Access To Affordable And Nutritious Food: Updated Estimates Of Distance To Supermarkets
A lack of access to grocery stores may limit some people from being able to make healthy food choices. Using data from 2010, this study examines the spatial relationship between low-income neighborhoods and grocery stores. It finds that the number of people in low-income neighborhoods living more than a mile from a grocery store has increased since 2006, with almost 10% of the U.S. population (29.7 million people) living in low-income areas more than a mile form a grocery store in 2010.
Report Abstract:
“Efforts to encourage Americans to improve their diets and to eat more nutritious foods presume that a wide variety of these foods are accessible to everyone. But for some Americans and in some communities, access to healthy foods may be limited. This report updates population estimates of indicators of spatial access to healthy and affordable foods in the United States using population data from the 2010 Census, income and vehicle availability data from the 2006-2010 American Community Survey, and a 2010 directory of supermarkets.”
“Spatial access to healthy and affordable food is proxied by measuring the distance to the nearest supermarket for the overall U.S. population and for subpopulations including households without vehicles, populations with low incomes, and populations that live in low-income areas. These updated data reflect recent changes in population characteristics, the economy, and the location of supermarkets.”
“An estimated 9.7 percent of the total population, or 29.7 million people, live in low-income areas more than 1 mile from a supermarket. However, most households that are far from a supermarket have vehicles: only 1.8 percent of all households (2.1 million households) live more than 1 mile from a supermarket and do not have a vehicle. Estimated distance to the nearest three supermarkets is an indicator of the choices available to consumers and the level of competition among stores.”
“Estimates show that half of the U.S. population lives within 2 miles of three supermarkets.”
“Examining the distance to only one supermarket does not provide information on whether that supermarket is competitive as it may be the one and only store in the area. Distance to the three nearest supermarkets was estimated for the U.S. population and for subpopulations as an additional indicator of the level of consumer choice and competition among supermarkets. Estimates show that half of the U.S. population lived within 2 miles of three supermarkets in 2010, while 80 percent lived within 5 miles.”