Food Access Categories
Thematic entry points into U.S. food access, food desert, SNAP, and transportation data.
Methodology
Each category organizes tract-, county-, and state-level indicators from two federal data sources. USDA Food Access Research Atlas supplies distance-to-supermarket classifications (low-access at 1 mile urban, 10 miles rural) and the combined low-income/low-access designation that defines a food desert tract. Census ACS supplies demographics, income, poverty, SNAP, and vehicle availability needed to interpret distance numbers in context.
A single county often appears in more than one category — a rural county can have both a high low-access share and a high SNAP participation rate. Categories are not mutually exclusive; they are lenses for browsing the same underlying USDA-plus-Census dataset.
Source: USDA Economic Research Service Food Access Research Atlas. Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates.
Food Deserts
U.S. counties with the highest share of population living far from a supermarket — the USDA low-access distance test.
SNAP Participation
Counties with the highest share of households receiving SNAP (food stamps) benefits from Census ACS data.
Rural Food Access
How rural food deserts differ from urban ones — the 10-mile threshold, farm-county context, and supermarket siting.
Urban Food Access
Supermarket closures, neighborhood disinvestment, and how the 1-mile urban threshold plays out in dense metros.
Transportation Barriers
Vehicle access data from the Census ACS — how no-vehicle households turn distance into a real food access problem.
State Food Access Programs
Which states run the strongest SNAP, WIC, and farmers market programs — and how state-by-state food access varies.