Fig. 2

Minimum Walking and Driving Trip Durations to Restaurants and Grocery Stores, by Income Level. a The chart illustrates the average minimum walking and driving durations to restaurants and grocery stores from the center of tracts, categorized by income levels. Income was bucketed into 10K bins, and the analysis took the average of the minimum travel times in tracts within the same income bucket. The analysis reveals a statistically significant (p=0.03) negative correlation (r= –0.29) between income and the minimum walking duration to grocery stores. In other words, the time taken to reach the nearest grocery store was significantly longer for inhabitants of lower-income areas. In contrast, median income did not influence minimum walking or driving duration to restaurants; neither was it significant in minimum driving duration to grocery stores. Incidentally, among the four factors analyzed here, minimum walking duration to groceries for low-income families is the most important factor for ensuring healthy food access for low-income families with limited vehicle access