Nonprofit & Grant Writers
Document food access gaps in grant applications using USDA's official food desert classifications. The food desert flag is the most commonly required data point for USDA SNAP, CDFI, and community development grants.
Food desert classifications, low-income tract flags, and food access scores for every US ZIP code. Part of the EnrichZip dataset — all 33,000+ US ZIP codes, instant download.
How to use this data
Nonprofit & Grant Writers
Document food access gaps in grant applications using USDA's official food desert classifications. The food desert flag is the most commonly required data point for USDA SNAP, CDFI, and community development grants.
Public Health Researchers
Analyze correlations between food access, health outcomes, income, and transportation access at the neighborhood level.
Grocery & Retail Site Selectors
Identify underserved food desert ZIP codes as expansion opportunities. Federal incentives including New Markets Tax Credits often favor food desert locations.
Healthcare Systems
Understand the food environment of your patient population. Food insecurity and food desert residence are social determinants of health with direct clinical implications.
Columns Included
Source: US Department of Agriculture (USDA). All columns are pre-joined and ready to use — no API key or GIS software required.
| Column Name | Description |
|---|---|
usda_food_desert_flag |
1 if ZIP meets USDA low-income + low-access (1 mile urban / 10 mile rural) criteria |
usda_food_desert_half_mile |
1 if ZIP meets USDA low-income + low-access (0.5 mile urban) criteria |
usda_low_income_tract |
1 if ZIP is classified as a low-income tract |
usda_no_vehicle_flag |
1 if ZIP has significant population with no vehicle and low food access |
usda_pct_low_food_access |
% of population with low access to a supermarket |
About This Data
Food deserts — officially designated by the USDA as low-income areas with limited access to affordable, nutritious food — are a critical data point for public health, community development, and retail site selection. The USDA Economic Research Service maintains the Food Access Research Atlas, the definitive source for food desert classifications in the United States.
Accessing this data from the USDA requires downloading and processing census tract-level files and then mapping them to ZIP codes — a multi-step process that EnrichZip has already done for you.
For grant writers, the USDA food desert flag is often a required data element. Programs including USDA's Community Facilities grants, CDFI Fund awards, New Markets Tax Credits, and many state-level economic development grants require applicants to demonstrate that their target area meets USDA food desert criteria. Our data provides that documentation in a simple, citable format.
For grocery chains and food retailers, food deserts represent underserved markets with demonstrable demand. Federal and state incentive programs — including New Markets Tax Credits and various USDA business programs — often provide favorable financing for retail food projects in food desert communities.
For public health systems, food desert residence is a recognized social determinant of health. ZIP codes with high food desert flags correlate with elevated rates of diet-related chronic diseases including diabetes, obesity, and hypertension. Understanding your patient population's food environment is increasingly standard practice in value-based care.
FAQ
The USDA classifies an area as a food desert (formally: a 'low-income, low-access' tract) when it meets two criteria: (1) it is low-income, defined as a poverty rate of 20% or higher or a median family income at or below 80% of the area's median, AND (2) it has low access to a supermarket — more than 1 mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than 10 miles in rural areas.
The USDA Food Access Research Atlas is updated infrequently — the most recent version uses 2019 data combined with 2015-2019 ACS estimates. A new version is expected following the 2020 Census data integration. Our dataset uses the most current published version.
Yes — our food desert flag directly reflects the USDA's own LILA (Low-Income, Low-Access) tract classification from the Food Access Research Atlas. It's the same data point required by most federal and foundation grant applications.
The half-mile flag uses a stricter distance threshold (0.5 miles in urban areas) to identify areas with very limited food access even within cities with dense transit networks. Many public health researchers and urban-focused funders prefer the half-mile definition for urban food desert analysis.