County food-access profile · Louisiana
Plaquemines Parish, LA
Plaquemines Parish sits among the counties with the widest food-access gaps the USDA tracks, most residents here live well outside a comfortable walk or drive to a supermarket. This profile covers who qualifies as a food desert and the income, SNAP, and vehicle-access context behind it.
- 54.9%
- low-access pop.
- 5
- food-desert tracts
- 14.8%
- on SNAP
- 23K
- residents (ACS 2024)
The food-access picture
54.9% of Plaquemines Parish residents live in a low-access area, and 5 of its 8 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts.
- 7
- low-access tracts
- 5K
- food-desert residents
- 1.9%
- households, no vehicle
- 12.9%
- below poverty line
Low access = living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket. Food deserts add a low-income condition (USDA LILA, 1-and-10-mile measure).
Plaquemines Parish carries one of the more serious food-access burdens the USDA Atlas tracks: its low-access share of 54.9% is well above the national share. 7 of the county's 8 census tracts fall into that category, areas where residents live far from a supermarket, covering about 12,652 people. 5 of those also meet the low-income condition that defines a food desert, home to roughly 4,684 low-income residents.
How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts
The USDA measures food access by distance to the nearest supermarket. A census tract is "low-access" when a meaningful share of residents live more than one mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than ten miles in rural areas. A tract becomes a "food desert" only when it is both low-access and low-income, because distance is far harder to overcome for households without a car or a cushion in the budget. Counts on this page are aggregated from the tract level, where the federal data is actually published, so a single county figure can hide neighbourhoods that are much better or much worse served than the average. Distance also does not capture everything that shapes whether a family eats well: the presence of a full-service grocer rather than a convenience store, public transit, food pantries, and the price and quality of what is on the shelf all matter beyond the radius the Atlas can draw.
How Plaquemines Parish compares nationally
Plaquemines Parish sits among the nation's most food-access-constrained counties: its 54.9% low-access share outpaces 95% of the 3,133 U.S. counties with USDA data, ranking #155 most-affected nationwide.
Plaquemines Parish: USDA Food-Access Tier Breakdown
All 8 census tracts in Plaquemines Parish, grouped by USDA classification (see "How the USDA defines low-access and food-desert tracts" above for what each tier means).
Plaquemines Parish vs. other Louisiana counties
Share of the population living in low-access areas, compared with other counties in Louisiana
- Plaquemines Parish
Plaquemines Parish, LA
54.9 % low-access
- Acadia Parish 6.6
Acadia Parish, LA
6.6 % low-access
- Allen Parish
Allen Parish, LA
28.1 % low-access
- Ascension Parish
Ascension Parish, LA
42.3 % low-access
- Assumption Parish 0.9
Assumption Parish, LA
0.9 % low-access
- Avoyelles Parish 20.5
Avoyelles Parish, LA
20.5 % low-access
Food Access (USDA FARA 2019)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Census Tracts | 8 |
| Atlas Population (2010 basis) | 23,042 |
| Low-Access Tracts | 7 |
| Food-Desert Tracts (low-income & low-access) | 5 |
| Low-Access Population | 12,652 |
| Low-Access Share | 54.9%well above the national average |
| Low-Income & Low-Access Population | 4,684 |
Demographics & Assistance (Census ACS 2024)
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population | 22,803 |
| Median Household Income | $86,315 |
| Poverty Rate | 12.9%near the national average |
| SNAP Households | 1,215 |
| SNAP Participation Rate | 14.8%above the national average |
| Households Without a Vehicle | 1.9%well below the national average |
| Group-Quarters Population | 3.0% |
About 14.8% of Plaquemines Parish households receive SNAP, versus a U.S. county median in the 11–13% range (Census ACS).
What this means
- 54.9% of residents are low-access, well above the national share for U.S. counties.
- 14.8% of households receive SNAP, the federal program that offsets food costs for 1,215 households here.
- 1.9% of households have no vehicle, the hidden multiplier that turns distance into a real barrier.
- 5 tracts meet the USDA food-desert threshold (low-income and low-access).
USDA low-access figures reflect the 2019 Atlas (2010 tract populations); socioeconomic context is the latest Census ACS 5-year (2024).
What the food-access data shows for Plaquemines Parish
well above the national share
5 of Plaquemines Parish's 8 census tracts are USDA-designated food deserts, low-income areas where many residents also live far from a supermarket, about 62.5% of all its tracts.
A further 2 tracts are low-access but not low-income, bringing the total low-access tract count to 7.
An estimated 12,652 residents, roughly 54.9% of the county's 2010 population, live in one of these low-access areas.
Of those, 4,684 are also low-income, the group most exposed to genuine food hardship, since limited transportation compounds a limited budget.
The remaining 1 tract (12.5%) meet the USDA's adequate-access threshold.
SNAP retailers in Plaquemines Parish
Plaquemines Parish has 18 stores currently authorized to accept SNAP (EBT) benefits, across 3 store categories. Combination Grocery/Other lead with 12 locations (67% of the total), followed by convenience store.
Combination Grocery/Other · 12
- dollar general 11338, buras
- dollar general 19583, buras
- dollar general 6475, belle chasse
- dollar general 10841, port sulphue
- dollar general 13242, venice
- dollar general 19757, belle chasse
- dollar general 21517, braithwaite
- dollar general 21838, belle chasse
- family dollar 11682, buras
- family dollar 3518, port sulphur
- family dollar 9062, belle chasse
- voiron's specialty meats and fresh market, belle chasse
Convenience Store · 4
- djs one stop, pointe a la hache
- happy land, buras
- happy land ll, port sulphur
- lucky food store, buras
Supermarket · 2
- breaux mart #2 2, belle chasse
- fremin's iga, port sulphur
Source: USDA SNAP Retailer Locator, currently authorized retailers.
Other Counties in Louisiana
Compare Plaquemines Parish vs Acadia Parish → · All Louisiana counties →
Food access nationally, Louisiana in context
Plaquemines Parish sits inside Louisiana (ringed). Each state is colored by its population-weighted low-access share; click any state to compare.
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019), population-weighted · Census ACS 2024 context
Understand the Data
Frequently Asked Questions
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Data Sources & Methodology
USDA Economic Research Service, Food Access Research Atlas (2019): low-access and food-desert tract classifications, low-access population, and low-income low-access counts. ers.usda.gov/food-access-research-atlas
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2024 5-Year Estimates: population, median income, poverty, SNAP participation, vehicle access, and group quarters. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
Low access is defined as living more than 1 mile (urban) or 10 miles (rural) from the nearest supermarket; a food desert adds a low-income condition. Read the full methodology →
Data current as of (most recent source-data vintage; figures reflect the 2019 USDA Atlas and 2024 Census ACS).
Note: This page presents public USDA and Census data for informational purposes and is not professional advice. Figures reflect the cited dataset vintages and may differ from the most recent local conditions. How this data is sourced & verified.