United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Environment Atlas

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Details Low Income children obesity rates, SNAP and WIC programs, farms with direct sales to consumers, direct-sale farm revenue
Topics health, federal nutrition programs, local foods
Source U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service
Years Available Various (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012)
Geographies County
Public Edition or Subscriber-only Public Edition
Download Available yes
For more information http://www.ers.usda.gov/FoodAtlas/

Description:

The Food Environment Atlas is a project of the Economic Research Service, the economic information and research division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Atlas assembles data about food choices, health and well-being, and community characteristics. Data are available at various geographies including county, state and region.

Health related indicators, including low-income preschool obesity rates, come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The low income preschool figures were derived by a CDC analysis of the Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System, see http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6231a4.htm?s_cid=mm6231a4_w.

Data on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, come from the Food and Nutrition Service of USDA’s SNAP Benefits Redemption Division. Data on the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program come from the Food and Nutrition Service of USDA’s Program Analysis and Monitoring Branch, Supplemental Food Programs Division. SNAP benefits data are calculated by the Bureau of Economic Analysis at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Low-income participants in the SNAP program come from Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, U.S. Census Bureau. Population data used to determine rates is from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Data on farms with direct sales to consumer are from the 2007 Agricultural Census, see: http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/index.asp.

PolicyMap will remove the WIC and SNAP data published in the Food Environment Atlas in 2021 if the data is not updated by the source.

Available Data Layers & Indicators
Indicator Name Geographies Measurement Type Time Frame Coverage
Number of SNAP-authorized stores per 1,000 population County Rate 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012
Number of WIC-authorized stores per 1,000 population County Rate 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012
Number of SNAP-authorized stores County Number 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012
Number of WIC-authorized stores County Number 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012
Total WIC redemptions County Aggregate dollars 2008, 2009
Average SNAP redemption per SNAP-authorized store County Average dollars 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012
Average WIC redemption per WIC-authorized store County Average dollars 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012
Low-income preschool obesity rate,-11 County Percent 2008, 2011
Per capita dollar amount of WIC redemptions County Dollars 2008, 2011, 2012