UC Riverside

Low-income areas with limited access to nutritious foods are referred to as "food deserts" and are commonly found in communities of color. Supermarkets are absent from these neighborhoods, mostly due to the residual effects of redlining which began as early as the 1930s. Alternative food institutions, such as farmers’ markets, attempt but fail to adequately address the problems of food deserts. Grocery delivery services (GDS) reflect another attempt to address the problems of food deserts. Companies like Amazon Prime, Instacart, and Walmart Pickup & Delivery are becoming more popular. It is not known whether GDS improves access to nutritious foods. This study uses geographical information systems (GIS) to map the service areas of GDS and their overlap with food deserts in California. The results demonstrate that 6.56% of the state is comprised of areas that are food deserts served by GDS, while 28.21% of the state is comprised of areas that are food deserts and not served by GDS. Analysis of the racial and ethnic demographics suggests that very few people, regardless of race or ethnicity, are in a food desert that is not served by GDS. Future research can assess the utilization of GDS by low-income households to determine the extent to which access to GDS in a food desert translates to reduced food insecurity.