Mapping EBT Store Closures During the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Low-Income, Food-Insecure Community in San Diego

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The map illustrates the change in the number and location of stores that accept EBT as payment, before the COVID-19 pandemic on July 23, 2019, and during the pandemic on July 23, 2021. Stores are grouped into 3 categories, each with 2 groups (with and without fresh produce): 1) stores that were present at both points in time, 2) stores that were present in 2019, and 3) stores that were present in 2021. These locations are derived from the USDA Snap Retailer Database and overlaid on census tract–level data for rates of food insecurity for low-income residents in the HUD-designated San Diego Promise Zone. Food security is visualized in quartiles: 0% to 5.40%, 5.41% to 7.60%, 7.61% to 11.60%, and 11.61% to 13.50%. In the two highest quartiles of food insecurity, 6 EBT-accepting locations that sold fresh produce closed, but only 2 selling fresh produce opened.

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