Alison Jackson

Studies suggest that the suburbanization of grocery stores in North American cities has contributed to the development of food deserts- disadvantaged areas with poor access to healthy, affordable food. This paper explores accessibility to food retailers in the Hamilton CMA. Proximity was used to assess accessibility for four tiers of food stores including smaller independents and convenience stores. This study aims to detect spatial variations in food retail accessibility, establish the relationship between locations of potential food deserts and low-income areas, and determine if food deserts exist. Several network analyses methods were used to assess access to food stores for different neighbourhoods (dissemination blocks). Distance to the closest food store at each tier was examined and correlated with median family income. Service area analyses were conducted to examine accessibility for three modes of transportation – private automobile, walking and public transportation. For each service area, socioeconomic characteristics of the population living within and beyond the accessible distance of food stores are determined. The principal conclusion was that residents of the Hamilton CMA are adequately serviced by retail providers of food by multiple transportation modes. This study shows that food deserts are nearly absent in the Hamilton CMA based on methods analysed.