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Produce section of a grocery store

Food deserts are generally defined as regions that lack access to supermarkets and affordable, healthy foods, particularly in low-income communities.[1] According to the USDA's most recent report on food access, as of 2017, approximately 39.5 million people - 12.9% of the US population - lived in low-income and low-food access.

In urban areas, higher levels of poverty have been associated with lower access to supermarkets.[2] In addition, food access has been shown to disproportionately affect Black communities: several studies have observed that neighborhoods with higher proportions of Black residents tend to have less supermarkets and farther retail access, disproportionately affecting food security levels within the community.[2]

While food deserts have historically been assessed through geographical measures of food access, aspects of a region's food environment, built environment, and socioeconomic characteristics are becoming increasingly recognized in defining and identifying food deserts.[3] The USDA measures food access across different geographical regions by considering different indicators of food access such as proximity to a store, individual-level resources, and neighborhood-level structures that influence a household's access to food.[4]

Definitions

Distance

Distance-based measurements measure food accessibility to identify food deserts.

2016 USDA map. According to the Medley Food Desert Project, nearly 24 million Americans live in food deserts.[5] Food deserts are heavily concentrated in southern states, which correlates with concentration of poverty. The map presents percentages of people without cars living in areas with no supermarket within a mile.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service measures distance by dividing the country into multiple 0.5 km square grids. The distance from the geographic center of each grid to the nearest grocery store gauges food accessibility for the people living in that grid.[6][7] Health Canada divides areas into buffer zones, with people's homes, schools, or workplaces as the center. The Euclidean distance, another method to measure distance, is the shortest distance between the two points of interest and is measured for gaining food access data, but it is a less effective distance metric than the Manhattan Distance.[6][8]

Different factors are excluded or included that affect the scale of distance. The USDA maintains an online interactive mapping tool for the United States, the "Food Access Research Atlas", which applies four different measurement standards to identify areas of low food access, based on distance from the nearest supermarket.[9]

The first standard uses the original USDA food desert mapping tool "Food Desert Locator" and defines food deserts as having at least 33% or 500 people of a census tract's population in an urban area living 1 mile (10 miles for rural area) from a large grocery store or supermarket.[6][10]

The second and third standards adjust the scale of distance and factor income to define a food desert. In the US, a food desert is a low-income census tract residing at least 0.5 miles (0.80 km) in urban areas (10 miles (16 km) in rural areas) or 1 mile (1.6 km) away in urban areas (20 miles in rural areas) from a large grocery store.[9] The availability of other fresh food sources like community gardens and food banks are not included in mapping and can change the number of communities that should be classified as food deserts.[11] A 2014 geographical survey found that the average distance from a grocery store was 1.76 kilometers (1.09 miles) in Edmonton but only 1.44 kilometers (0.89 miles) when farmers' markets and community gardens were included, which makes it 0.11 miles under the latter definition for an urban food desert.[12]

The fourth standard takes vehicular mobility into account. In the US, a food desert has 100 households or more with no vehicle access living at least 0.5 miles (0.80 km) from the nearest large grocery store. For populations with vehicle access, the standard changes to 500 households or more living at least 20 miles (32 km) away.[9][13] Travel duration and mode may be other important factors.[14] As of 2011, public transport is not included in mapping tools.[11]

Fresh food availability

A food retailer is typically considered to be a healthful food provider if it sells a variety of fresh food, including fruits and vegetables. Food retailers like fast-food restaurants and convenience stores are typically not in this category as they usually offer a limited variety of foods that constitutes a healthy diet.[6] Frequently, even if there is produce sold at convenience stores, it is of poor quality.[15] A "healthy" bodega, as defined by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, stocks seven or more varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables and low-fat milk.[16]

Different countries have different dietary models and views on nutrition. The distinct national nutrition guides add to the controversy surrounding the definition of food deserts. Since a food desert is defined as an area with limited access to nutritious foods, a universal identification of them cannot be created without a global consensus on nutrition.

Income and food prices

Other criteria include affordability and income level. According to the USDA, researchers should "consider... [the] prices of foods faced by individuals and areas" and how "prices affect the shopping and consumption behaviors of consumers."[17] One study maintains that estimates of how many people live in food deserts must include the cost of food in supermarkets that can be reached in relation to their income.[14]

For instance, in 2013, Whole Foods Market opened a store in the New Center area of Detroit, where one third of the population lives below the poverty line. Whole Foods is known for its more expensive healthy and organic foods. To attract low income residents, the Detroit store offered lower prices than other Whole Foods stores.[18] If Whole Foods had not lowered the prices, residents would not be willing to shop there, and that area of Detroit would still be considered a food desert.[18]

References

  1. ^ Sadler, Richard Casey; Gilliland, Jason Andrew; Arku, Godwin (June 2016). "Theoretical issues in the 'food desert' debate and ways forward". GeoJournal. 81 (3): 443–455. doi:10.1007/s10708-015-9634-6. ISSN 0343-2521. S2CID 254512944.
  2. ^ a b Bower, Kelly M.; Thorpe, Roland J.; Rohde, Charles; Gaskin, Darrell J. (January 2014). "The intersection of neighborhood racial segregation, poverty, and urbanicity and its impact on food store availability in the United States". Preventive Medicine. 58: 33–39. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2013.10.010. PMC 3970577. PMID 24161713.
  3. ^ Ver Ploeg, Michele; Breneman, Vince; Farrigan, Tracey; Hamrick, Karen; Hopkins, David; Kaufman, Phillip; Lin, Biing-Hwan; Nord, Mark; Smith, Travis A.; Williams, Ryan; Kinnison, Kelly; Olander, Carol; Singh, Anita; Tuckermanty, Elizabeth; Ver Ploeg, Michele (2009). "Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Measuring and Understanding Food Deserts and Their Consequences: Report to Congress". Administrative Publication Number 036. doi:10.22004/AG.ECON.292130. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ "USDA ERS - Documentation". www.ers.usda.gov. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  5. ^ Diaz de Villegas1, Carolina1; Rodriguez, Kiara (October 19, 2017). "Medley Food Desert Project" (PDF). Florida International University Department of Biological Sciences.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b c d Ver Ploeg, M.; Breneman, V.; Farrigan, T.; Hamrick, K.; Hopkins, D.; Kaufman, P.; Lin, B-H.; Nord, M.; Smith, TA.; Williams, R.; Kinnison, K.; Olander, C.; Singh, A.; Tuckermanty, E. (Jun 2009). "Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Measuring and Understanding Food Deserts and Their Consequences: Report to Congress" (PDF). Administrative Publication (AP-036). Archived (PDF) from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  7. ^ Liese, Angela D.; Hibbert, James D.; Ma, Xiaoguang; Bell, Bethany A.; Battersby, Sarah E. (2014). "Where Are the Food Deserts? An Evaluation of Policy-Relevant Measures of Community Food Access in South Carolina". Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition. 9 (1): 16–32. doi:10.1080/19320248.2013.873009. PMC 4540074. PMID 26294937.
  8. ^ "Measuring the Food Environment in Canada". Food and Nutrition. Health Canada. October 11, 2013. Archived from the original on February 6, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
  9. ^ a b c "USDA ERS - Food Access Research Atlas". www.ers.usda.gov. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  10. ^ Ver Ploeg, M.; Dutko, P.; Breneman, V. (2014). "Measuring Food Access and Food Deserts for Policy Purposes". Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy. 37 (2): 205–25. doi:10.1093/aepp/ppu035.
  11. ^ a b Phillips, Anna Lena (2011). "Making Better Maps of Food Deserts: Neighborhoods with little or no access to healthful food can be located and studied using GIS mapping". American Scientist. 99 (3): 209–210. doi:10.1511/2011.90.209. JSTOR 23019314.
  12. ^ Wang, Haoluan; Qiu, Feng; Swallow, Brent (2014). "Can community gardens and farmers' markets relieve food desert problems? A study of Edmonton, Canada". Applied Geography. 55: 127–37. doi:10.1016/j.apgeog.2014.09.010.
  13. ^ Ploeg, Michele. "Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Updated Estimates of Distance to Supermarkets Using 2010 Data" (PDF). A Report from the Economic Research Service. United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 30, 2017.
  14. ^ a b Jiao, Junfeng; Moudon, Anne V.; Ulmer, Jared; Hurvitz, Philip M.; Drewnowski, Adam (2012). "How to Identify Food Deserts: Measuring Physical and Economic Access to Supermarkets in King County, Washington". American Journal of Public Health. 102 (10): e32–9. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2012.300675. PMC 3490650. PMID 22897554.
  15. ^ Bauer, Katherine W. (January 24, 2001). "Access to Healthy Foods and Lower Prices Matter". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 27, 2018.
  16. ^ "Healthy Bodegas Initiative CEO Internal Program Review Report" (PDF). New York, NY: New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. 2008. p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 23, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  17. ^ Access to affordable and nutritious food: Measuring and understanding food deserts and their consequences: Report to Congress. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. Jun 2009. Web. November 10, 2016.
  18. ^ a b "What Happened When Whole Foods Tried to Challenge Elitism, Racism, and Obesity in Detroit". Slate Magazine. Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
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