This research studies the social and spatial inequalities of contemporary food deserts in England and Wales. Two indices of the Store Food Desert Index and Online Food Desert Index are measured to examine store access and online access to food at the Lower Layer Super Output Areas geographical level. A detailed analysis is conducted to (i) identify “priority areas” where there is relatively lower store access and online access to food, (ii) synthesize population to understand the characteristics of “at-risk communities” that are disproportionately affected by food deserts, and (iii) examine the association between self-reported health conditions and a compound of store and online access to food. Three insights are provided. First, there is a clear urban-rural divide in which urban areas generally benefit from better provision of both store and online access to food. Second, about 23% of the population (13.8 million people) live in priority areas with limited access to both physical stores and online groceries. Within this group, 0.06% (8000 individuals) do not have cars, 2.17% (300,000 individuals) are Black, and 14.5% (2 million individuals) reside in deprived neighborhoods. This is an alarming picture. Third, people residing in areas with high store and online access to food reported better health conditions, and online access is as effective as store access in improving health conditions. The findings highlight the potential of combining online and store access to bridge geographical and economic gaps, thereby providing healthier food options to those in food deserts.

这项研究研究了英格兰和威尔士当代食物荒漠的社会和空间不平等。衡量商店食品沙漠指数和在线食品沙漠指数两个指数，以考察下层超级输出区地理层面的商店访问和在线食品访问。进行详细分析是为了（i）确定商店访问和在线获取食品的机会相对较少的“优先区域”，（ii）综合人口以了解受粮食荒漠影响尤为严重的“高危社区”的特征，以及（iii）检查自我报告的健康状况与商店和网上获取食物的复合体之间的关联。提供了三个见解。首先，存在明显的城乡差距，城市地区通常受益于更好地提供商店和网上获取食品的服务。其次，约 23% 的人口（1380 万人）居住在优先地区，购买实体店和网上杂货的机会有限。在这一群体中，0.06%（8000 人）没有汽车，2.17%（30 万人）是黑人，14.5%（200 万人）居住在贫困社区。这是一幅令人震惊的画面。第三，居住在商店和在线食品获取渠道较多的地区的人们报告健康状况较好，并且在线获取与商店获取食品在改善健康状况方面同样有效。研究结果强调了将在线和商店访问结合起来以弥合地理和经济差距的潜力，从而为食物荒漠中的人们提供更健康的食物选择。