The Food Environment Index ranges from 0 (worst) to 10 (best) and equally weights two indicators of the food environment: Limited access to healthy foods and Food insecurity.

1. Limited access to healthy foods estimates the percentage of the population who are low income and do not live close to a grocery store. Living close to a grocery store is defined differently in rural and nonrural areas; in rural areas, it means living less than 10 miles from a grocery store whereas in nonrural areas, it means less than 1 mile. Low income is defined as having an annual family income of less than or equal to 200 percent of the federal poverty threshold for the family size.
2. Food insecurity estimates the percentage of the population who did not have access to a reliable source of food during the past year. A 2-stage fixed effect model was created using information from the Community Population Survey, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and American Community Survey.