The Food Access Research Atlas presents a spatial overview of food access indicators for low-income and other census tracts using different measures of supermarket accessibility, provides food access data for populations within census tracts, and offers census-tract-level data on food access that can be downloaded for community planning or research purposes.This record was taken from the USDA Enterprise Data Inventory that feeds into the https://data.gov catalog. Data for this record includes the following resources: Interactive map GIS API Services Data file For complete information, please visit https://data.gov.

The Food Access Research Atlas: Presents an overview of food access indicators for low-income and other census tracts using different measures of supermarket accessibility; Provides food access data for populations within census tracts; and Offers census-tract-level data on food access that can be downloaded for community planning or research purposes.

What can you do with the Atlas? Create maps showing food access indicators by census tract using different measures and indicators of supermarket accessibility; Compare food access measures based on 2019 data with the previous 2015 measures; View indicators of food access for selected subpopulations; and Download census-tract-level data on food access measures.

The table Food Access Research Atlas Data 2019 is part of the dataset USDA Food Access Research Atlas, available at https://redivis.com/datasets/prgb-c86a3nmy9. It contains 72531 rows across 147 variables.

The Food Access Research Atlas (FARA), developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (USDA ERS), is a spatial dataset and mapping tool designed to analyze food access disparities. It provides census tract-level data on low-income and low-access areas, using metrics like proximity to supermarkets and vehicle availability. The dataset identifies regions where populations face barriers to affordable, healthy food, often termed "food deserts." FARA supports research, policy development, and community planning by offering customizable maps and downloadable data for U.S. census tracts. Key features include comparisons of food access between 2015 and 2019, alternative definitions of low-income thresholds, and geospatial APIs for integration into GIS systems. Unique aspects include contextual data on demographic factors (e.g., income, population density) and accessibility metrics, enabling nuanced analysis of food insecurity drivers. The tool also distinguishes between urban, suburban, and rural access challenges. Created to expand on earlier "Food Desert Locator" efforts, FARA aims to inform interventions addressing food system inequities. Its open-access data and user-friendly interface cater to researchers, policymakers, and local organizations seeking evidence-based solutions.

This data is from the 2017 release of the United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service (USDA ERS)'s Food Access Research Atlas.

Food Access Research Atlas 2017

  Food Access Research atlas - Census tract-level overview of food access indicators using different measures of supermarket accessibility. Released 2017, data primarily from 2010 census. About USDA Food Security and Allocations Data: Links to several different USDA food security and allocations datasets, including a Census-level Food Access Research Atlas, county-level SNAP participation data through FY2020, and state-level total participant counts from FY2015 through FY2019 for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, Emergency Food Assistance Program, and Food Distribution Program.
  Geography Level: State, County, Census TractItem Vintage: 2017
  Update Frequency: N/AAgency: USDAAvailable File Type: Excel 

  Return to Other Federal Agency Datasets Page

All data included in the Food Access Research Atlas are aggregated into an Excel spreadsheet for easy download. The Documentation section provides complete information on data sources and definitions. Note for GIS users: The Atlas is based on 2010 census tract polygons. To use the underlying Atlas data in GIS, the data from this spreadsheet needs to be joined to a census tract boundary file. With ESRI software, users should have access to the tract layer on ESRI's "Data and Maps" data distribution. For users of other software, tract boundaries can be downloaded directly from the Census Bureau's Cartographic Boundary Files. The underlying map services used in the Food Access Research Atlas are also available for both developers and GIS users.

This layer represents USDA Food Access Research Atlas data at the census tract geography. Low Income is defined as tracts with a poverty rate of 20% or higher, or tracts with median family income less than 80% of median family income of the state or metropolitan area. Low Access is defined as tracts where a significant number or share of residents is more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket.http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/go-to-the-atlas.aspxFood accessLimited access to supermarkets, supercenters, grocery stores, or other sources of healthy and affordable food may make it harder for some Americans to eat a healthy diet. There are many ways to measure food store access for individuals and for neighborhoods, and many ways to define which areas are food deserts—neighborhoods that lack healthy food sources. Most measures and definitions take into account at least some of the following indicators of access:Accessibility to sources of healthy food, as measured by distance to a store or by the number of stores in an area.Individual-level resources that may affect accessibility, such as family income or vehicle availability.Neighborhood-level indicators of resources, such as the average income of the neighborhood and the availability of public transportation.In the Food Access Research Atlas, several indicators are available to measure food access along these dimensions. For example, users can choose alternative distance markers to measure low access in a neighborhood, such as the number and share of people more than half a mile to a supermarket or 1 mile to a supermarket. Users can also view other census-tract-level characteristics that provide context on food access in neighborhoods, such as whether the tract has a high percentage of households far from supermarkets and without vehicles, individuals with low income, or people residing in group quarters.Low-income neighborhoodsThe criteria for identifying a census tract as low income are from the Department of Treasury’s New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program. This program defines a low-income census tract as any tract where:The tract’s poverty rate is 20 percent or greater; orThe tract’s median family income is less than or equal to 80 percent of the State-wide median family income; orThe tract is in a metropolitan area and has a median family income less than or equal to 80 percent of the metropolitan area's median family income.Low-access census tractsIn the Food Access Research Atlas, low access to healthy food is defined as being far from a supermarket, supercenter, or large grocery store ("supermarket" for short). A census tract is considered to have low access if a significant number or share of individuals in the tract is far from a supermarket.In the original Food Desert Locator, low access was measured as living far from a supermarket, where 1 mile was used in urban areas and 10 miles was used in rural areas to demarcate those who are far from a supermarket. In urban areas, about 70 percent of the population was within 1 mile of a supermarket, while in rural areas over 90 percent of the population was within 10 miles (see Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Updated Estimates of Distance to Supermarkets Using 2010 Data). Updating the original 1- and 10-mile low-access measure shows that an estimated 18.3 million people in these low-income and low-access census tracts were far from a supermarket in 2010.Three additional measures of food access based on distance to a supermarket are provided in the Atlas:One additional measure applies a 0.5-mile demarcation in urban areas and a 10-mile distance in rural areas. Using this measure, an estimated 52.5 million people, or 17 percent of the U.S. population, have low access to a supermarket;A second measure applies a 1.0-mile demarcation in urban areas and a 20-mile distance in rural areas. Under this measure, an estimated 16.5 million people, or 5.3 percent of the U.S. population, have low access to a supermarket; andA slightly more complex measure incorporates vehicle access directly into the measure, delineating low-income tracts in which a significant number of households are located far from a supermarket and do not have access to a vehicle. This measure also includes census tracts with populations that are so remote, that, even with a vehicle, driving to a supermarket may be considered a burden due to the great distance. Using this measure, an estimated 2.1 million households, or 1.8 percent of all households, in low-income census tracts are far from a supermarket and do not have a vehicle. An additional 0.3 million people are more than 20 miles from a supermarket.For each of the first three measures that are based solely on distance, a tract is designated as low access if the aggregate number of people in the census tract with low access is at least 500 or the percentage of people in the census tract with low access is at least 33 percent. For the final measure using vehicle availability, a tract is designated as having low vehicle access if at least one of the following is true:at least 100 households are more than ½ mile from the nearest supermarket and have no access to a vehicle; orat least 500 people or 33 percent of the population live more than 20 miles from the nearest supermarket, regardless of vehicle access.Methods used to assess distance to the nearest supermarket are the same for each of these measures. First, the entire country is divided into ½-km square grids, and data on the population are aerially allocated to these grids (see Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Updated Estimates of Distance to Supermarkets Using 2010 Data). Then, distance to the nearest supermarket is measured for each grid cell by calculating the distance between the geographic center of the ½-km square grid that contains estimates of the population (number of people and other subgroup characteristics) and the center of the grid with the nearest supermarket.Once the distance to the nearest supermarket is calculated for each grid cell, the estimated number of people or housing units that are more than 1 mile from a supermarket in urban tracts, or 10 miles in rural census tracts, is aggregated at the census-tract level (and similarly for the alternative distance markers). A census tract is considered rural if the population-weighted centroid of that tract is located in an area with a population of less than 2,500; all other tracts are considered urban tracts.Food desertsThe Food Access Research Atlas maps census tracts that are both low income (li) and low access (la), as measured by the different distance demarcations. This tool provides researchers and other users multiple ways to understand the characteristics that can contribute to food deserts, including income level, distance to supermarkets, and vehicle access.Additional tract-level indicators of accessVehicle availabilityA tract is identified as having low vehicle availability if more than 100 households in the tract report having no vehicle available and are more than 0.5 miles from the nearest supermarket. This corresponds closely to the 80th percentile of the distribution of the number of housing units in a census tract without vehicles at least 0.5 miles from a supermarket (the 80th percentile value was 106 housing units). This means that about 20 percent of all census tracts had more than 100 housing units that were 0.5 miles from a supermarket and without a vehicle. This indicator was applied to both urban and rural census tracts.Overall, 8.8 percent of all housing units in the United States do not have a vehicle, and 4.2 percent of all housing units are at least 0.5 mile from a store and without a vehicle. Vehicle availability is defined in the American Community Survey as the number of passenger cars, vans, or trucks with a capacity of 1-ton or less kept at the home and available for use by household members. The number of available vehicles includes those vehicles leased or rented for at least 1 month, as well as company, police, or government vehicles that are kept at home and available for non-business use.Whether a vehicle is available to a household for private use is an important additional indicator of access to healthy and affordable food. For households living far from a supermarket or large grocery store, access to a private vehicle may make accessing these retailers easier than relying on public or alternative means of transportation.Group quarters populationUsers may be interested in highlighting tracts with large shares of people living in group quarters. Group quarters are residential arrangements where an entity or organization owns and provides housing (and often services) for individuals residing in these buildings. This includes college dormitories, military quarters, correctional facilities, homeless shelters, residential treatment centers, and assisted living or skilled nursing facilities. These living arrangements frequently provide dining and food retail solely for their residents. While individuals living in these areas may appear to be far from a supermarket or grocery store, they may not truly experience difficulty accessing healthy and affordable food. Tracts in which 67 percent of individuals or more live in group quarters are highlighted.General tract characteristicsPopulation, tract totalGeographic level: census tractYear of data: 2010Definition: Total number of individuals residing in a tract.Data sources: Data are from the 2012 report, Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Updated Estimates of Distances to Supermarkets Using 2010 Data. Population data are reported at the block level from the 2010 Census of Population and Housing. These data were aerially allocated down to ½-kilometer-square grids across the United States.Low-income tractGeographic level: census tractYear of data: 2010Definition: A tract with either a poverty rate of 20

This layer gives the overview of Food Accessibility in the State of Texas. Food accessLimited access to supermarkets, supercenters, grocery stores, or other sources of healthy and affordable food may make it harder for some people to eat a healthy diet in this country. There are many ways to measure food store access for individuals and for neighborhoods, and many ways to define which areas are low-income and low access—neighborhoods that lack healthy food sources. Most measures and definitions consider at least some of the following indicators of access:Accessibility to sources of healthy food, as measured by distance to a store or by the number of stores in an area;Individual-level resources that may affect accessibility, such as family income or vehicle availability; andNeighborhood-level indicators of resources, such as the average income of the neighborhood and the availability of public transportation.In the Food Access Research Atlas, several indicators are available to measure food access along these dimensions. For example, users can choose alternative distance markers to measure low access in a neighborhood, such as the number and share of people more than one-half mile to a supermarket or 1 mile to a supermarket. Users can also view other census-tract-level characteristics that provide context on food access in neighborhoods, such as whether the tract has a high percentage of households far from supermarkets and without vehicles, individuals with low income, or people residing in group quarters.Specialized Stores - The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is the USDA’s third-largest food assistance program, supporting low-income, nutritionally at-risk women, infants, and children. In 2019, it served 6.4 million participants with Federal spending of $5.2 billion. Participants primarily redeem benefits at WIC-authorized retailers, which range from large supermarkets to smaller stores like convenience stores or specialized “above-50-percent” (A50) stores, where more than 50% of food sales come from WIC transactions. A50 stores can reduce travel distances and improve access to WIC-approved foods, especially in urban areas, but they face stricter pricing regulations to prevent cost inflation. WIC food packages are tailored to participants' nutritional needs and can include fixed quantities of milk, eggs, fruits, vegetables, and infant-specific foods.

Dataset is an overview of food access indicators for low-income and other census tracts using different measures of supermarket accessibility. This dataset provides food access data for populations within census tracts; and offers census-tract-level data on food access that can be used for community planning or research purposes.Data from USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) Food Access Research Atlas, 2019. Last updated 4/27/2021.See also USDA map service at https://gisportal.ers.usda.gov/server/rest/services/FARA/FARA_2019/MapServer.

Percentage of total population within a designated area that is identified as both “low income” and having “low access” to healthy food. Low income is defined as Low income is defined as having an annual family income at or below 200 percent of the Federal poverty threshold. Low access is defined as population that is beyond 1 mile for urban areas or 10 miles for rural areas from a supermarket.

Note that there are many ways to measure food access for individuals and for neighborhoods, and many ways to define which areas are food deserts (neighborhoods that lack healthy food sources). Explore the USDA Food Access Research Atlas for more information: https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/.

Please find attached the data documentation. The Atlas is based on 2010 census tract polygons. To use the underlying Atlas data in a GIS, the data from this spreadsheet needs to be joined to a census tract boundary file. With ESRI software, users should have access to the tract layer on ESRI's "Data and Maps" data distribution. For users of other software, tract boundaries can be downloaded directly from the Census Bureau's Cartographic Boundary Files. The underlying map services used in the Food Access Research Atlas are also available for both developers and GIS users. See the Geospatial API documentation for more information.

The Food Access Research Atlas presents a spatial overview of food access indicators for low-income and other census tracts using different measures of supermarket accessibility, provides food access data for populations within census tracts, and offers census-tract-level data on food access that can be downloaded for community planning or research purposes.

Public government dataset 2019

Variable lookup file has explanations for fields Data is located in Data file

Map service contains maps relevant to Low-income, low access to supermarkets, and other related issues. Last updated: January 11, 2017.The Food Access Research AtlasData developed by the USDA Economic Research Service. Details are available here: http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/documentation.aspxFor general information please visit:http://www.ers.usda.gov/

A food desert is defined as having limited access to supermarkets, grocery stores or a source of healthy/affordable food. This indicator displays tracts having low food access at 1 mile for urban areas and 10 miles for rural areas. If the tract scores a 1, then there is low food access and if it scores a 0, then low food access is not identified. The Food Access Research Atlas, available from the USDA, offers valuable insights into food access indicators for low-income and other census tracts. Users can access various measures of supermarket accessibility and obtain data on food access for specific populations within census tracts. This interactive tool allows users to create maps showcasing food access indicators and compare data from different years, such as 2019 and previous measurements from 2015. Moreover, the atlas provides valuable census-tract-level data on food access, which can be downloaded for community planning and research purposes. To explore the Food Access Research Atlas and access its data,Visit: https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/download-the-data/

Learn More

All of the ERS mapping applications, such as the Food Environment Atlas and the Food Access Research Atlas, use map services developed and hosted by ERS as the source for their map content. These map services are open and freely available for use outside of the ERS map applications. Developers can include ERS maps in applications through the use of the map service REST API, and desktop GIS users can use the maps by connecting to the map server directly.This record was taken from the USDA Enterprise Data Inventory that feeds into the https://data.gov catalog. Data for this record includes the following resources: API access page For complete information, please visit https://data.gov.

Food environment factors--such as store/restaurant proximity, food prices, food and nutrition assistance programs, and community characteristics--interact to influence food choices and diet quality. Research is beginning to document the complexity of these interactions, but more is needed to identify causal relationships and effective policy interventions. The objectives of the Atlas are to assemble statistics on food environment indicators to stimulate research on the determinants of food choices and diet quality, and to provide a spatial overview of a community's ability to access healthy food and its success in doing so.

Idea

The proposed solution is to create a dashboard for JLT with the help of USDA and BEA data to predict decrease in number of grocery stores and predict health statistics in each US county. This dashboard will help JLT to predict Group insurance premium or investment strategies in particular county.

About the Data

Data contains over 275 variables, including new indicators on access and proximity to a grocery store for sub populations; an indicator on the SNAP Combined Application Project for recipients of Supplemental Security Income (at the State level); and indicators on farmers' markets that report accepting credit cards or report selling baked and prepared food products

Acknowledgements

The data is downloaded from https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-environment-atlas/data-access-and-documentation-downloads/#Current%20Version

Inspiration

To apply Machine Learning on existing Data to find relevant outcome which helps business to get insights through dashboard.

This dataset contains Supplemental Data at the county level from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Environment Atlas website. ERS (Economic Research Service, USDA) researchers and others who analyze conditions in "rural" America most often study conditions in nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) areas, defined on the basis of counties. Counties are the standard building block for collecting economic data and for conducting research to track and explain regional population and economic trends.

Data was last updated on the USDA website in September 2020.

Any data elements with numerical values reflect figures at the locality-level. See column descriptions for details. For more information on all metrics in this dataset, see the Food Environment Atlas Data Access and Documentation Downloads website.