Anna Kogan

Food deserts, areas where there are no grocery stores located in the neighbourhood, are a serious issue in many North American cities. This study assesses the availability of grocery stores (defined as all food and beverage stores) and chain grocery stores in neighbourhoods across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and its correlation with the neighbourhood’s residents’ average household income. The study found that the GTA lost over 40% of its grocery stores between 2000 and 2010, and the average distance to the closest grocery store and the closest chain grocery store increased by approximately 7% and 10% respectively. Little correlation was found between the distance to the closest grocery store and income. The minimum distance variable was found to be highly spatially autocorrelated with high values of minimum distance clustered in suburban and rural areas and low values of minimum distance clustered in the city’s urban core.