There are 76 counties across America that do not have a single grocery store, preventing families from accessing affordable or nutritious food.
According to the most recent data According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 34 of these so-called “food deserts” are located in the Midwest and the Great Plains.
The data, collected along with the census, shows that states like Texas, Kansas, Nebraska and North Dakota contain some of the largest numbers of counties that do not have a local store.
Convenience stores are not included in the data, but supermarkets, grocery stores and delicatessens are taken into account.
These food deserts mainly affect low-income and rural communities. Shuttered stores mean people have little or no access to fresh, healthy produce, forcing them to buy packaged and highly processed foods.
Texas has the most food desert counties with 11, while Nebraska has nine, Kansas has seven, Georgia has seven, and North Dakota has six
The rural county of Loving in Texas has no grocery store, making it more difficult for families to access affordable or nutritious food
When it comes to food deserts, there is a clear state separation. Texas has the most food desert counties with 11, while Nebraska has nine, Kansas has seven, Georgia has seven, and North Dakota has six.
Alpine County in California, for example, is the only one in the state without a grocery store – and the same goes for Rich County in Utah.
Every county in Florida has a grocery store, although only one remains in Glades.
Texas is the country’s second largest state after Alaska and is largely rural, which means it’s more likely to have areas with poorer access to shopping.
The USDA defines low access to healthy food as ‘far from a supermarket, super center or large grocery store’.
The classification varies for different types of area – with “far” being defined as more than a mile for urban locations and more than 10 miles in rural areas.
By this measure, there are an estimated 18.8 million people nationwide who struggle to get to a grocery store — about 6.1 percent of the population.
Many of the areas left behind are rural locations with limited transportation options – and where retailers fear household incomes would not be able to sustain a viable food outlet.
In many rural towns, where thriving businesses may once have been located, a local grocery store is a thing of the past.
Terrell, Texas is one of 76 counties in the US that does not have a grocery store
There is a clear state separation when it comes to provinces without supermarkets
34 of the country’s so-called “food deserts” are in the Midwest and Great Plains
Rial Carver, program director for the Rural Grocery Initiative at Kansas State University, said NPR that farming communities have been losing population for decades, making it harder for businesses to stay afloat.
“As small towns get smaller, that means fewer sales are coming in for our grocery store,” Carver said.
The Rural Grocery Initiative found that 105 grocery stores in rural Kansas closed between 2008 and 2018 — and no new stores opened in half of those places.
It is in stark contrast to other rural towns that are overrun with budget stores.
A small town in eastern Kentucky has an unusual claim to fame: With a population of just 1,424, it has six-dollar stores, most of which were built in recent years.
A quiet hamlet nestled on Tygarts Creek in the foothills of the Appalachians, Olive Hill has two Family Dollar locations and four Dollar General stores in and immediately surrounding the town.
According to a 2022 studydollar stores are the fastest growing food retailers by share of household expenditures over the past decade, with growth in rural areas more than doubling.
The US dollar retail market is dominated by two major companies, Dollar General and Dollar Tree, which also owns Family Dollar.
Together, the chains operate more than 35,000 stores nationwide, which is more than the combined number of McDonald’s and Walmart locations in the US.
But critics fear that the convenience and affordability of food in dollar stores is being outweighed by health concerns about their food offerings, which lean toward high-calorie, ultra-processed packaged foods.
Olive Hill, a hamlet located on Tygarts Creek in the Appalachian foothills, has two Family Dollar locations and four Dollar General stores in and immediately surrounding the town
Dollar store growth in recent years has been fueled by historic inflation and subsequent shifts in consumer spending
A Dollar General near downtown Olive Hill is seen above. The city of 1,424 has six-dollar stores, most of which were built in recent years
Many smaller locations are also succumbing to the pressure of billion-dollar chains such as Walmart and Amazon.
Kroger and Albertsons, two of the nation’s largest supermarkets, are on the brink of a highly contentious merger.
The possible formation of this mega-chain has angered food security advocates and representatives of the grocer’s union alike.
“These small-town independent stores don’t have as much purchasing power as some of the larger chains you find in urban areas,” Carver told NPR.
Lack of access to a local store only exacerbates rising concerns about food insecurity across the country.
A quarter of American adults struggle to afford a square meal, according to a survey released in March.
With unrelenting inflation and end-of-pandemic benefits straining millions of family budgets, more and more households are being forced to turn to food banks and credit cards to make ends meet.
18.8 million people have difficulty going to a supermarket – about 6.1 percent of the population
The largest US supermarket chain, Kroger, is in talks to merge with its biggest rival Albertsons in a combination that would create a supermarket giant
A March study showed that a quarter of American adults struggle to afford a square meal
A survey by the Urban Institute found that 24.6 percent of respondents were food insecure at the end of 2022, meaning they couldn’t always put enough food on the table, compared to just 20 percent at the end of 2021.
Still, some communities, stranded by larger businesses, are fighting back against store closures.
The Circle C Market is run by the Cody-Kilgore School District in Cody, Nebraska – a town of just 167 residents.
Teacher and store manager Liz Ravenscroft told NPR: ‘We are vital to the community. The nearest grocery store is 40 miles east and the other nearest grocery store is an hour west.’
The store was launched in 2008 with the help of several national organizations and a grant from the USDAthat helps communities scale up local and regional food systems and strengthen their economies.