Increasingly, studies are focusing on the role the local food environment plays in residents’ ability to purchase affordable, healthy and nutritious foods. In a food desert, an area devoid of a supermarket, access to healthy food is limited. We conducted a systematic review of studies that focused on food access and food desert research in the United States. The 31 studies identified utilized 9 measures to assess food access. Results from these studies can be summarized primarily into four major statements. Findings from other countries offer insight into ways, in which future research, policy development and program implementation in the U.S. may continue to be explored.
Environmental conditions have been extensively explored as contributing factors in promoting health disparities (Lee, 2002, Sexton, 2000). It is widely accepted that racial/ethnic minority neighborhoods are disproportionately affected by increased rates of morbidity, mortality and adverse health outcomes (Cubbin et al., 2001, Deaton and Lubotsky, 2003).
The articles included in this review were identified from January 2008 to January 2010 by two mechanisms: keyword searches in the PubMed, Agricola, Anthropology, Environmental Studies, Geography, Public Affairs, and Sociology databases, and by reviewing the references of the articles identified from these databases. Combinations of the keywords “food desert” and “food access” were used to identify relevant articles. Only articles written in English were included in the review.
The 31 selected articles represent a variety of work that has been done in the U.S. related to food access. Nine measures have been used to assess food access. For example, articles that used business directories/lists include yellow pages, business addresses on food stores, food store data including consumer spending, geographic location and store openings and closings.
Results of the review of the literature produced 31 empirical studies that focus on food deserts in the U.S. It is worthwhile to note that most of the research in this area has focused on exploring racial/ethnic and income disparities within food deserts. This can partly be attributed to increased attention focusing on reducing and eliminating health disparities, including racial/ethnic and income disparities.
This review focused on food desert literature in the US. The specific focus on food deserts opposed to including articles pertaining to areas that have supermarkets, or food oases, was to highlight the issues surrounding poor access to healthy and nutritious foods characteristic of food deserts. Furthermore, the focus allowed for better understanding of the challenges in obtaining healthy and affordable foods faced by residents of these areas.
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