The Grocery Gap: Who Has Access to Healthy - The Food Trust

PolicyLinkThe Food TrustAvailability of Food Stores in Rural Areas by Store Type, 2000analysis found that there are 418rural “food desert” counties where allresidents live 10 miles or more from thenearest supermarket or supercenter—20percent of all rural counties. 43• In the Mississippi Delta, over 70 percentof households eligible to receivefood stamp benefits needed to travelmore than 30 miles to reach a largegrocery store or supermarket. 36• In New Mexico, rural residents haveaccess to fewer grocery stores than urbanresidents, pay more for comparable items,and have less selection. The same marketbasket of groceries costs $85 for ruralresidents and $55 for urban residents. 113Transportation access2.Lack of transportation to supermarkets is a majorbarrier for residents in many communities. 115Assessments of Lexington (KY), Seattle (WA), Centraland South Los Angeles (CA), East Austin (TX), andTrinity County (CA) highlighted transportationchallenges. 11, 12, 22, 69, 116 Rural residents have highervehicle ownership generally, but those who lackreliable access to personal vehicles are particularlyisolated given the longer distances to stores and12, 51, 114, 116, 117lack of public transportation options.Better access to healthy foodcorresponds with healthier eatingConsistent with the conclusions of a recent reviewstudy, 4 we found strong and consistent evidenceindicating a positive relationship between accessto healthy food and eating behaviors. Withoutnearby access to healthy ingredients, familieshave a harder time meeting recommended dietaryguidelines for good health such as eating fruitsand vegetables and lowering fat intake. In asurvey of diabetic adults in New York’s East Harlemneighborhood, 40 percent said that they didnot follow the recommended dietary guidelinesbecause the necessary foods were less available andmore expensive in their neighborhood stores. 31Of 14 studies that examine food access andconsumption of healthy foods, all but one of themfound a correlation between greater access andbetter eating behaviors. All of the studies in thiscategory were conducted by academic researchersand published in peer-reviewed journals. 118Access to supermarketsEight studies analyzed access to nearby supermarketsor large grocery stores that sell a widevariety of healthy foods in relation to consumptionof fruits and vegetables, specific healthy foods (suchas low-fat milk or high-fiber bread), or a healthy diet(measured by an index of diet quality). Almost all16