What does SNAP benefit usage tell us about food access in low-income neighborhoods?

Current GIS based research on food access has focused primarily on the proximity of food sources to places of residence in low-income communities, with relatively little attention given to actual practices of food procurement. This project addresses this issue by using dasymetric mapping techniques to develop fine scale estimates of benefit usage for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, drawing from existing zip code level data on benefit distribution and redemptions. Based on this data, this research shows that while supermarkets receive almost all SNAP benefits in suburban areas, these stores have a smaller share of all SNAP redemptions in low-income core neighborhoods. In these latter areas, both convenience stores and mid-sized grocers (e.g., discount grocers, food cooperatives, ethnic markets) play a much larger role in residents' food shopping, even when supermarkets are also present. In addition, these core neighborhoods have a net "outflow" of SNAP dollars, meaning that residents of these areas receive more in benefits than is spent at neighborhood food retailers. This finding confirms existing research showing that low-income residents often travel outside their neighborhoods to get food, regardless of the presence or absence of supermarkets. Rather than simply increasing the number of large food outlets in low-access areas, this research suggests that efforts to improve food access and community health must take into account the geographically complex ways residents interact with the food system.