Beyond Food Deserts

TLDR

The article investigates racial disparities in neighborhood food environments, testing whether different racial groups have unequal access to food destinations in Erie County, New York. The study uses Gini coefficients and Poisson regression on Erie County data to test the hypothesis of racial differences in food access. The analysis finds no food deserts in Erie County, but shows that while supermarkets are scarce in neighborhoods of color, these areas have a dense network of small grocery stores, suggesting that supporting such stores may better ensure healthy food access for minorities.

Abstract

Given the emerging focus on improving food environments and food systems through planning, this article investigates racial disparities in neighborhood food environments. An empirical case of Erie County, New York tests the hypothesis that people belonging to different racial groups have access to different neighborhood food destinations. Using multiple methods—Gini coefficients and Poisson regression—we show that contrary to studies elsewhere in the country there are no food deserts in Erie County. However, like other studies, we find an absence of supermarkets in neighborhoods of color when compared to white neighborhoods. Nonetheless, our study reveals an extensive network of small grocery stores in neighborhoods of color. Rather than soliciting supermarkets, supporting small, high-quality grocery stores may be a more efficient strategy for ensuring access to healthful foods in minority neighborhoods.