Following on previous efforts to make information available to the public using visual interfaces, USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) released the Food Desert Locator this week.  This new tool provides population characteristics of areas considered food deserts according the definition by the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) Working Group.

The HFFI, a partnership between the Treasury Department, Health and Human Services, and the Agriculture Department (USDA), with the collaboration of ERS staff, defines a food desert as a low-income census tract where a substantial number or share of residents has low access to a supermarket or large grocery store.  To qualify as a food desert tract, at least 33 percent of the tract’s population or a minimum of 500 people in the tract must have low access to a supermarket or large grocery store.

Click here to read more at Sustainableagriculture.net

Here are a few eye-opening stats the Locator gave about San Joaquin County:

  • Percentage of the overall  population that is low income and has low access to food: 53.6
  • Number of Children age 0-17 with low access: 1,401
  • Percentage of people with low-access: 98.3

Click here to link directly to the Food Desert Locator

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