Community Retail Food Environment [Washington (State)]
State of Washington Geospatial Open Data Portal · 2025 Full Details
Tip: Check “Visit Source” link for download options.
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Click on map to inspect values | |
Full Details
- Title
- Community Retail Food Environment [Washington (State)]
- Description
- This data is included as part of the Environmental Health Disparities Version 3.0 map. To see this map, visit our webpage . For more technical information on this map and the model used, visit our technical report (link) . Background Unequal nutritional access causes a significant public health issue in the United States. Not all communities have the same access to nutritious food options. Systemic inequities and historical injustices shape access to nutritious food. Many communities have trouble getting fresh, nutritious food. Stores in neighborhoods with less economic access may not sell as many nutrient-dense food options as stores in wealthier areas. These areas are sometimes called ‘food deserts' or ‘food swamps.' In areas with fewer food options, people may eat fewer fruits and vegetables. Eating less nutrient-dense foods increases the risks of chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. Communities that have been historically minoritized or have less economic access often have less access to foods that provide essential nutrients, especially produce. These same communities also face more environmental health burdens, like pollution, and have less access to health care. Community-driven food systems offer local solutions that improve access to fresh, diverse, and affordable foods while empowering communities to shape their own food environments. Culturally relevant farmers' markets are an example. Evidence Many people with less economic access and historically marginalized neighborhoods do not have grocery stores selling nutrient-dense options [1]. Neighborhoods with more obesity and less economic access often lack retailers selling nutritious food [2]. Food deserts or food swamps force people without transportation to rely on smaller stores with higher prices and fewer options. This increases the risk of food insecurity [3]. Community members often have to rely on convenience stores, fast food outlets, and other retailers with fewer healthy options. This can result in diets that exceed the USDA Guidelines for saturated fat, added sugars, and added sodium [4] . These kinds of diet can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease [5, 6]. Communities with fewer financial resources have limited access to diverse food options. Stores in these areas offer fewer nutrient-dense choices like fruits, vegetables, and low-fat items [7]. People living near healthy food retailers eat more fruits and vegetables [8, 9]. The lack of diverse food options results from inequities in urban planning [10]. This highlights the need for policies that improve access to supermarkets and nutritious foods in underserved areas [7]. Communities with limited access to nutrient-dense food often also face environmental stressors, like air pollution. This further increases health risks. Exposure to these environmental hazards is linked to higher death rates. Socioeconomic and racial factors play a significant role in how severely these risks affect people [11]. Limited access to culturally relevant foods, combined with environmental stress, worsens health disparities. It also increases the risk of chronic conditions. Eating more whole food, plant-based foods can help reduce the health impacts of pollution [12]. Data source Food Outlet Location : Washington state healthy and non-healthy food outlets from the 2023 Data Axle via ESRI's ArcMap v10.8 Business Analyst Census Data: 2020 Decennial Census ; 2020 Census Geographies Methods The CDC's Modified Retail Food Environment Index ( mRFEI ) was used to measure food access in each census tract. The mRFEI calculates the ratio between healthy and less-healthy food retailers. The higher the mRFEI score, the more healthy food stores there are in an area. Healthy and less-healthy food retailers are defined by the typical foods they offer. Healthy foods include a variety of fruits, vegetables, lean meat products, and whole grains [13]. The data were cleaned to reflect current classification codes and ensure food retailers were accurately categorized. This measure accounts for the number of healthy and less-healthy food stores within one mile of the population-weighted centroid of each census block group. Distance was based on the shortest road path, not a radius. We then combined census block groups into census tracts. The score for each census tract is the number of healthy food stores divided by the total number of food stores. Zero percent means a food desert (no food access). A low percentage indicates a food swamp (not enough healthy food access). A high percentage means a food oasis (enough access to healthy food). Modified Retail Food Environment Index: https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/61367 Caveats This method assumes that food access is uniformly distributed within a census tract. It does not include other factors that can affect access. These include cost, actual availability of food options, shopper experience, availability of transportation, and individual mobility. Using a 1-mile distance to define food access may not reflect the real-world accessibility for everyone. This may be particularly true in areas with poor transportation infrastructure. People may also have different access based on factors like age, disability, or income. This measure categorizes food outlets strictly as "healthy" or "less healthy." This oversimplifies the food choices available in different outlets. Additionally, communities may have their own definition of "healthy." This measure uses the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes to classify food outlets throughout the state. In some cases, businesses may be misclassified, misrepresenting the actual community food environment. Additionally, culturally specific food outlets are not included in this calculation. These outlets may be a primary source of food access for some communities. This measure represents the entire census tract, not individual areas within it. These data should always be supplemented with local data and equitable engagement for more accurate insights. Sources Hallum, S. H., Hughey, S. M., Wende, M. E., Stowe, E. W., & Kaczynski, A. T. (2020). Healthy and unhealthy food environments are linked with neighbourhood socio-economic disadvantage: an innovative geospatial approach to understanding food access inequities. Public Health Nutrition , 23 (17), 3190. Powell, L. M., Slater, S., Mirtcheva , D., Bao, Y., & Chaloupka, F. J. (2006). Food store availability and neighborhood characteristics in the United States. Preventative Medicine , 44 , 189-195. Ver Ploeg, M. (2010). Access to affordable, nutritious food is limited in food deserts. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2010/march/access-to-affordable-nutritious-food-is-limited-in-food-deserts U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2020). Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025 . 9 . Lee, J. H., Duster, M., Roberts, T., & Devinsky, O. (2022). United States Dietary Trends Since 1800: Lack of Association Between Saturated Fatty Acid Consumption and Non-communicable Diseases. Frontiers in Nutrition , 8 . Mozaffarian , D. (2016). Dietary and Policy Priorities for Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, and Obesity. In Circulation (Vol. 133, Issue 2, pp. 187-225). Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. Yale News. (2008). Healthy foods scarce in poor neighborhoods, Yale researchers find. Yale News . https://news.yale.edu/2008/09/10/healthy-foods-scarce-poor-neighborhoods-yale-researchers-find Fiechtner, L., Kleinman, K., Melly, S. J., Sharifi, M., Marshall, R., Block, J., Cheng, E. R., & Taveras, E. M. (2016). Effects of proximity to supermarkets on a randomized trial studying interventions for obesity. American Journal of Public Health , 106 (3), 557-562. Laraia , B. A., Siega- Riz , A. M., Kaufman, J. S., & Jones, S. J. (2004). Proximity of supermarkets is positively associated with diet quality index for pregnancy. Preventive Medicine , 39 (5), 869-875. Horowitz, C. R., Colson, K. A., Hebert, P. L., & Lancaster, K. (2004). Barriers to Buying Healthy Foods for People With Diabetes: Evidence of Environmental Disparities. American Journal of Public Health , 94 (9). Bowe , B., Xie , Y., Yan, Y. Y., & Al- Aly , Z. (2019). Burden of Cause-Specific Mortality Associated with PM2.5 Air Pollution in the United States. JAMA Network Open , 2 (11). Lim, C. C., Hayes, R. B., Ahn, J., Shao, Y., Silverman, D. T., Jones, R. R., & Thurston, G. D. (2019). Mediterranean Diet and the Association between Air Pollution and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Risk. Circulation , 139 (15), 1766-1775. CDC. (2011a). Census Tract Level State Maps of the Modified Retail Food Environment Index ( mRFEI ) . http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/downloads/2_16_mrfei_data_table.xls . Citation Washington Tracking Network, Washington State Department of Health. Web. "Community Retail Food Environment". Data obtained from the Data Axle via ESRI's ArcMap v10.8 Business Analyst , 2023 healthy and non-healthy food outlets data. Published Septemeber 2025.
- Creator
- WADOH
- Publisher
- State of Washington Geospatial Open Data Portal
- Temporal Coverage
- Last Modified: 2025-07-21
- Date Issued
- 2025-07-02
- Rights
- Neither the Washington State Department of Health (WADOH), nor any agency, officer, or employee of the WADOH warrants the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of any information published by this system, nor endorses any content, viewpoints, products, or services linked from this system, and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity who relies on any information obtained from this system does so at their own risk.
- Access Rights
- Public
- Format
- ArcGIS FeatureLayer
- Language
- English
- Date Added
- February 02, 2026
- Provenance Statement
- The metadata for this resource was last retrieved from State of Washington Geospatial Open Data Portal on 2026-02-02.
Cite and Reference
-
Citation
WADOH (2025). Community Retail Food Environment [Washington (State)]. State of Washington Geospatial Open Data Portal. https://geo.wa.gov/datasets/c76e62d69689473ca8ad65897947e2a9_0 (web service) -
BTAA Geoportal Link
