More than 53 million or 17% of Americans were considered low-income and had little to no access to supermarkets or similar large food stores, according to 2019 data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The USDA defines food deserts as an area where low-income people do not have easy access to large food retailers. These food deserts particularly impact urban areas. Ninety-six percent of people in a food desert, 51.7 million, lived in urban areas in 2019.
