Beyond supermarkets
Ethnic stores, food environments, and the limits of the Food Access Research Atlas
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22067917 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rujia Xie (0009-0007-4437-365X, Duke University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Pages | 1655436-1655436 |
| Publication date | 2025-10-27 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Frontiers in Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2296-2565 • E-ISSN: 2296-2565 |
| Publisher | Frontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1655436 |
| PMID | 41221232 |
| OpenAlex | W4415566117 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 38 |
Background: The Food Access Research Atlas (FARA) is a nationally used measure for community food environment that informs resource allocation to improve food access and population health. However, because FARA flags census tracts (CTs) as low-access solely based on CT population's proximity to supermarkets, it assumes supermarkets as the gold standard of food stores and may not adequately capture the food environments in racial minority neighborhoods, where ethnic stores can play a critical role. Objective: To examine the accuracy of FARA and its underlying assumption by comparing FARA with our novel Google Maps-based Measure and evaluating the healthfulness of diverse food store types with our multi-ethnic compilation of Nutritional Environment Measures Survey (NEMS). Methods: This cross-sectional study in Durham, North Carolina, leveraged Google Maps to develop three CT-level variables for food store access (intensity, per capita count, and density) and compared them between low-access and not-low-access CTs classified by FARA. This study then developed the first multi-ethnic NEMS compilation and conducted it among small, large, conventional, and ethnic food stores in Durham to evaluate their respective ability to provide healthy, affordable, and quality food. Results: The geographic distribution of low-access CTs was not consistent with that of CT-level store count. The intensity, per capita count, and density of large stores and ethnic stores did not significantly differ between low-access and not-low-access CTs. From NEMS, ethnic and large food stores could provide healthier, more affordable, and higher quality food than conventional and small food stores. Conclusion: By highlighting FARA's limitations in measuring community food environment and casting doubt on FARA's underlying assumption, this study highlights the need to shift the discourse away from the binary narrative that a lack of supermarkets equals a food desert, and instead examine the food access provided by existing networks of grocery stores, particularly ethnic stores in minority neighborhoods
Ethnic group · Food culture · Food processing · Food security · Food systems · Healthy food · Narrative · Universal design · Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations · Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet · Urban Transport and Accessibility
Measures of the Food Environment
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A Systematic Review of the Relationship between Acculturation and Diet among Latinos in the United States
Fast-Food Consumption, Diet Quality, and Neighborhood Exposure to Fast Food
Nutrition Environment Measures Survey in Stores (Nems-S)Development and Evaluation
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Healthy Nutrition Environments
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Adaptation and Validation of the Chinese Version of the Nutrition Environment Measurement Tool for Stores
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The Flint Food Store Survey
Disparities and access to healthy food in the United States
Does opening a supermarket in a food desert change the food environment
Beyond Food Deserts
Associations of Neighborhood Characteristics With the Location and Type of Food Stores
Neighborhood Racial Composition, Neighborhood Poverty, and the Spatial Accessibility of Supermarkets in Metropolitan Detroit
Immigrant Grocery-Shopping Behavior
"Ethnic markets and community food security in an urban "food desert
| Highly cited | No |
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