Beyond Food Deserts Measuring and Mapping Racial Disparities in Neighborhood Food Environments

• Published in: Journal of planning education and research Vol. 27; no. 4; pp. 469 - 482
• Main Authors: Raja, Samina, Changxing Ma, Yadav, Pavan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.07.2008; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Erie county, New York; Food consumption; Food industry; Food supply; Grocery stores; Minority & ethnic groups; Natural & organic foods; Nutrition; Racial differences; Studies; Supermarkets; Erie County New York; United States > US; healthy eating; food environments; food deserts; food security; racial food disparities
• ISSN: 0739-456X; 1552-6577
• DOI: 10.1177/0739456X08317461

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.