Abstract
Improving access to food pantries (FPs) may help address food insecurity, yet national-level assessments of geographic and socioeconomic disparities remain limited. We created a dataset of 34,475 FPs across all 50 states and the District of Columbia and analyzed their accessibility to the nearest Census block group (BG). We defined accessibility as high, medium, or low based on travel time or distance. Analyses of 239,780 BGs showed that 23.4% had low FP access. We identified geographic disparities across regions and states. For example, states in the Northeast generally have higher FP accessibility, while those in the South show lower access. Although rural BGs are more socioeconomically disadvantaged than urban ones (mean ADI: 71.3 vs. 45.8), they generally have better FP access (only 8.5% with low access vs. 26.5% in urban areas). However, some rural BGs with low FP accessibility tend to have high ADI values. In urban areas, FP placement shows relatively good alignment withneighborhood needs based on analyses of socioeconomic characteristics. In contrast, rural access patterns are more mixed. For example, less-educated rural populations face greater barriers. Findings from this study can inform policy and implementation strategies to improve FP access in underserved communities.
Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. In addition, the datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study will be made publicly available at https://osf.io/px9t8/ upon acceptance of this manuscript for publication.
References
USDA ERS - Key Statistics & Graphics. https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-u-s/key-statistics-graphics/ (2022).
Gundersen, C. & Ziliak, J. P. Food insecurity and health outcomes. Health Aff. 34, 1830–1839 (2015).
Leung, C. W. et al. Food insecurity is associated with multiple chronic conditions and physical health status among older US adults. Prev. Med. Rep. 20, 101211 (2020).
Huang, J., Oshima, K. M. M. & Kim, Y. Does food insecurity affect parental characteristics and child behavior?. Test. Med. Effects. Soc Serv Rev 84, 381–401 (2010).
Laboe, A. A. et al. The relation of food insecurity to eating disorder characteristics and treatment-seeking among adult respondents to the National Eating Disorders Association online screen. Eat. Behav. 50, 101776 (2023).
Reeder, N., Tolar-Peterson, T., Bailey, R. H., Cheng, W.-H. & Evans, M. W. Food insecurity and depression among US Adults: NHANES 2005–2016. Nutrients 14, 3081 (2022).
Whitaker, R. C., Phillips, S. M. & Orzol, S. M. Food insecurity and the risks of depression and anxiety in mothers and behavior problems in their preschool-aged children. Pediatrics 118, e859-868 (2006).
Ratcliffe, C., McKernan, S.-M. & Zhang, S. How much does the supplemental nutrition assistance program reduce food insecurity?. Am J Agric Econ 93, 1082–1098 (2011).
Siddiqi, S. M. et al. SNAP participants and high levels of food insecurity in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Public Health Rep 136, 457–465 (2021).
Hake, M., Engelhard, E. & Dewey, A. MAP THE MEAL GAP 2023. (2023).
Zhang, J., Wang, Y. & Yen, S. T. Does supplemental nutrition assistance program reduce food insecurity among households with children? evidence from the current population survey. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 18, 3178 (2021).
Bryant, A. & Follett, L. Hunger relief: A natural experiment from additional SNAP benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lancet Reg. Health Am. 10, 100224 (2022).
Bazerghi, C., McKay, F. H. & Dunn, M. The role of food banks in addressing food insecurity: A systematic review. J Community Health 41, 732–740 (2016).
An, R. et al. A systematic review of food pantry-based interventions in the USA. Public Health Nutr. 22, 1704–1716 (2019).
Charitable Food Assistance Participation | Feeding America. https://www.feedingamerica.org/research/charitable-food-assistance-participation.
Ginsburg, Z. A. et al. Unreliable and Difficult-to-Access Food for Those in Need: A Qualitative and Quantitative Study of Urban Food Pantries. J Community Health 44, 16–31 (2019).
Caspi, C. E., Sorensen, G., Subramanian, S. V. & Kawachi, I. The local food environment and diet: A systematic review. Health Place 18, 1172–1187 (2012).
Penchansky, R. & Thomas, J. W. The concept of access: definition and relationship to consumer satisfaction. Med Care 19, 127–140 (1981).
Casellas Connors, J. P., Safayet, M., Rosenheim, N. & Watson, M. Assessing changes in food pantry access after extreme events. Agric. Hum. Values 40, 619–634 (2023).
Mabli, J., Jones, D. & Kaufman, P. Characterizing food access in America: Considering the role of emergency food pantries in areas without supermarkets. J. Hunger Environ. Nutrition 8, 310–323 (2013).
Caspi, C. E., Lopez, A. M. & Nanney, M. S. Geographic access to food shelves among racial/ethnic minorities and foreign-born residents in the Twin Cities. J Hunger Environ. Nutr. 11, 29–44 (2016).
Rabbitt, M. P., Reed-Jones, M., Hales, L. J. & Burke, M. P. Household Food Security in the United States in 2023. Economic Research Report https://ideas.repec.org//p/ags/uersrr/344963.html (2024).
Maynard, M. et al. The experience of food insecurity among immigrants: a scoping review. J. Int. Migr. Integr. 20, 1–43 (2018).
Walker, R. J. et al. Trends in food insecurity in the United States from 2011–2017: Disparities by age, sex, race/ethnicity, and income. Popul Health Manag. 24, 496–501 (2021).
Treloar, D., Taylor, D. E. & Bell, A. Predictors of food insecurity and food assistance program usage among puerto ricans before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Holyoke Massachusetts. Nutrients 16, 3666 (2024).
Karnik, H., Peterson, H., Bohen, L. & Caspi, C. Relationship between local food environment and reliance on food pantries: insights from a statewide client survey in Minnesota. J Public Health (Berl) https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-024-02240-z (2024).
Lowrey, J., Maestas, D., Beaulieu, T., Headings, A. & Hyder, A. Geospatial determinants of food pantry access in the mid-Ohio farmacy program. Prev Chronic Dis 20, E113 (2023).
Schramski, S., Neighbors ,C., Wood ,Natalie & and Reyes, F. Sociospatial Analysis of Food Pantry Access and Location in a Southwestern Frontier Community. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition 18, 209–230 (2023).
Daponte, B. O., Lewis, G. H., Sanders, S. & Taylor, L. Food Pantry Use among Low-Income Households in Allegheny County Pennsylvania. J. Nutrition Educ. 30, 50–57 (1998).
Safayet, M., Casellas Connors, J. P. & Watson, M. Measuring access to food banks and food pantries: A scoping review of spatial analysis approaches. Health Place 88, 103251 (2024).
Codner, A. et al. Socio-demographic factors associated with hunger among food pantry users in Eastern Massachusetts. J. Nutr. Sci. 12, e53 (2023).
Taylor, D. E., Allison, K., Hamilton, T. & Bell, A. Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Food Access in Two Predominantly White Cities: The Case of Lansing, East Lansing, and Surrounding Townships in Michigan. Sustainability 15, 15065 (2023).
Bacon, C. M. & Baker, G. A. The rise of food banks and the challenge of matching food assistance with potential need: towards a spatially specific, rapid assessment approach | Agriculture and Human Values. Agric. Hum. Values 34, 899–919 (2017).
Chakraborty, J., Aun, J. J. & Schober, G. S. Assessing the relationship between emergency food assistance and social vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic. Appl. Spat. Anal. Policy 16, 259–276 (2023).
Krieger, N. et al. Zip code caveat: bias due to spatiotemporal mismatches between Zip codes and US census-defined geographic Areas—The Public Health Disparities Geocoding Project. Am J public health 92, 1100–1102 (2002).
Goodman, A. C. A Comparison of Block Group and Census Tract Data in a Hedonic Housing Price Model. Land Econ. 53, 483–487 (1977).
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. 2020 Area Deprivation Index.
Kind, A. J. H. & Buckingham, W. R. Making neighborhood-disadvantage metrics accessible — The neighborhood atlas. N Engl J Med 378, 2456–2458 (2018).
Riediger, N. D., Dahl, L., Biradar, R. A., Mudryj, A. N. & Torabi, M. A descriptive analysis of food pantries in twelve American states: hours of operation, faith-based affiliation, and location. BMC Public Health 22, 525 (2022).
Gundersen, C., Dewey, A., Hake, M., Engelhard, E. & Crumbaugh, A. S. Food Insecurity across the Rural-Urban Divide: Are Counties in Need Being Reached by Charitable Food Assistance?. Ann. Am. Acad. Pol. Soc. Sci. 672, 217–237 (2017).
Zhao, H., Overcash, F., Gold, A. & Reicks, M. Associations between Barriers to Food Pantry Use, Visit Frequency, Pantry Experiences, and Amount of Food Received. Nutrients 16, 3334 (2024).
Waity, J. F. Geographic variation in barriers to the usage of food assistance in Indiana. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition 14, 511–525 (2019).
Liese, A. D. et al. Validation of 3 food outlet databases: completeness and geospatial accuracy in rural and urban food environments. Am J Epidemiol 172, 1324–1333 (2010).
Wong, M. S., Peyton, J. M., Shields, T. M., Curriero, F. C. & Gudzune, K. A. Comparing the accuracy of food outlet datasets in an urban environment. Geospat Health 12, 546 (2017).
Lake, A. A., Burgoine, T., Greenhalgh, F., Stamp, E. & Tyrrell, R. The foodscape: Classification and field validation of secondary data sources. Health Place 16, 666–673 (2010).
Caspi, C. E. & Friebur, R. Modified ground-truthing: an accurate and cost-effective food environment validation method for town and rural areas. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 13, 37 (2016).
Taylor, D. E. & Ard, K. J. Food availability and the food desert frame in detroit: An overview of the city’s food system. Environ. Pract. 17, 102–133 (2015).
Gany, F. et al. Food insecurity: limitations of emergency food resources for our patients. J Urban Health 90, 552–558 (2013).
Burke, M. P. & Huffman, E. Estimating the number, distribution, and predictors of food pantries in the US. J. Nutr. Educ. Behav. 55, 182–190 (2023).
Kaplan, K. H. et al. Accessibility to emergency food systems in south-central Indiana evaluated by spatiotemporal indices of pressure at county and pantry level. Nat. Food 1, 284–291 (2020).
Morton, L. & Blanchard, T. Starved for access: Life in rural America’s food DESERTS. Rural Real 1, 1–10 (2007).
Simmet, A., Depa, J., Tinnemann, P. & Stroebele-Benschop, N. The nutritional quality of food provided from food pantries: A systematic review of existing literature. J. Acad. Nutr. Diet 117, 577–588 (2017).
Oldroyd, L., Eskandari, F., Pratt, C. & Lake, A. A. The nutritional quality of food parcels provided by food banks and the effectiveness of food banks at reducing food insecurity in developed countries: a mixed-method systematic review. J. Hum. Nutr. Diet 35, 1202–1229 (2022).
Long, C. R. et al. Food pantry clients’ needs, preferences, and recommendations for food pantries: A qualitative study. J. Hunger Environ. Nutr. 18, 245–260 (2023).
Algert, S. J., Reibel, M. & Renvall, M. J. Barriers to participation in the food stamp program among food pantry clients in Los Angeles. Am. J. Public Health 96, 807–809 (2006).
Nooney, L. et al. Rural food pantry users’ stigma and safety net food programs. Contemp. Rural Soc. Work J. 5, 7 (2013).
Byrne, A. T., Just, D. R. & Barrett, C. B. But it came from a food pantry: Product stigma and quality perceptions of food pantry offerings. Agric. Econ. 54, 327–344 (2023).
Riches, G. Food banks and food security: Welfare reform, human rights and social policy. Lessons from Canada?. Soc. Policy Admin. 36, 648–663 (2002).
Poppendieck, J. 1999 Sweet Charity: Emergency Food and the End of Entitlement. Penguin, .
Food Pantries | Soup Kitchens | Food Banks.
Centers of Population for the 2020 Census, U.S. Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/centers-population.2020.html.
USDA ERS - Rural-Urban Continuum Codes. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/rural-urban-continuum-codes/.
Manson, S., Schroeder, J., Riper, D. V., Kugler, T. & Ruggles, S. IPUMS National Historical Geographic Information System: Version 17.0 [2020 Census: DHC - P & H Tables [Blocks & Larger Areas]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS. 2022. https://doi.org/10.18128/D050.V17.0.
Manson, S. et al. IPUMS National Historical Geographic Information System: Version 19.0 [2021 American Community Survey: 5-Year Data [2017–2021, Block Groups & Larger Areas]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS. 2024. https://doi.org/10.18128/D050.V19.0.
Sanchez, T. W. Poverty, policy, and public transportation. Transp. Res. Part A: Policy Practice 42, 833–841 (2008).
Larsen, K. & Gilliland, J. Mapping the evolution of ‘food deserts’ in a Canadian city: Supermarket accessibility in London, Ontario, 1961–2005. Int. J. Health Geogr. 7, 16 (2008).
Ploeg, M. V. et al. Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food-Measuring and Understanding Food Deserts and Their Consequences: Report to Congress. http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=42729.
Acknowledgements
We thank Dr. Richeek Pradhan for reviewing the manuscript and providing valuable feedback. Research reported in this study was in part supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under award number R01DA056470-A1 and 1R01AG080670-01, and by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Systems Research under grant number 1I01HX003711-01A1. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent NIH, VA, or the US government.
Funding
Research reported in this study was in part supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under award number R01DA056470-A1 and 1R01AG080670-01, and by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Systems Research under grant number 1I01HX003711-01A1.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
H.Y. initiated and directed the project. Y.Z. and M.L. implemented the methods, performed data analyses and co-wrote the manuscript. H.C. created the food pantry dataset. O.B. contributed to data validation. J.B.G, Y.W., Z.Y., F.O., D.L., and K.L.T discussed the results and commented on the manuscript. Y.Z. and M.L. contributed equally to this work. M.L. conducted this study during studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
About this article
Cite this article
Zhang, Y., Lee, M., Gibbons, J.B. et al. Socioeconomic, demographic and geographic disparities in accessibility to food pantries in the united States. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-35784-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-35784-z
