Using advanced spatial statistical analyses to determine socio-economic constructs of fresh food availability in Georgia, United States

Abstract

An increasing number of people worldwide are consuming fresh food for health, environmental, and ethical reasons. As this push for the consumption of fresh food is gaining momentum, many citizens cannot partake in the movement as they live in areas where there are no fresh food stores, or it takes a long time to reach the nearest fresh food store. This phenomenon exists throughout the United States, including the State of Georgia. We first determined the spatial locations of standard grocery stores selling fresh food across Georgia. Using advanced spatial tools in Geographical Information System (GIS), we then determined the average travel time to selected stores at the census tract level and used it as the dependent variable in a spatial lag regression model to determine factors affecting the fresh food availability at the state level. Moreover, we specified a Cluster Point Process Model to analyze how population characteristics explain the density of fresh food stores across the state. About 15.3% of Georgia's current population has to travel more than 10 min to purchase fresh food. The residents of census tracts with a higher percentage of White, percentage of Hispanic, employment rate, urban rate, and education level had better fresh food availability. Moreover, residents of high-income tracts in urban areas had to travel longer to access a fresh food store. We also found that the density of fresh food stores in urban areas was higher than in rural areas. Our findings will bring forward inequalities embedded in food systems and provide valuable information for policymakers seeking an improvement in the fresh food availability across Georgia and other states located in the Southern United States.