Food swamp

A food swamp is an urban environment with an abundance of several non-nutritious food options such as corner stores or fast-food restaurants. The term was coined in 2009 by Donald Rose and his colleagues at the University of Michigan in a report on food access in New Orleans. The concept is actively growing in its application and usage in research due to its novelty.

The concept is comparable to that of a food desert. It is generally believed that those in a food desert have poor local access to nutritious food sources, while those in a food swamp have few grocery stores but easy local access to non-nutritious food. However, areas that have adequate access to healthy food options while still having an overwhelming amount of unhealthy food available are also considered food swamps. Food swamps may even be more widespread that food deserts, as suggested by some research, or overlap with food deserts as they exist in various regions around the world.

One definition gives a general ratio of four unhealthy options for each healthy option. The term was first coined by researchers conducting longitudinal studies of the link between increased access to grocery stores and rising obesity rates. This study found that even with new access to local grocery stores, the proportion of convenience stores and fast food to a single grocery store did not shift food choices nor obesity rates. This indicates a distinction between food swamps and food deserts. According to researchers, food swamps are better measures for obesity rates. Food swamps are associated with varying health outcomes across different demographic groups, with Black and Brown communities experiencing disproportionately poorer health indicators.