How far do you live from an affordable grocery store? New map reveals surprising food deserts

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FILE - A woman shops at a grocery store. (Getty Images)

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) created a map showing how close residents in the United States lived to an affordable grocery store. 

ILSR is a national nonprofit research organization that advocates against corporate concentration and promotes localized, sustainable economic growth.

Not only does the map show the distance to affordable grocery store options in comparison to larger chains, it also highlights a recent and growing issue in the U.S. – food deserts. 

What they're saying:

"Access to affordable, healthy food is a leading concern for American families. Grocery prices remain high, while millions of people live in communities without a nearby store selling fresh food. Food deserts have become more widespread and entrenched, even as people spend more than ever on groceries," ILSR said. 

Food deserts growing in the US

Gray areas on the ILSR’s map indicate food deserts.

ILSR defines a food desert as at least 500 people living more than 1 mile from a grocery store for urban areas and more than 10 miles for rural areas.

Dig deeper:

Missouri

ILSR highlights Missouri’s 7th congressional district as it serves metro areas such as Joplin and Springfield which have roughly 200,000 and 500,000 residents, respectively.

Walmart holds more than 80% of grocery sales in Joplin and nearly two-thirds in Springfield, according to the ILSR’s report. This leaves the second-largest grocer, Price Chopper, with just 10% of grocery sales.

"Missouri ranks among the worst states for food access, with nearly one in five residents living in a food desert, including many in the Springfield and Joplin metros. In the 7th District’s rural areas, the map shows that many additional food deserts would emerge if the remaining independent grocers closed," ISLR said. 

Georgia

In Georgia, ILSR highlights how race and income largely factor into the prevalence of food deserts in Atlanta. 

Independent grocers and "megachains" have been largely pushed out of the city’s predominantly Black neighborhoods and chain dollar stores took their place, ILSR claimed.

"Not only do the largest dollar store chains typically not sell fresh food, but they also benefit from discriminatory pricing by suppliers — effectively locking in their hold on communities and perpetuating food deserts," the report said. 

New York

New York City has access to an abundance of healthy grocery markets and independent grocers with few consolidated chains.

Despite this, residents still struggle with food security due to the high prices.

"Independent grocery stores in New York pay more to stock the same products and those higher costs are passed onto consumers. The result is high prices even in a city with robust retail competition — showing how concentrated buyer power at the national level can undermine food access even in places where the biggest chains operate relatively few stores," ILSR said. 

The backstory:

These food deserts began to grow after the Federal Trade Commission stopped enforcing the Robinson-Patman Act in the 1980s, according to ILSR.

The Robinson-Patman Act was an antitrust law passed in 1936 designed to protect fair competition between large franchises and chains and smaller businesses, according to Reuters.

Major retailers like Walmart were then able to secure special pricing unavailable to smaller stores, which fueled mergers and industry consolidation. 

As a result, independent grocers lost market share, large chains came to dominate nearly 60% of grocery sales, and many communities were left with fewer choices, higher prices, and more food deserts, according to ILSR.

What you can do:

To see the interactive map, click here.