Objectives. We evaluated the spatial accessibility of large “chain” supermarkets in relation to neighborhood racial composition and poverty. Methods. We used a geographic information system to measure Manhattan block distance to the nearest supermarket for 869 neighborhoods (census tracts) in metropolitan Detroit. We constructed moving average spatial regression models to adjust for spatial autocorrelation and to test for the effect of modification of percentage African American and percentage poor on distance to the nearest supermarket. Results. Distance to the nearest supermarket was similar among the least impoverished neighborhoods, regardless of racial composition. Among the most impoverished neighborhoods, however, neighborhoods in which African Americans resided were, on average, 1.1 miles further from the nearest supermarket than were White neighborhoods. Conclusions. Racial residential segregation disproportionately places African Americans in more-impoverished neighborhoods in Detroit and consequently reduces access to supermarkets. However, supermarkets have opened or remained open close to middle-income neighborhoods that have transitioned from White to African American. Development of economically disadvantaged African American neighborhoods is critical to effectively prevent diet-related diseases among this population.

Placing full-service supermarkets in food deserts—areas with limited access to healthy food—has been promoted as a way to reduce inequalities in access to healthy food, improve diet, and reduce the...

Purpose.: To examine relationships between the neighborhood food environment and fruit and vegetable intake in a multiethnic urban population. Design.: Analysis of cross-sectional survey and observational data. Setting.: One hundred forty-six neighborhoods within three large geographic communities of Detroit, Michigan. Subjects.: Probability sample of 919 African-American, Latino, and white adults. Measures.: The dependent variable was mean daily fruit and vegetable servings, as measured by using a modified Block 98 food frequency questionnaire. Independent variables included the neighborhood food environment: store availability (i.e., large grocery, specialty, convenience, liquor, small grocery), supermarket proximity (i.e., street-network distance to nearest chain grocer), and perceived and observed neighborhood fresh fruit and vegetable supply (i.e., availability, variety, quality, affordability). Analysis.: Weighted, multilevel regression. Results.: Presence of a large grocery store in the neighborhood was associated with, on average, 0.69 more daily fruit and vegetable servings in the full sample. Relationships between the food environment and fruit and vegetable intake did not differ between whites and African-Americans. However, Latinos, compared with African-Americans, who had a large grocery store in the neighborhood consumed 2.20 more daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Presence of a convenience store in the neighborhood was associated with 1.84 fewer daily fruit and vegetable servings among Latinos than among African-Americans. Conclusion.: The neighborhood food environment influences fruit and vegetable intake, and the size of this relationship may vary for different racial/ethnic subpopulations.