Highlights from an Albany County Needs Assessment By Jeff Gibberman Dietetic Intern, The Sage Colleges

Purpose? To assess and better understand the population demographic, environment and other factors to see how they relate to Price Chopper’s community outreach programs and how these efforts could be better prepared, provided or placed in a way to better “fit” the needs of Albany County.

Data Sources United States Census Bureau Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) New York State Department of Health Healthy Capital District Initiative Albany County Website Feeding America New York Schools City Data Website Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York United States Department of Agriculture Food (USDA) Yellow Pages * Only the most up to date statistics available were used.

Population Demographics GENDER: Albany County consists of 147,076 (46.3%) males and 157,128 (53.7%) females. 1 ▫Albany County has more females than both NY State (51.5%) and the US (50.8%). 2 ETHNICITY: Albany County is representative of the major ethnicities in the USA, except there is a significant lower population of Hispanic or Latino ethnicities. 2 ▫Albany County also has a significantly lower Black Non-Hispanic and Asian population when compared to NY State. 2

Race Pie Chart

Highly Educated Major Ethnicity % of Total Population Most Recent Data Range Albany County 2 Over the age of 25 years old w/ High School or Higher Ed 86.3%2012 Over the age of 25 years old w/ Bachelor’s or higher 33.3%2012 NY State 2 Over the age of 25 years old w/ High School or Higher Ed 84.9%2012 Over the age of 25 years old w/ Bachelor’s or higher 32.8%2012 US National 2 Over the age of 25 years old w/ High School or Higher Ed 85.7%2012 Over the age of 25 years old w/ Bachelor’s or higher 28.5%2012

Low Poverty Rates Albany County has a 11.9% poverty rate of the total population. 1 ▫In Albany County percentage of poverty among White Non-Hispanic residents is 8.6% while percentage of poverty among Black residents is 24%. 1 In both NY State and the US, persons living below the poverty level is 14.9%. 2 Poverty Levels for Albany County are significantly lower than both the NY State and US average.

High Death Rates Death Rate Per 100,000 of Population Most Recent Data Range (Multiple years are averaged) US National NY State Albany County

NY State Prevention Agenda The NY State Department of Health has identified priority areas in the NY State Prevention Agenda which is part of the NY States Health Improvement plan. 6 For Albany county chronic disease and mental health and substance abuse are the health priorities for the NY State Prevention Agenda. 6 ▫Obesity, heart disease, diabetes and cancer all fall under the chronic disease category. 6

Low Obesity Rates Adult Obesity Rate (BMI ≥ 30) of Population Most Recent Data Range (Multiple years are averaged) US National % NY State % Albany County %

High Heart Disease Mortality, 1 st Leading Cause of Death in the US 3 Heart Disease Mortality Rate Per 100,000 of Population Most Recent Data Range (Multiple years are averaged) US National NY State Albany County

Low Diabetes Mortality Rates, 7 th Leading Cause of Death in the US 3 Diabetes Mortality Rate Per 100,000 of Population Most Recent Data Range (Multiple years are averaged) US National NY State Albany County

High All Cancer Mortality Rate, 2 nd Leading Cause of Death in the US 3 All Cancer Mortality Per 100,000 of Population Most Recent Data Range (Multiple years are averaged) US National NY State Albany County

Top 3 Cancers in Albany County Type of Cancer Cancer Incidence Rate Per 100,000 of Population Most Recent Data Range (Multiple years are averaged) #1 Female Breast Cancer US National NY State Albany County #2 Male Prostate Cancer US National NY State Albany County #3 Lung and Bronchus Cancer US National NY State Albany County

Decreased WIC Participation The average monthly number of WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Programs for Women, Infants, and Children) in NY State in 2009 was 518, WIC Participation has dropped slightly to 513,299 in 2013 since ▫Budget cuts for WIC ▫Fall in overall US birthrate ▫Increased food stamp usage ▫WIC applicants have more hurdles to “jump” before benefits, i.e. must be seen by a health professional prior to receiving benefits ▫Decreased outreach with recession and budget cuts ▫More funding restraints than food stamps

Increased Food Stamp (SNAP) Participants Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation in New York was 3,153,979 (16%) in ▫In 2013 SNAP participation rates in NY State have substantially increased by 26% since In 2009 it was estimated that only 63% of the population eligible for food stamps utilized this resource. 1 There is room for improvement to connect eligible participants with the food stamps program.

Recommendations Outreach programs that target heart disease and cancer prevention would be most useful to Albany County from a health statistics perspective. ▫Female breast, male prostate, and lung/bronchus cancers are the top three prevalent cancers in Albany County. ▫Information and programs geared towards prevention of these three cancers would benefit this community. Continuing to network with local government agencies, hospitals, non-for profit organizations, and other local resources to educated and connect the Albany County community would help improve this community’s awareness and health statistics of these preventable health diseases.

Recommendations Cont. Currently Price Chopper does not have any printed education materials for prevention of the top three most prevalent cancers in Albany County. ▫It would behoove the Albany County population if they were more aware of the particular disease states that they are most likely at risk for. Creating materials targeted at heart disease and cancer prevention for the top three most prevalent cancers in Albany County that highlights these disease statistics may motivate people in this community to utilize NuVal to “trade up” more foods, which would ultimately lead more people in Albany County to having healthier baskets at the grocery store.

References 1. Albany County NY. City Data Website. Available at: Accessed May 12, Data Tools and Apps. United States Census Bureau Website. Available at: Accessed May 13, Fast Stats. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at: Accessed May 8, New York State Community Health Indicator Reports. New York State Department of Health. Available at: Accessed May 8, Community Health Needs Assessment. Healthy Capital District Initiative. Available at: Accessed May 9, New York State Prevention Agenda Dashboard. New York State Department of Health. Available at: Accessed May 8, United States Cancer Statistics (USCS). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at: Accessed May 9, Program Data and Statistics. United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service. Available at: and-statistics. Accessed May 14, and-statistics 9.Hospitals, Nursing Homes & Other Health Care Facilities. New York State Department of Health. Available at: Accessed May 9, Senior Housing Opportunities. Albany County Website. Available at: Accessed May 9, Department of Health. Albany County Website. Available at: Accessed May 9, New York Food Banks. Feeding America website. Available at: Accessed May 12, Grocery Stores near Albany, NY. Yellow Pages Website. Available at: Accessed May 12, Albany County Bounty: Support Local Farms & Agriculture. Albany County Website. Availible at: Accessed May 12, Albany County School Districts. New York Schools Website. Available at: Accessed May 12, Cancer Indicators - Albany County. New York State Department of Health. Available at: Accessed May 9, Agency List by County – Albany. Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York. Available at: county/albany/. Accessed May 12, county/albany/