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Richardson et al., Annals of Epidemiology, Dec 2017; DOI: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2017.10.011.
The community that received a new supermarket experienced less food insecurity, fewer new cases of high cholesterol and arthritis, and lower SNAP participation over time when compared to a similar community that did not receive a supermarket. The supermarket community also saw trends of increasing resident incomes and fewer new cases of diabetes. Both study communities are predominantly African-American (95%) and low-income, groups most affected by health disparities. While neighborhood economic gains can be associated with gentrification, researchers found that less than 1% of the supermarket community moved away from the neighborhood. Therefore local residents enrolled in the study were not pushed out by improvements. This study provides strong evidence that introducing a new supermarket in a previously underserved community brings health and economic benefits for local residents.