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E-food Desert Index

The e-food desert index (EFDI) is a multi-dimensional composite index for GB which measures the extent to which neighbourhoods exhibit characteristics associated with food deserts across four key drivers of groceries accessibility:

  • Proximity and density of grocery retail facilities
  • Transport and accessibility
  • Neighbourhood socio-economic and demographic characteristics
  • E-commerce availability and propensity

The EFDI incorporates new indicators of online groceries (home delivery) provision and propensity to engage with online groceries, the latter drawn from an existing CDRC data resource, the 2018 Internet User Classification. In addition to urban deprivation, it highlights a new driver of inequalities in access to groceries, termed ‘e-food deserts’ – remote and rural neighbourhoods which suffer the dual disadvantage of comparatively poor access to physical retail opportunities alongside limited provision of online groceries.

Note: England & Wales are scored, ranked and allocated to deciles separately to Scotland due to slight differences in the way three of the input variables are calculated in Scotland. This means that the index cannot be used to directly compare the score, rank or decile group between LSOAs in England and Wales and Data Zones in Scotland. However, it remains a robust resource for comparison between LSOAs and DZs within England & Wales or Scotland, and as a tool to explore groceries accessibility by small area or area type GB-wide. More details can be found in the EFDI User Guide.

Controller: 
University of Leeds
FieldValue
Modified
2024-02-27
Release Date
2020-12-07
Spatial / Geographical Coverage Location
Great Britain
Temporal Coverage
January 2020 to December 2020
Granularity
LSOA/DZ
Author
Dr Andy Newing
Contact Name
Newing, Andy
Contact Email
Public Access Level
Public
POLYGON ((-3.8763123750687 54.091088740356, -5.3171306848526 53.105432572829, -7.3880696296692 49.280113967859, 1.0978335142136 50.530496592184, 2.9340577125549 52.303063246008, 0.24196743965149 61.218972997867, -4.8396116495132 61.021492433236, -9.9479699134827 57.591932706544, -9.1493582725525 55.905489559181, -5.934950709343 55.291665140785, -5.3063294291496 54.751562958467, -3.8182130455971 54.522638228921))
UK Open Government Licence (OGL)

Data Extent

License

UK Open Government Licence (OGL)