Understanding Low-Income and Low-Access Census Tracts Across the Nation: Subnational and Subpopulation Estimates of Access to Healthy Food, EIB-209, U.S
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United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Understanding Low-Income and Low- Service Economic Access Census Tracts Across the Information Bulletin Nation: Subnational and Subpopulation Number 209 Estimates of Access to Healthy Food May 2019 Alana Rhone, Michele Ver Ploeg, Ryan Williams, and Vince Breneman United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service www.ers.usda.gov Recommended citation format for this publication: Alana Rhone, Michele Ver Ploeg, Ryan Williams, and Vince Breneman. Understanding Low-Income and Low-Access Census Tracts Across the Nation: Subnational and Subpopulation Estimates of Access to Healthy Food, EIB-209, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, May 2019 Cover: Getty Images. Use of commercial and trade names does not imply approval or constitute endorsement by USDA. 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Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: [email protected]. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Understanding Low-Income and Low- Service Economic Access Census Tracts Across the Information Bulletin Nation: Subnational and Subpopulation Number 209 Estimates of Access to Healthy Food May 2019 Alana Rhone, Michele Ver Ploeg, Ryan Williams, and Vince Breneman Abstract Accessing affordable and nutritious food is a challenge for many Americans. In 2015, an es timated 12.7 percent of U.S. census tracts were “low-income” (defined by the poverty rate or median family income of a tract) and had a significant number or share of the population with limited access to food stores (supermarket, supercenter, or large grocery store). This report provides 2015 estimates of foodstore access for various characteristics of the population. These estimates are also produced separately for urban and rural areas. For the first time, this report also summarizes census tract measures of foodstore access by State, metropolitan, and micro politan areas. Overall, 34 percent of SNAP households lived more than 1 mile from a food store in 2015. The median distance to the nearest three food stores for children, working-age adults, and seniors was 1.86 miles. For a majority of States, the number of low-income (LI) census tracts increased between 2010 and 2015 while the number of low-access (LA) census tracts de creased. When both components were combined, 21 States saw either a decrease in the number of low-income and low-access (LILA) census tracts or little change between 2010 and 2015. Keywords: supermarkets, low-income, food access, low-access, food deserts, healthy and af fordable food, food assistance, State food access, metropolitan and micropolitan food access Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank the following reviewers: Andrea Marie Leschewski, South Da kota University; Anne Palmer, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University; and Ilya Rahkovsky, USDA, Economic Research Service. They thank Jay Variyam and Constance Newman, USDA, Economic Research Service, for their comments. Thanks also to Maria Williams and Korrin Kim, USDA, ERS, for editorial and design services. Contents Summary . iii . Overview . .1 . Background and Literature .......................................................2 Data and Methodology . 4 Population Estimates of Distance to Supermarkets . 6 Distance to Food Stores by Subpopulation Characteristics ..............................6 Urban Food-Store Access........................................................8 Rural Food-Store Access .......................................................10 Distance to Third Nearest Supermarket............................................12 Urban Areas’ Distance to Third Nearest Foodstore...................................13 Rural Areas’ Distance to Third Nearest Foodstore ...................................14 Census Tract Measures of Low Income and Low Access ..............................16 Prevalence of Low-Income and Low-Access Tracts and Population by State . 18 LILA Tracts Using the 1- and 10-Mile Definition of Low Access .......................18 LILA Tracts Using the Vehicle-Access and 20-Mile Definition of Low Access .............23 Estimates of the Population in LILA Tracts ........................................28 Prevalence of Low-Income and Low-Access (LILA) Tracts and Population by Metropolitan Area . 30 Prevalence of Low-Income and Low-Access Tracts and Population by Micropolitan Area . 34 Conclusions . 37 . References . .38 . Measures of Income and Access . .40 . Appendix A: Additional State Estimates . 41 . Appendix B: Additional Metropolitan and Micropolitan Estimates . 48 ii Understanding Low-Income and Low-Access Census Tracts Across the Nation, EIB-209 USDA, Economic Research Service Summary United States Department of Agriculture A report summary from the Economic Research Service May 2019 Understanding Low-Income and Low- Access Census Tracts Across the Nation Subnational and Subpopulation Estimates of Access to Healthy Food Alana Rhone, Michele Ver Ploeg, Ryan Williams, and Vince Breneman What Is the Issue? Accessing affordable and nutritious food is a challenge for many Americans. In 2015, an esti mated 12.7 percent of U.S. census tracts fit the category of low-income, low-access (LILA). “Low-income” is defined by the poverty rate and median family income of a tract. “Low-access” means a significant number or share of the population in the tract had limited access to a food store (supermarket, supercenter, or large grocery store)—i.e., they lived more than 1 mile from a food store in urban areas or more than 10 miles in rural areas. Previous ERS research contained national estimates of access to these stores for 2015, but did not provide State- and local-level estimates or break down the estimates for subpopulations. This report expands on this research by providing estimates of distance to the nearest and the third-nearest food store by age, race, ethnicity, income, vehicle access, and participation in USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for both individuals and households. States and localities are some of the most frequent users of ERS’s Food Access Research Atlas (FARA), as they try to understand food access in their communities, compare their areas with other States and localities, and monitor change over time. This report also offers FARA users data estimates to compare store access across different States and metropolitan/micropolitan statistical areas. What Did the Study Find? In 2015, 40 percent of the U.S. population lived more than 1 mile from a food store (versus 41 percent in 2010); 30 percent lived within 0.5 mile; and 30 percent lived between 0.5 and 1 mile away. Examining the 2015 data by subpopulation shows general estimates of distance to the near est food store that resembled the 2010 estimates: • Most racial and ethnic minorities were closer to food stores than Whites, ERS is a primary source reflecting rural/urban differences in the distribution of racial and ethnic groups. of economic research and analysis from the U.S. • People with low incomes were closer to supermarkets than those with Department of Agriculture, providing timely informa- moderate and high incomes at the 20th, median (0.69 mile for low versus 0.88 tion on economic and policy mile for moderate/high