Revisiting the Modified Retail Food Environment Index (mRFEI): Examining Food Access Inequities Over a Decade in the United States

This study recalculates the modified Retail Food Environment Index (mRFEI) using the 2018–2019 Infogroup dataset, addressing a data gap left since the index’s last revision in 2011. The updated mRFEI is employed to assess current food access disparities in the United States. Based on the recalculated mRFEI, we have evaluated the evolution of food access inequities by examining the relationships between the mRFEI and each theme of the community’s social vulnerability index (SVI) over a decade. Our findings reveal that higher social vulnerability remains associated with lower access to healthy food retailers, particularly for socioeconomic status ( b = -0.123, 95% CI [-0.163, -0.082]) and minority status and language ( b = -0.277, 95% CI [-0.312, -0.241]). However, these associations have weakened over time. The mRFEI gap between the most (i.e. bottom 10%) and the least (i.e. top 10%) vulnerable tracts (based on the overall SVI) decreases by 2.176 (95% CI [1.638, 2.714]) over time. Similar reductions are observed for other SVI themes, as well as when comparing the top and the bottom 25%, suggesting a gradual narrowing of food inequities. However, persistent disparities highlight the need for continued policy efforts. We make our data and product publicly available through a web Geographic Information System (GIS) tool. By offering the updated mRFEI, we equip researchers, policymakers, and practitioners with a timely, accessible, and reusable resource that enables a more accurate understanding of current food access disparities. This resource can be directly incorporated into future studies, policy development, and intervention design.