What are the qualifications for a food desert?

December 31, 2025 •

2 min read

According to the USDA, millions of people live in geographic areas with limited access to affordable, nutritious food. Understanding what are the qualifications for a food desert involves examining specific criteria related to both income levels and proximity to supermarkets, which vary significantly between urban and rural settings.

Quick Summary

An area is classified as a food desert by the USDA based on two main criteria: a low-income population and limited access to a supermarket or large grocery store. These qualifications have different distance requirements depending on whether the area is urban or rural, affecting millions of residents nationwide. The designation highlights disparities in food access and is often tied to higher rates of diet-related health issues.

Key Points

USDA Criteria: A food desert designation is primarily based on low-income and low-access qualifications set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Low-Income Requirement: A census tract must meet specific poverty rate or median income criteria relative to the area.
Low-Access Requirement: The required distance to a supermarket differs for urban and rural areas, reflecting transportation challenges.
Urban Distance: In urban areas, a low-access community is defined by a distance threshold from a large grocery store.
Rural Distance: In rural areas, the distance threshold for low-access is significantly larger than in urban settings.
Alternative Terms: Critics of the 'food desert' term suggest alternatives like 'food apartheid' to highlight systemic racism and economic factors.
Broader Context: Factors beyond just distance and income, such as store affordability, cultural relevance of food, and availability of public transit, contribute to the issue.
Health Impact: Residents of food deserts face higher rates of obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases due to limited access to affordable, nutritious food.

Official Criteria for Food Desert Designation

The most widely referenced qualifications for a food desert in the United States come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA uses a two-part definition focused on both the socio-economic status of a community and the distance residents must travel to reach a large grocery store. For a census tract to be designated as a food desert, it must meet both the low-income and low-access criteria. Details on these criteria can be found on the {Link: Congress Website https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF11841}.

The Low-Income Criterion

The low-income (LI) threshold involves specific poverty rate or median family income levels compared to statewide or metropolitan averages. This criterion targets communities that may have financial barriers to buying healthy food.

The Low-Access Criterion

The low-access (LA) component considers the geographic distance to a supermarket, with different requirements for urban and rural areas to account for varying transportation challenges.

Critiques and Alternative Terms

While widely used, the USDA framework is sometimes criticized for its narrow focus. Critics argue it may not adequately capture systemic issues or factors like food quality, affordability, cultural relevance, and transit access. Terms like "Food Apartheid" are used to highlight racial and economic inequalities in food systems, while a "Food Swamp" refers to areas with an abundance of unhealthy food options.

Low Access vs. Low Income: Urban vs. Rural

A comparison of the urban and rural criteria for low income and low access is available on the {Link: Congress Website https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF11841}.

Real-World Impact and Solutions

Residing in a food desert is associated with higher rates of health issues such as obesity and diabetes. Addressing this requires a variety of approaches.

Solutions include:

Community Gardens: Providing spaces for residents to grow food.
Farmers' Markets: Bringing fresh produce to underserved areas, sometimes accepting SNAP.
Mobile Markets: Delivering healthy options directly to neighborhoods.
Online Grocers: Expanding delivery, potentially with government program integration.

The USDA's Food Access Research Atlas provides further details on federal initiatives.

Conclusion

The USDA defines food deserts based on specific low-income and low-access criteria that differ for urban and rural locations. Though this definition is key for policy, the term is debated, with some preferring 'food apartheid' to underscore systemic inequalities. Effective solutions necessitate tackling both geographical and financial barriers to food access for building healthier communities.

Frequently Asked Questions

According to the USDA, a food desert is a low-income census tract where a significant number or share of the population has low access to a supermarket or large grocery store.

A census tract meets the low-income threshold if it has a poverty rate of 20% or more, or if its median family income is at or below 80% of the statewide or metropolitan area median.

The low-access criteria are based on the number or percentage of people living beyond a certain distance from a supermarket. The specific distance varies between urban and rural areas.

The primary difference is the distance qualification for low access. Urban food deserts require a shorter distance threshold to a supermarket compared to rural food deserts.

No, food deserts exist in both urban and rural areas across the United States. While the distance criteria differ, the underlying issues of low income and limited access affect communities in all geographic settings.

Advocates for the term 'food apartheid' argue that it more accurately describes the systemic and discriminatory factors, often based on race and class, that result in unequal food access, rather than suggesting a natural phenomenon.

Solutions include establishing farmers' markets, creating community gardens, implementing mobile grocery services, and leveraging online grocery delivery programs to bring fresh food to underserved areas.