born, younger, higher income and more educated groups. Language usage is also likely to vary in terms of the context:  reading a book, listening to a medical provider, watching television, or talking with friends or family members.  Consequently, prior to initiating a translation process, it is very important to identify the specific target audience within the Latino or Asian household or communities that the translated document is designed to benefit. A good rule of thumb is to provide both English and native-language documents to ensure adequate coverage of all members of a household.

 Lesson 2:  A head nod is not sufficient to confirm understanding of a translated document.

 It is often the case that a Latino or Asian person is presented a form to complete a transaction or register for a program or service.  Attorneys, healthcare providers, and mortgage companies often present documents that need signatures on documents that involve important decisions. In such circumstances, the customer is typically asked if they understand what is being explained or what they are reading, and a head nod or “yes” response is usually accepted as confirmation that the information was “understood.”  But is this type of confirmation a valid one?   Perhaps not if there is no follow-up to determine that the information was really understood.  Latinos and Asians, especially immigrants, will often confirm that they understand an instruction or a document to save face and not admit that they lack the ability to read or understand that language. Consequently, it is important to ask these customers to explain or demonstrate their comprehension of an instruction by asking them to repeat in their own words what the instruction means or asking them to physically demonstrate their comprehension. In a healthcare setting, for example, it would be advisable to ask a Latino or Asian to repeat, in their own words, the instructions for taking their medication(s) – clearly a more valid measure of comprehension than a simple head nod.

 Lesson 3:  Translators are not the last word on language translations.

 Over the past years, I have used translators for a variety of tasks using different languages and value the function that they serve. In one national study of Latinos, African Americans and Asians, our firm conducted surveys in five languages (English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese) using mail, online and telephone survey methods – quite a challenge indeed. Over the years, I have learned to appreciate the value of a certified translator with experience in the subject matter at hand, whether legal, healthcare, insurance, etc. – which helps to reassure clients about the accuracy of the translation. However, it is a mistake to think that your job is done when a translator submits their finished product.  In addition to the accuracy of the translated document, it is equally important to know who the intended audience will be and their ability to read and understand the document.  Translators do not always know who the intended audience is and sometimes produce documents whose reading difficulty level is too high or include words or phrases that are unfamiliar to the intended audience. Mandy Sha, a Chinese research colleague of mine, was part of a research team that conducted a usability test of a Census Bureau questionnaire with Chinese respondents who could read and write in Chinese but had limited English-language proficiency. The investigators discovered several problems with the translated questionnaire, such as sentence structure or verb tense, grammar, lack of context, name order, validation rules and navigation instructions. [5]  By conducting a copy test, pilot test or usability study of a translated document, one can have the added assurance that the appropriate communication has been established with the targeted consumer.    Hence, your target audience, not the translator, should have the last word on the acceptability of a translated document or other material.

 Lesson 4:  Speaking a language is not an automatic qualifier for reading or writing in that language.

 Naïve marketers are often surprised to observe that Latinos or Asians can be conversing in their native language quite comfortably but may have difficulty when asked to read or write a document in that language. What some marketers fail to understand is that a language usually includes four basic functions --  reading, speaking, writing, and listening --  and proficiency in one of these functions does not necessarily mean proficiency in the other functions. In addition, many immigrants coming from Asian or Spanish-speaking countries may lack formal education and cannot read or write in any language, while more educated immigrants may be more literate in their native language.  By better understanding the origins and educational background of Latinos and Asians, marketers can develop communications that will be understood by their target audiences. Thus, one should always consider the language function being utilized when evaluating a translated document. It is insufficient to just ask a Latino or Asian person in which language they prefer to communicate since it is important to know whether their language preferences are dependent on the language function (i.e., reading, speaking, writing, listening) and the specific task or activity that they are engaged in (i.e., watching television, reading a book, talking with family, listening to music, conversing with medical staff).  So, learn to be situation specific in asking Latinos or Asians which language they prefer for communications.

 Lesson 5:  While the U.S. Census Bureau collects language usage data about Asians and Latinos, it can be misleading.

 Organizations often quote language statistics collected by the Census Bureau as evidence about the number of native-language households that reside in the U.S. at any point in time.  The quality of this language data, however, is limited in several ways.  First, one question in the American Community Survey asks:  “Does this person speak a language other than English at home?” If the question is answered “yes,” then the next question that follows is: “What is this language?  Thus, we learn from these two questions the number of persons that speak Spanish or another language.  But it does not ask how well Spanish or other non-English languages are spoken – referred to as language proficiency.  Thus, if a person utters one word in Spanish, then they are classified as a Spanish speaker or Spanish-language household. How well they speak Spanish does not seem to matter here. 

English is the only language where proficiency is asked:  “How well does this person speak English?” – to which one is provided four options:  “Very well,” “Well,” “Not well,” and “Not at all.”  While this type of language proficiency question is useful in providing some guidance on how well a person speaks the English language, other research that I have summarized elsewhere shows that Latinos tend to over-estimate their language skills on self-reported measures like the one used by the Census Bureau – a consequence of social desirability.  That is, native-born Latinos who are more English-language proficient often want others to think that they speak Spanish better than they actually do.  Immigrants, who are more Spanish-language proficient, often want others to think that they speak English better than they actually do.  Even when they claim proficiency in both languages, most native-born Latinos will choose an English-language interview when given a choice, while most Latino immigrants will choose a Spanish-language interview.  Hence, the language that a Latino chooses when provided a choice is a more valid indicator of their language dominance than their self-reported language proficiency.  Our experience suggests that Latinos should always be provided the choice of English or Spanish when asked to complete a task – such as an interview or a written document. This simple procedure will usually assure that you will get a more valid response.  Thus, the Census Bureau language questions, while useful, are crude measures of language behavior that should be used cautiously when evaluating the language behavior of U.S. Latinos or Asians.

 Lesson 6:  Using Latino or Asian employees to translate documents is risky.

 As a shortcut, some companies will utilize Latino or Asian employees to translate documents or interpret on the spot when the situation demands it.  Unless you know the training and education of that employee, you are taking unnecessary risks in assigning them this responsibility. Latinos or Asians who are born in the U.S. rarely study their native language formally in school and rely on the native language that they have heard or used growing up in their communities – often a mixture of English and a native language.  Important documents that relate to personnel procedures, healthcare, safety, insurance or legal matters should only be translated by a certified translator and evaluated by a usability test to ensure that persons in the target audience understand the translated documents or other visual aids.  Experience also suggests that graphic symbols, such as those used in hazard warning signs, also have cultural components that may not communicate the same message to culturally diverse groups. Copy or usability testing is especially important with exhibits that include hazard or warning signs that often rely on graphic symbols since they are used to warn or prevent injuries or accidents. Employees who live in the local area and have some familiarity with a native language can be helpful in identifying informal words or phrases spoken by local Latinos or Asians instead of more formal words or phrases.  For example, automóvil is the formal word uses for automobiles although the word “carro” is often used by some Mexican residents.  

 Lesson 7:  Knowing a language does not necessarily mean that you know the culture.

 In the employment world, many occupations require proficiency in one or several languages.  While proficiency in a language other than English is a definite asset in many jobs, it should not be confused with knowledge of a particular culture.  It is not uncommon, for example, for a foreign-born Latino or Asian with an excellent command of their native language to receive more consideration for a job than a similarly educated Asian or Latino whose native language proficiency is not as well polished --  the assumption being that a higher language proficiency also means more knowledge or experience with the culture.  This assumption may not necessarily be a valid one since a native-born Latino or Asian may indeed have more knowledge of the U.S. Latino or Asian culture than a foreign-born Latino or Asian who happens to communicate well in a native language. If the job involves responsibilities with U.S. Latino or Asian consumers, then knowledge of the U.S. Latino or Asian culture should be just as important in employment decisions as proficiency in a language.

 Lesson 8:  Language ability depends on sight and sound as well.

 My experience in conducting focus groups with Latinos and Asians has shown that their ability to understand a written document or verbal instruction is sometimes influenced by limitations related to visual acuity and hearing impairments.  Indeed, past research on vital statistics reveals that Latinos (11.2%), Blacks (10.0%), and Asians (9.7%) have trouble hearing, while vision limitations were reported for Blacks (9.3%), Latinos (9.4%), and Asians (5.7%). [6] Persons with vision or hearing limitations will not readily admit when they are unable to see very clearly, but an astute observer will notice non-verbal cues that suggest a vision problem.  Similarly, hearing impairments can be subtle and not usually something that will be readily apparent.  As a moderator, I have addressed such issues by reading a document out loud so that everyone can hear and understand the instructions and ensure that any written documents are provided in large fonts to enhance their readability. Rather than embarrass a person because they cannot see or hear very well, it makes more sense to offer options that will allow all persons to participate in the task or activity. 

 Lesson 9:  Is your target audience really diverse? How many languages need to be translated?

Occasionally, I have received calls asking how many languages need to be included in translating important documents, especially as it concerns Asian communities.  Because the Census Bureau data clearly shows “wide diversity” in some communities that represent multiple Asian countries, it becomes perplexing for some decision makers to determine which languages should be targeted for translation.  The solution, however, is rather simple.  The Census Bureau provides tables that show the country of origin represented in any community by geographic areas in the U.S. and its territories – currently there are 22 Asian countries and 22 Spanish-speaking countries counted by these Census tables. After consulting these tables, for example, one can just focus on translating a document for the countries that account for a majority of the population of Asian persons.  Although Spanish would be the only relevant language for the 22 Spanish-speaking countries, one can expect variations in dialects, idioms, and vocabulary depending on the concentration of these groups in any community. Knowing that a community is mostly Mexican, for example, might be a consideration for the translator to utilize idioms or vocabulary that are more commonly used by Mexican-origin persons.

 Lesson 10:  Using accents in Spanish translations or diacritical marks in Asian languages is essential.

Accents in Spanish-language text and diacritical marks in Asian languages are important linguistic features that help to guide the reader in the proper pronunciation and interpretation of a word or phrase.[7]  Without these linguistic features, foreign-language speakers are likely to mis-pronounce or misinterpret words or phrases.  Special keyboards are typically used to produce accents or diacritical marks. A translated document that lacks these linguistic features suggests that the translator was not adequately trained or lacked the proper tools to complete this task. You should avoid sharing translated documents with Latino or Asian persons without the required accents or diacritical marks. 

Lesson 11:   Language gets more complicated for messaging in advertisements.

If your translation efforts are focused on advertising messages, you will be faced with additional challenges that will likely exceed the skill set of a translator since this is not their area of expertise.  Indeed, you will need the help of a qualified advertising or public relations professional that has been trained in this area.  You will now have two areas of concern --  language translation and persuasive messaging – which is likely to vary considerably depending on the demographic subgroups that you are targeting.  For example, younger Latinos or Asians will likely be more responsive to an English-language advertisement although it has become popular for youths to mix English and a native-language in their communications. Older Latinos or Asians will likely be more responsive to advertisements that do not mix the languages which could be perceived as an indifference to proper grammar in that language.  To ensure the acceptance and approval of an advertisement, you should plan to conduct focus group copy testing of these ads before they are launched with the appropriate target audience to remove any uncertainties.

Lesson 12:  Providing language options also helps to build rapport.

 I have learned from past experiences that some organizations consider it burdensome to provide support in a language other than English to their customers – citing such issues as additional costs related to translators, bilingual staff, printing, advertisements and customer support.  However, one important benefit of providing support for non-English languages is the rapport that is established with Latino and Asian persons.  In our survey practice, for example, cooperation rates among Latino or Asian respondents are often improved when they are given the choice of a native language or English language interview – especially if the interview includes a foreign-born person.  Improved rapport not only leads to higher cooperation rates, but often results in the successful completion of the entire interview and better quality data that results from better comprehension of the survey questions. With higher survey response rates, the additional costs for support a language other than English are often justified.

 Note:  I welcome your feedback on the post.  Please send all comments or requests for a pdf version to edward@rinconassoc.com. 

Reference Notes

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[1] Garcia, B.  (June 2024).  Fastest growing group in Texas:  Asian Americans.  Texas Tribune, Accessed at: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/06/26/texas-asian-american-growth-census/ 

[2] Potter, L., Valencia, L., Robinson, S. (January 2019). Texas Population Projections 2010 to 2050, Texas Demhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Asiaographic Center.  Accessed at:  https://www.demographics.texas.gov/

[3]  Wikipedia (2024). Languages of Asia,  Accessed at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Asia

[4] (August 2024).  Spanish dialects and varieties.  Wikipedia.org, Accessed at:  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_dialects_and_varieties

[5] Wang, L., Sha, M. and Yuan, M. (2017).  Cultural fitness in the usability of U.S. Census Internet survey.  Survey Practice, Vol. 10, No. 3, 2017.  Accessed at www.surveypractice.org

[6] Rincon, E.T.  (2020).  The Culture of Research.  Publisher:  Writers Marq LLC.

[7] Thesaurus.com (April 2022) 12 Types Of Diacritical Marks And How To Type Them, Thesaurus.com, Accessed at: https://www.thesaurus.com/e/grammar/diacritical-marks/

Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation Internet Research Event Was Informative and Disappointing

 

Access to the Internet is an important topic these days, especially as it influences the education and general quality of life for families that have limited access to the Internet.  About 30 interested people, including myself, were eager to learn about the results of a recent study of Internet access among families in the Dallas Independent School District.  The research symposium, sponsored by the non-partisan Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation (TXHPF), was informative and revealed four key findings:

·        Hispanic families, especially the Spanish speaking segment, struggle with accessing broadband access to the Internet in their homes.

·        The primary reason for this lack of access is that broadband access was too expensive.

·        Also problematic is that families, especially Spanish speakers, lacked awareness of discounted packages to obtain broadband access in their homes.

·        Recommendations were made for broadband providers to launch Spanish-language campaigns to raise awareness of their discounted broadband plans among Hispanic families.

 

The research was conducted under the direction of Dr. Doug Jones, a recognized expert in Latin American studies who did an excellent job of presenting the study results.  A discussion of the study methodology was summarized by one slide at the end of the presentation.  Questions from the audience were then requested by TXHPF Director Jason Villalba.

Aside from interest in the research topic, research professionals such as myself are accustomed to asking questions about the study methodology. In the research courses that I teach, I usually advise students to resist embracing the results of any research study before understanding its methodology and the study limitations – especially in studies of multicultural audiences which often includes various sources of bias. Unfortunately, when it was my turn to ask some questions, Mr. Villalba abruptly interrupted me as I was beginning to introduce myself and praising their efforts by asking:  “Is there a question somewhere here?”  I was surprised by this interruption and offered to postpone my questions and allow other audience members to ask their questions.  Interestingly, Mr. Villalba did not interrupt the questions from other audience members.  I decided to raise my hand again to make a few observations and Mr. Villalba politely listened this time without interruption.

It was an especially disappointing experience to observe such a deliberate effort to mute criticism of such an important study. Indeed, I may have been the only recognized expert in the audience with decades of experience in conducting studies of Latino, Black and Asian audiences and continue to teach such related courses at area universities. Researchers ordinarily welcome feedback from research colleagues and often use the feedback to improve the design of research studies.  Following are some of the methodological concerns and observations that I was attempting to share about the study:

·        Reported levels of broadband access do not necessarily mean that families to not have access to the Internet.  Many obtain Internet access through their wireless devices alone.

·        Access to the Internet, whether through broadband or cell phones, is not the only or most important barrier.  Other research confirms that Hispanics experience navigational issues, anxieties and fears about sharing personal information on the Internet.  

·        It is not surprising that Hispanic response rates were strong to text-oriented efforts to complete a survey.  Pew Research has confirmed the value of cell phones in much of the research that they have conducted in past years.  Our research experience in Texas has shown a similar trend.

·        Telephone interviews, while involving more costs than other modes, is second only to personal interviews in being the most effective mode to obtain in-depth, reliable information from Hispanic and Black persons.  Responses to Census surveys confirms this trend.  Telephone interviews are not prohibitively expensive and lead to higher response rates when coupled with incentives and other modes.

·        Launching a Spanish-language campaign to increase broadband access among Hispanic families is premature and not supported by the research findings.  Hispanics who speak Spanish are not necessarily literate – that is, immigrants have limited education and often cannot read or write in Spanish despite having a speaking ability.  Consequently, different modes of advertisement may be needed.  Also, research did not address the issue of advertising effectiveness – that is, which aspects of the discounted programs offered by the broadband providers were considered undesirable by Hispanic families?

 

These are just a few of the observations that I made from the scant details provided about the study methodology at the event.  I would encourage Mr. Villalba, Director of the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation, to be more transparent about the methodology of their sponsored research and to encourage, not discourage, questions about all aspects of these studies.  I would also encourage the public to not embrace the results of any research study until they understand the methodology that was used to collect the information --- especially when the target audience includes Blacks, Latinos or Asians.

Dollar Stores and Rats: Can You Smell the Irony?

In case you missed it in the news recently, two events took place independently but seem nonetheless closely related. Progressive Grocer, a food industry publication, recently published a story celebrating the business success of Dollar General stores and deemed them “Retailer of the Year.” [1] Why?  Due to their phenomenal growth in the U.S. and their sound economic standing. Last year, Dollar General commanded 18,000 stores with sales of $33.7 billion in 2021.   The dollar store industry is growing rapidly – from 20,000 to 30,000 between 2015 and 2018 and up to 50,000 additional stores are planned in the near future. [2]  As shown by the figure below, Texas had the most dollar stores (3,400), followed by Florida (2,100) and Ohio (1,700). 

In a webinar that I published recently, [3] I questioned the wisdom of celebrating such an achievement in the dollar store industry.  Yes, phenomenal expansions and sales are important metrics in the business world.  But the desire to celebrate this achievement was diminished as one ponders the documented harm caused by dollar stores in communities throughout the U.S., especially food deserts that are the primary focus of their marketing strategy.  You see, food deserts are populated primarily by lower-income blacks and Latinos who show a higher prevalence of chronic illnesses that are directly associated with consuming the types of unhealthy foods sold by dollar stores. [4]  Mainstream supermarkets have made it a practice of avoiding food deserts, often citing social indicators that lower profitability.  If true, then what is driving the phenomenal growth and success of dollar stores --- sheer luck?   The reality is that food deserts often show substantial food expenditures that are derived from employment income and SNAP food benefits – a fact that is well documented by federal sources of information such as the Census Bureau and USDA. [5]

The second noteworthy event is the story about 1,000 rodents that were discovered recently at the Family Dollar store distribution center in Arkansas. According to the story, the FDA announced a recall for items purchased at stores in six southern states. The FDA inspection followed a consumer complaint which discovered inside the building live rodents, dead rodents in “various states of decay,” rodent feces, dead birds and bird droppings. [6] In their news release, Family Dollar listed the 404 stores that may have sold products from the contaminated facility, while it also stated that the company "is not aware of any consumer complaints or reports of illness related to this recall."  Is it possible that the absence of any consumer complaints or reports of illnesses may have provided Family Dollar executives a false sense of security about food safety and therefore precluded the need to conduct regular store inspections?  Indeed, there were dead rodents and others in various stages of decay that could have been present for weeks or months.  Shouldn’t food distribution systems be inspected on a regular schedule and not dependent on consumer complaints?  It was indeed surprising that one consumer complaint was the singular event that initiated the FDA inspection.   

This horrific state of decay in the Family Dollar distribution system should raise alarm bells about food safety at all dollar stores, especially given their rapid growth and their primary customer base – economically and medically vulnerable persons.  Our business and civic leaders, who for the moment appear inspired to address race equity issues, should be held accountable by consumers and require a response to the following three important questions:

• How often are dollar store distribution centers in the U.S. inspected by the FDA? Are these schedules of inspection similar for centers that serve communities with food deserts?
  
  
• Why have zoning laws not been adopted to limit the growth of dollar stores?, and
  
  
• When will public agencies stop incentivizing supermarket chains who continue to avoid food deserts and instead choose to enter communities that are already crowded with multiple supermarkets?

I feel a deep sense of compassion for the many residents in food deserts that find it necessary to purchase food at dollar stores to feed their families, especially knowing how easily rats can make a dollar store distribution warehouse their home for an extended period of time. The prolonged indifference shown by various stakeholders towards this issue --- including supermarket chains, dollar stores, business and civic leaders, and the FDA --- could encourage rat infestations to spread throughout food systems in the more vulnerable communities.  Let’s hope that bolder and more aggressive efforts are taken to ensure the food safety for all communities, especially the most vulnerable ones.

 Reference Notes

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[1] Troy, M.  (2021)   2021 Retailer of the Year. Progressive Grocer, Accessed at: https://progressivegrocer.com/2021-retailer-year-dollar-general

[2]  Donahue, M. (2018 December).  The Impact of Dollar Stores and How Communities Can Fight Back,  Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Accessed at www.ilsr.org/dollar-stores

[3] Rincon, E. T. (2022)  Food Deserts:  Evaluating Their Economic Value. Rincon & Associates LLC, Accessed at:  https://youtu.be/sAGrlnAR8ug?t=00m00s

[4] Ibid 2, Donahue, M.

[5] Rincon, E.T. and Tiwari, C. (2020 March).  Demand metric for supermarket site selection: A case study. Papers in Applied Geography, https://doi.org/10.1080/23754931.2020.1712555

[6]  Associated Press (2022 February)  More than 1,000 rodents found in Family Dollar facility lead to recall of items sold in 6 states. USA Today, accessed at:  https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/shopping/2022/02/19/family-dollar-rodent-infestation/6860094001/

News Coverage of Food Insecurity in South Dallas Falls Short

Recent local news coverage about food deserts and community efforts to address food insecurity in areas like South Dallas have been informative, but to audiences that are more familiar with the topic of food insecurity, news coverage has been incomplete. As the following map illustrates, food deserts are disproportionately distributed in the southern and northwest areas of Dallas – a pattern that has changed minimally in past decades.  

Two recent stories in the Dallas Morning News provide a good example.  One story [i] covered local efforts to address the food insecurity problem by local community groups who would like to emulate the experience of a store in Waco, called Jubilee, that has served lower-income residents in an identified food desert.  The story provided valuable insights about the challenges faced by non-profits in creating a food store to serve their residents and the challenge of achieving profitability. 

The second story [ii] discussed a new grocery store – Southpoint Community Market -- founded by Cornerstone Baptist Church in South Dallas that is scheduled to open this summer on Martin Luther King Blvd.  The proposed store has a small footprint – 800 sq. ft. – and accompanied by a community kitchen and other sources of support provided by the church. The store received start-up funding by The Real Estate Council, City Square, St. Phillips School and Community Center, and Cornerstone Baptist Church – clear evidence that the store concept has merit in the eyes of these community stakeholders.

Unfortunately, this second story presented a rather grim picture of Southpoint’s likely success by Dr. Michael Fox, SMU Chair of the Marketing Department, who further described the grocery store concept as a “boutique” and “convenience” store that would require considerably more time than projected by the City of Dallas to achieve profitability. Despite this grim evaluation, Pastor Simmons of the Cornerstone Baptist Church remained optimistic that the store would eventually achieve profitability with continued support from its sponsors and increasing consumer demand. Interestingly, Dr. Fox was highly critical of the financial projections presented to the Dallas City Council, noting its many inaccuracies, but had few words about the business plan that had been prepared for store sponsors by the SMU Cox School of Business.

In a recent journal publication that I co-authored in Papers in Applied Geography, [iii] we developed an urban site selection model that identifies food deserts with adequate economic potential to sustain a mainstream supermarket of different sizes. The model is effective in identifying promising food deserts since it relies more on relevant economic indicators rather than the typical household income and social indicators employed by traditional site selection models.  What we discovered using our urban site selection model may surprise the skeptics.

Since the new Southpoint Community Market is located in zip code 75215 (denoted by an "S" on the map), we identified nine census tracts that were included in this zip code in order to describe the store’s potential trade area and customer profile– a step that was not evaluated in the business plan prepared by the SMU Cox School of Business.  We produced the two tables that follow below using the American Community Survey 2019 5-Year Estimates[iv] and SNAP payments reported by Texas Health & Human Services Commission.[v] We derived one variable – Annual Food-at-Home Expenditures – which incorporated the number of people living in a household and the average amount of weekly expenditures for food-at-home estimated in surveys sponsored by the Food Marketing Institute.[vi]   

In reviewing Table 1 Economic Profile, it is readily apparent that households in the 75215 zip code spent an estimated $71 million annually for food-at-home.  These annual expenditures were made possible by an aggregate household income of $606 million earned by all employed persons in 2019 and $10 million in SNAP payments received by qualified residents in 2021.  

Table 2 Demographic Profile shows that the race-ethnic representation in this zip code was predominantly Black (median = 60.2%), followed by non-Hispanic whites (median = 24.4%) and Hispanics (median = 12.9%).  However, the race-ethnic distribution and economic indicators varied considerably by census tract.

Why does this matter?  Because it provides decision makers an assessment of the potential market that is available to Southpoint Community Market.  The specific trade area for Southpoint was not identified in the business plan prepared by SMU, a critical first step for defining the potential sales and competition in a trade area. Moreover, the business plan did not include a survey of community residents that would provide a more specific estimate of demand for the store concept.

According to Dr. Fox with SMU, the City’s assessment of Southpoint’s profitability  “is based on flawed calculations” and that his back-of-the-envelope calculations indicated that Southpoint would need to sell about $80 a day per square foot of shelf space to make the city’s proposed profit margins. Perhaps his assessment is correct, especially given the store’s small size of 800 sq. ft. and its location. The City expected a profit of $34,000 a month by the store to justify reimbursing the investment made by The Real Estate Council.

Current information provided by the Food Marketing Institute reveals the following information about U.S. supermarkets in 2019 [vii] that might encourage a second opinion about Southpoint’s future success:

1.   The net profit after taxes was 1.0 percent.
2.   The weekly sales of U.S. supermarkets averaged $15.15 per square foot

Thus, assuming ideal market conditions for a 800 sq. ft. store, SouthPoint Community Market could achieve approximately $52,520 in monthly sales or $630,240 in annual sales.  These potential sales could be accelerated by expanding the size and inventory of the store and reaching more customers in its defined trade area. Assuming this sales scenario, a profit margin of 1.0 percent may be realistic, especially if consumer demand could be accurately documented.

In summary, the economic potential of urban communities like South Dallas is often overlooked or obscured by the absence of relevant economic data.  Our urban site selection model incorporates more relevant information and has further challenged perceptions of elevated crime rates by analyzing actual crime statistics from police department files. It is curious indeed that a market demand study for a supermarket in South Dallas has yet to be conducted despite several unsuccessful attempts by the City of Dallas to address food insecurity. 

Given the common practice of supermarket redlining that has been evident in North Texas for several decades, it does not seem unreasonable to expect news reporters and experts to provide a more balanced analysis of supermarket potential in urban areas like South Dallas, especially when community advocates and sponsors are struggling to remediate the negative consequences of supermarket redlining practices.    

 

Reference Notes

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[i] Dand, S. (2021 May 10).  Waco store fills void, with help.  Accessed at https://edition.pagesuite.com

[ii] Dand, S. (2021 May 6). Cornerstone Baptist Church is launching a grocery store to address food insecurity in South Dallas. Accessed at https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2021/05/06/cornerstone-baptist-church-is-launching-a-grocery-store-to-address-food-insecurity-in-south-dallas/

[iii] Rincon, E.T. and Tiwari, C. (2020 March 23).  Demand metric for supermarket site selection: A case study. Papers in Applied Geography, Accessed at https://doi.org/10.1080/23754931.2020.1712555

[iv] American Community Survey 2019 5-Year Estimates, U.S. Census Bureau. Accessed at https://data.census.gov/cedsci/

[v] Texas Health and Human Services (2021 April).  Month End SNAP Food Benefits Cases and Eligible Individuals by County - March 2021 Benefit Month. Accessed at https://hhs.texas.gov/about-hhs/records-statistics/data-statistics/supplemental-nutritional-assistance-program-snap-statistics

[vi] Food Marketing Institute (2021). Trended Weekly Household Grocery Expenses,  FMI U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends, 2021. Special table provided by FMI Research Director Steve Markenson.

[vii] Food Marketing Institute (2021) Supermarket Facts. Accessed at https://www.fmi.org/our-research/supermarket-facts

Why Do Dallas-Area Public Officials Keep Fumbling the Ball on Programs Targeted to Multicultural Communities?

 Let’s give credit where credit is due. Dallas County and City of Dallas public officials have not won any accolades recently for decisions regarding programs that impact the quality of life for its multicultural community. The recent fiasco surrounding the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine is the most recent example, but two other recent programs also come to mind – the Census 2020 Campaign and the lingering presence of food deserts in South Dallas.  As I will argue, these programs have one important thing in common that has posed a barrier to their success: the absence of quality research to guide decisions regarding public programs that are targeted to Black and Latino residents.

In 2020, I published a book entitled “The Culture of Research” that discusses the importance of conducting sound research in culturally and linguistically diverse communities and the consequences to decision making when such studies are missing or poorly conducted. Following are some insights derived from this book that should help the reader understand how sound research with multicultural communities could have produced improved outcomes in the management of the local COVID-19 vaccination program, the Census 2020 Campaign, and solving the mystery surrounding the persistence of food deserts in South Dallas.

COVID-19 Vaccine Awareness, Registration and Distribution

The local confusion and mismanagement associated with the COVID-19 vaccine distribution can be traced originally to the absence of guidance and transparency at the federal level, and the related decision by the previous administration to allow states to define their own independent strategies with a minimal financial support from the federal government.

Nonetheless, the COVID-19 vaccine distribution dilemma in Dallas County, Texas presents a good case study on decisions that public officials in urban communities should not make.   Indeed, the series of inconsistent and questionable decisions resulted in considerable public confusion and frustration with vaccine registrations, availability and distribution. Some of these missteps included the following:

• Contradictory messages from county and city public officials;
• Over-reliance on an Internet strategy to inform and register residents, many who lacked online access or own a computer, or were not comfortable with technology;
• Inconsistent support in Spanish and other languages;
• Placement of testing and vaccination sites in higher income while providing limited access in the more vulnerable areas; and  
• Transportation barriers that prevented some residents to travel to testing or vaccination sites.

These missteps have resulted in higher numbers of white, higher-income residents getting vaccinated rather than the targeted, more vulnerable Black and Latino residents in the lower-income areas of South and Northwest Dallas. 

Figure 1:

Figure 1, published recently in The Dallas Morning News, clearly illustrates this pattern: [1]  whites comprised 62.2 percent of all persons vaccinated while representing 28.2% of the County population; Hispanics represented 19.5 percent of those vaccinated while comprising 40.8% of the population; and Blacks comprised 10.6 percent of those vaccinated although they represented 22.3% of the county population.  These disparities persist despite recent efforts by public officials to communicate more directly with civic leaders, churches and community organizations to improve vaccination rates for Blacks and Latinos in the South and Northwest part of Dallas.

The problem associated with vaccine distribution in communities of color is deeply concerning because they are the most likely to experience the more serious medical consequences from the coronavirus.  Importantly, these missteps in decision making could have been avoided with communications that were better coordinated by public officials and engagement of experts with significant experience engaging multicultural persons. 

The decision to use an Internet vehicle for the vaccination campaign is very likely the reason that white, higher income residents continue to be more successful in getting vaccinated. Although some public officials supported the idea of targeting zip codes in South Dallas that included some of the most vulnerable Black and Latino residents, the Texas State Health Department[2] immediately issued a threat to withhold vaccine doses allocated to Dallas County if the targeting was implemented.  This threat was a direct contradiction to recommendations by the National Academy of Sciences that support vaccine community intervention programs that are targeted to the most vulnerable communities. [3]  Thus, Dallas County and City of Dallas public officials learned the hard way that launching a public vaccination program in linguistically and culturally diverse communities require less reliance on technology and more reliance on outreach efforts that take the vaccines to the residents.  Ironically, while the state threatened to withhold vaccine doses if local officials employed a zip-code targeting approach in South Dallas, the use of an Internet strategy as the primary form of communication accomplished the same outcome by vaccinating higher numbers of white, higher-income residents who resided in the northern parts of Dallas County.

South Dallas Food Deserts

Why have mainstream supermarkets avoided South Dallas food deserts that are populated by lower-income Blacks and Latinos?  [4] This question inspired me to conduct a geospatial analysis using crime, demographic and supermarket expenditure data to examine the common reasons cited by supermarket executives to explain the avoidance of communities like South Dallas – such as high crime, low population density, lower household median income and insufficient food expenditures.  The study revealed that crime patterns were often inflated by previous investigators and news stories, and that the annual food-at-home expenditures in several food deserts in South Dallas were adequate to sustain the annual sales of a mainstream supermarket.  Flawed crime analyses, stereotypes of urban retail, and an apparent disdain for Black and Latino customers appeared to drive site selection decisions in South Dallas.

Over the past two decades, the City has floundered millions of taxpayer dollars on ill- conceived investments that failed to produce positive changes in the supermarket options for this community. Worst yet, a market demand study of community residents – a traditional practice to measure supermarket opportunities -- has never been conducted in South Dallas. Such a study would have provided supermarket and site selection executives the statistical evidence needed for an investment decision. In the meantime, South Dallas residents will be forced to continue shopping outside of their community for healthy, affordable food or visit the less desirable dollar stores.  Once City public officials decide that the South Dallas community is deserving of a high-quality supermarket experience, a professional, high quality market demand study is the best approach for making this a reality.  If supermarket redlining practices continue in South Dallas despite solid evidence of its retail potential, it might be a good idea to recruit a supermarket chain from outside of Dallas County or Texas that reveals a greater interest in serving Black and Latino consumers in urban communities. 

The Census 2020 Campaign

In January 2020, Dallas County and the City of Dallas funded a $1.9 million Census 2020 Campaign to provide a comprehensive strategy to boost response rates in hard-to-count communities that were populated by lower-income Blacks and Latinos. The team selected to conduct the campaign submitted a report summarizing the multitude of campaign activities that they conducted from February to August of 2020 to target these HTC communities.  To monitor progress on this campaign, I produced maps on a monthly basis that illustrated the cumulative self-response rates by census tracts that were provided by the Census Bureau.  Figure 2 below shows that the final self-response rates reported by the Census Bureau were decidedly lower in the southern and northwest parts of the city where HTC Blacks and Latinos resided.  In fact, the table of Overall Self-Response Rates indicates that Dallas County ended with one of the lowest self-response rates (63.9%) compared to other large Texas counties.  Consequently, the Census Bureau was required to deploy many more field interviewers in order to minimize the potential population under-count, an especially difficult task during the pandemic.  Despite its best intentions, the Census 2020 Campaign funded by the County and City appeared to fall short of its intended goal in hard-to-count communities and will likely lead to the loss of millions of federal dollars for local programs. Although the pandemic posed a barrier to response rates during this period, the burden on Dallas County was likely similar for all other counties considered here.

                 Figure 2: Dallas County 2020 Self-Response Rates by Census Tract and City Service Area

Part of the challenge in completing the Census 2020 questionnaires can be traced to the reliance that the Census Bureau placed on using an online survey as their major data collection strategy. In past censuses, the Census Bureau relied primarily on a mail questionnaire, while data collection for the annual American Community Survey has utilized a mixed mode strategy that included mail questionnaires, telephone interviews, personal interviews and online surveys.  Not surprisingly, Black and Latino respondents to the American Community Survey have opted for telephone and personal interviews more often than whites or Asians, while online surveys were the least chosen option.

Figure 3 below presents the percentage of Dallas County households that completed the Census 2020 using an online survey.  The map presents the cumulative Internet self-response rates for the 2020 Census as of October 28, 2020.  Of the seven City Service Areas (CSAs), the Central, Southeast, South Central, Southwest and Northwest CSAs are populated primarily by lower income Blacks and Latinos. It is clear that these CSAs included census tracts (highlighted in red) with the lowest online response rates, while the numerous other census tracts (highlighted in yellow) showed modest online response rates.  The highest online return rates were realized for census tracts in the northeast and north central CSAs that were populated primarily by white, higher-income residents.

Throughout 2020, public officials in Dallas County and City of Dallas were aware of the poor performance of the Internet to encourage poor Blacks and Latinos to complete the 2020 Census.  Why then was the Internet the main vehicle used for communications related to COVID-19 vaccine awareness, registration and distribution?  Good research and multicultural expertise would have been beneficial to decision makers during this period.

Based on my past 45 years of experience in conducting surveys of multicultural populations, it is my opinion that the Census 2020 Campaign sponsored by Dallas County and City of Dallas was not guided by the best expertise regarding the strategies for successfully engaging multicultural population segments in surveys and the biennial census.  If it had been, Dallas County might have experienced a higher ranking in Census self-response rates in comparison to the many Texas counties that did not allocate any funding for a Census 2020 campaign.

Some Concluding Thoughts 

The challenges facing public officials to ensure a satisfactory quality of life for all community residents have become more complex and will require careful planning using the best expertise in understanding and engaging culturally and linguistically diverse communities.  Public officials must resist the temptation to take the path of least resistance by overlooking or dismissing the need for solid research to guide decisions that impact the quality of life of multicultural residents. Dallas County and City of Dallas public officials learned the hard way that engaging culturally and linguistically diverse residents is a complex task that requires multicultural expertise and support from community organizations. As the population of urban areas like Dallas County continues to grow and evolve demographically, the challenges to respond more effectively to important community needs and events will become more challenging.  Let’s hope that public officials will be better prepared to respond.

  

Reference Notes

[1] Garcia, N. and Jimenez, J. (2021, Jan. 28).  White Dallas residents outpace Blacks, Hispanics in registering for COVID vaccine.  Dallas Morning News, Accessed at:  https://www.dallasnews.com/news/public-health/2021/01/29/white-dallas-residents-outpace-blacks-hispanics-in-registering-for-covid-vaccine/

[2] Choi, J. (2021, Jan. 21).  Texas threatened to reduce vaccine supply to Dallas County over plan to focus on 'vulnerable' ZIP codes.  The Hill.   Accessed at: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/535294-texas-threatened-to-reduce-vaccine-supply-to-dallas-county-over-plan-to

[3] National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (2020). Framework for equitable allocation of COVID-19 vaccine. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

[4] Rincón, E.T. and Tiwari, C. (2020, March 23). Demand metric for supermarket site selection:
 A case study. Papers in Applied Geography,  Accessed at: https://doi.org/10.1080/23754931.2020.1712555