We’ll look at the differences between all of King County and those living in food desert areas, do some basic analysis of two key indicators of inequality, and see whether people in food deserts report eating fresh foods less frequently.

First, let’s examine the racial composition of food deserts¹ in the county.

That may be surprising if you weren’t aware that Seattle is in King County and that Seattle is one of the whitest places around.

Okay, so those look pretty much the same. Are they? Let’s do some math and check with an individual t-test.

pvalue = 0.9999

If the groups were very different that pvalue would be less than 0.01, but its almost 100 times that. This means that the racial makeup of King County as a whole is not significantly different from the makeup of food deserts in King County. They look pretty much the same because they are pretty much the same.

Alright, so what about income? Are food deserts composed of lower income earners?

That is also pretty surprising, unless you’re aware that the median income in King County in 2015 was a cool $75k!

Just for a little perspective, according to MIT, the average yearly expenses for a family of four in King County are about $80k.

These look the same, too. Are they? Let’s do the math things!

pvalue = 0.9999

That pvalue is, again, too high to find any difference between those in, and those out of, food deserts.

Let’s check out one more thing. This is where the rubber meets the road. Do people in King County food deserts eat fresh fruits and veggies less often?

Most eat fruits and vegetables every day. That’s great news!

Okay, so what’s the deal with this food desert thing anyway? I wouldn’t necessarily think that over 80% of people in food deserts eat fruits and vegetables every day. Being in a food desert doesn’t seem to make much of a difference. Is this even a thing? In short, yes. If you need further convincing please check out the links below.

King County is atypical in many ways. Two obvious differences are the median income and cost of living. Another factor not represented in our data²; public transportation is extensive throughout the area and is available on-demand and door-to-door for many vulnerable populations. Online ordering, door-to-door delivery services and neighborhood farmer’s markets are also abundant. Also, biking and walking are encouraged with infrastructure improvements and public outreach.

Access to affordable, healthy food options remains a challenge in many communities. Thankfully, getting fruits and vegetables in King County isn’t too hard, even if you’re over a mile from the store and live in a lower income neighborhood.

It would be interesting to do similar research in other communities around the country and see if I am correct in assuming that the USDA is right about food deserts being generally distinctive from their surrounding food oases.

You can see the code used for cleaning and organizing the data, and where to request your own copy here.

Photo Credit: Arina P Habich/shutterstock