Where Are the Food Deserts? An Evaluation of Policy-Relevant Measures of Community Food Access in South Carolina

Several recent US policies target spatial access to healthier food retailers. We evaluated 2 measures of community food access developed by 2 different agencies using a 2009 food environment validation study in South Carolina as a reference. Whereas the US Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service's (USDA ERS) measure designated 22.5% of census tracts as food deserts, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) measure designated 29.0% as non-healthier retail tracts; 71% of tracts were designated consistently between USDA ERS and CDC. Our findings suggest a need for greater harmonization of these measures of community food access.