Link to Foodscape Map

Food System Map
5 minute radius from (subway station, line): Yonkers Railroad
Researchers (initials): KG
Category	Count
Food Service (prepared meals or beverages)
Restaurants – full service	22
Restaurants – limited service	4
Bar / Coffee / Beverage	0
Street Vendors – service (permitted)	0
Street Vendors – service (informal)	0
Total Service Establishments	34
Food Retail (food products or ingredients)
Big Box Retailer	0
Supermarket	3
Market (small or specialty retailer)	22
Deli / Bodega	24
Street Vendors – retail (permitted)	0
Street Vendors – retail (informal)	0
Total Retail Establishments	66
Additional Indicators
Chain establishments (all types)	0
Independent establishments (all types)	70
Street Vendors (total)	0
Total Food Businesses Identified	70

Foodscape Description:

Within this Food System Map, all of the food service and food retail establishments are a part of the entirety of Getty Square which is a massive area encompassing multiple streets. The boundaries of Getty Square is from the Hudson River Waterfront to Warburton Ave, and North Broadway on the west going eastward. Ashburton Ave lies on the north and at the southern edge is Prospect Street and Nepperhan Ave. Geographically, Getty Square is a big area and observing it all would’ve taken extremely long and wouldn’t have been realistic connecting it to the Yonkers Railroad, so I chose to observe it’s shopping district which is along Palisade Ave, North Broadway, Main and New Main Street, and Warburton Ave. Many of the stores within the shopping district are ethnic and multi-cultural and are locally owned. There were restaurants ranging from Jamaican to Mexican to Italian to even Japanese and Chinese, so there were clearly many different cuisines. Walking around I also saw a good diversity of people from young to old, white to black. More patterns I’ve observed when walking around is that there are many small shops that are right next to each other in proximity with larger stores being lesser known retailers. Most of the environment at the shopping district feels jam packed and in warmer temperatures and busier days there are many people roaming around.

The place I chose to eat at was yes, a pizza place how original. However, I chose this place because it resonated with me with how the restaurant looked and it had an easygoing and friendly environment. Business was slow but the owner another customer, most likely well known were talking with each other and at other points more friends or people who know the owner came in to eat or even give him a package. It was because of this that I got the impression that a lot of these small businesses have interactions like this and I enjoyed the peace that came with it, just casually eating a slice or two of pizza while hearing the background interactions.

9005 Xavier Dr, Yonkers, NY 10704, 111 Vredenburgh Ave, Yonkers, NY 10704

The addition of a Target being added at Cross County Mall in Yonkers can give us some insight on how the economy changes over time. Previously before there was a Target here, there was a four story Sears that used to be a staple store at the mall in it’s place. Of course with the closing of Sears, the next big store on the block is Target who’s popularity skyrocketed over time. However, what this tells us is shop for what they eat based on image. This is because at Cross County Mall there is also a StopnShop off to the side of the mall when you first enter. If you go shop at StopnShop you can see many people go there to get groceries, but at Target there are more and more people who go there getting all types of goods such as groceries, clothes, technology, etc. This is also affected by the SUNY WCC being added above the Target, further boosting it’s customers. Target is also located in a central point in the mall like Macy’s where its grandiose and it is located at a point where many people will see it entering and leaving the mall. Another point I find interesting is that there is a Starbucks located in the Target but there’s another Starbucks location that is in the middle of mall which points us back to how food and economy can be affected by such things as image and how it is displayed to the average person.

Sociological Question: Is how we eat and shop a factor that can be controlled through planning such as placing key targets in populated areas?

In this video “The INSANELY Sweet Sugary Coffee Epidemic” by YouTuber Kiana Docherty, we look into the rise of sugar based coffee drinks and how customizing our take out coffee’s at places such as Dunkin or Starbucks is actually altering our coffee to not be coffee at all and instead heaping amounts of sugar and caffeine thus Diabetes in a Cup. This is important because Gen Z and Millennials make up the large population on take out coffee drinks driving a global business focused on distancing itself from coffee in place for unhealthy sugary drinks increasing diabetes.

Sociological Question: How does eating out change how we perceive average foods and drinks that we can make at home?

The YouTube video above compares the aspects of a McDonalds in the US to a McDonalds in the UK and how they changed from the years 2020 to 2024. The comparisons range from what food choices are there, what they are made of and how much prices have increased over the years.

Question: What can the comparisons made between the US and UK as well as other countries, tell us about the health and food regulations that we have here in the US?