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Key Food Access Terms <br />Food Access – Food access is defined as a household’s means to procure an adequate <br />amount of food on a regular basis through a combination of purchases, barter, borrowings, <br />food assistance or gifts. <br /> <br />Food Retailer – A food retailer is defined as any place (supermarket, fast food restaurant, <br />convenience store, etc.) that one can buy food. Food retailers are ranked on a spectrum from <br />healthy to unhealthy using an indicator known as the modified retail food environment index <br />(mRFEI). <br /> <br />Food Desert – A food desert refers to a section or zone (census tract) that is classified as <br />both low income and low access as measured by different distance demarcations. <br /> <br />Food Swamp – A food swamp is a census tract where unhealthy foods are way more <br />accessible than healthy foods. For example, food swamps have lots of fast food restaurants <br />and corner stores rather than supermarkets and grocery stores. Food swamps can also exist <br />within food deserts, where healthy food is out of range.