Food Markets and Retail

Food markets, retail outlets, and restaurants make up a community’s physical food environment. The types of outlets located near where an individual lives, works, and plays can strongly influence where that individual will shop for food and what they will eat.

Major categories of food markets and retail outlets that are highlighted in the visualizations below include the following:

  • Supermarkets are large grocery stores that include all food departments, from produce to frozen. They tend to offer the greatest variety of food items. Ownership is generally consolidated within a few large companies. Supermarkets may further be categorized by size, and especially large outlets may be referred to as “supercenters” or “superstores.” Differences in price, quality, and availability of culturally relevant foods influence which communities have access to these outlets.

    Warehouse retailers or wholesale clubs are classified as supermarkets in the visualizations below. These large-footprint retailers offer products in large quantities at discounted per-unit prices. They are typically accessible only to households that pay a membership fee.

    Small grocery and corner stores or bodegas are often independently and locally owned and operated, with few or no separate food departments. They usually offer less variety in food items than supermarkets and, as small businesses, often have less financial flexibility in the types and quantities of food they are able to sell.

  • These outlets are often focused mostly on selling shelf-stable goods and non-food items. They usually belong to a chain and, for this reason, have less flexibility in changing their inventory on a store-to-store basis. In the visualizations below, pharmacies and discount or dollar stores are also included in this category.

  • Food service establishments where a customer orders and pays before eating. These include fast food and fast casual establishments, whose food offerings can vary greatly in price and nutritional value.

  • Food service establishments where customers order and are served after being seated and typically pay after eating.

  • These include farmers markets, community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs, farm stands or on-farm markets, and online stores selling farm and ranch products. These outlets tend to market food with a low level of processing and mostly sell to customers within a relatively small geographic range.

Additional outlet types include:

  • Although food hubs are involved in distribution, many also market the food they aggregate and can therefore be considered a type of retailer. They specialize in source-identified food products, meaning that products can be traced back to the farm or ranch where they were grown. Food hubs can be essential marketing channels for local producers looking to scale up and can help supply larger volumes of locally produced food to institutions like schools and hospitals.

  • These include both consumer and producer cooperatives. In producer cooperatives, agricultural producers aggregate their products to be able to sell in larger quantities or greater variety. In consumer cooperatives, consumers pool their resources to purchase food in wholesale amounts.

  • Food stands and street vendors can form an integral part of a community’s food environment and can be essential for providing culturally relevant foods. Little data is currently available regarding these outlets.

Across many of these types of outlets, online food and grocery ordering has become commonplace since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is changing the landscape of how neighbors purchase or access food. Though there are some opportunities for individuals to redeem SNAP benefits online, more can be done to increase access for neighbors with low income.

Questions to Consider

  • What types of food retail exist in different areas of Central Texas?

  • Where are food retail locations situated? How do retailers decide where to set up shop?

  • Which locations provide fresh produce, other nutritious foods, and culturally relevant foods for specific communities?

  • Which locations provide source-identified products or are engaged in values-based procurement?

  • What strategies can be employed to increase the concentration of food retailers selling nutritious foods?

  • Where can local producers sell their products? How can market opportunities for local producers grow?

  • Which locations can be accessed by households receiving federal nutrition benefits like SNAP or WIC or nutrition incentives like Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB)?

  • What kinds of barriers do different types of food retailers experience? How can these barriers be addressed?

  • What market trends are different types of food retailers experiencing?

  • Where is there availability of city- or county-owned land to support community-driven or publicly owned food retail models?

  • How much local food are grocery stores and restaurants sourcing?

List of Dashboards

Continue scrolling to view the dashboards linked below or click on a link to visit a specific part of this page.

Grocery and Restaurant Locations

The map below shows the distribution of food retail locations and restaurants across Central Texas. Stores and restaurants are displayed on this map according to the categories included in the purchased dataset, meaning that similar types of locations may not be categorized in the same way. Central Texas Food Bank has created and applied a methodology to address the limitations of this dataset, but some inconsistencies may remain due to inability to systematically recategorize some records in the dataset.

Highlights: Grocery stores and restaurants of all kinds are concentrated in Travis County, especially along the I-35 corridor. Neighbors in surrounding counties and outside of Waco in McLennan County have relatively fewer options for purchasing food.

To add or remove layers, click on the “eye” icons in the “Layers” box on the top right. View legends for each layer by selecting the “>” arrows on the left-hand side of the legend to expand the information for that particular layer. Zoom in to see more locations; the locations may be cut off on the map due to reaching the maximum number of locations in the view at one time.

Data Source: Purchased from Data Axle in January 2024

Refreshed: Annually. Dashboard last updated May 2024.

Food Retail and Restaurant Sales

Nearly all food bought at stores in the United States is purchased at supermarkets and grocery stores, with less than 10% purchased at convenience stores and specialty food stores. Growth of food sales at grocery stores has exceeded the rate of inflation since 2010. Stores and restaurants are displayed on this map according to the categories included in the purchased dataset, meaning that similar types of locations may not be categorized in the same way. Central Texas Food Bank has created and applied a methodology to address the limitations of this dataset, but some inconsistencies may remain due to inability to systematically recategorize some records in the dataset.

Highlights: Supermarkets account for 94% of all food retail sales. Full-service restaurant sales account for more than twice as many sales as limited-service (fast food) restaurants. Travis County sales account for two-thirds of all full-service restaurant sales and half of fast-food sales for the region. Travis and Williamson counties have the most food retail and restaurant locations.

Toggle between “Food Retail” and “Restaurants” using the buttons below the chart. Click on a county name in the legend to filter by county.

Data Source: Purchased from Data Axle in January 2024

Refreshed: Annually. Dashboard last updated May 2024.

Food Retail Locations in Low-Income/Low-Access Areas

Areas with higher incomes generally have more grocery stores and restaurants than areas with lower income. Retailers tend to set up shop where it makes economic sense to do so based on availability and cost of land, labor, and other materials to build and operate a grocery store or restaurant. Though these costs tend to be higher in urban areas, demand also tends to be higher due to population density, which can help offset these costs. Zoning and regulatory approval processes are also taken into account.

Urban areas with lower income and higher numbers of residents who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) tend to have fewer grocery stores than higher income urban and suburban areas with more White residents. Nationally, and in Central Texas communities, census tracts that were historically redlined are more likely to have limited grocery store access today.

As mentioned on the Food Access dashboard, knowing where grocery stores and restaurants are located does not necessarily provide insight into which types of food are available. A compounding issue is that some areas not only lack access to a grocery store but are also surrounded by outlets that tend to sell less nutritious food, like fast-food restaurants and convenience stores. These areas are known as food swamps. To build on the map below, there are opportunities for research to determine where there are gaps in access to nutritious foods, potentially utilizing the Healthy Food Availability Index to get a sense of what is available.

Highlights: Restaurants and food retail locations are concentrated around population centers in Central Texas. Many of these population centers are also low-income/low food access areas. However, Williamson, Bastrop, and Caldwell counties, as well as eastern Travis County, all have low-income/low food access areas with limited retail locations and restaurants. Most farmers markets and CSAs throughout the region are not located in low-income/low food access areas. Most low-income/low-access areas have convenience stores and fast-food restaurants but few supermarkets.

To remove or add layers, click on the “eye” icons in the “Layers” box on the top right. View legends for each layer by selecting the “>” arrows on the left-hand side of the legend to expand the information for that particular layer. Use the “Primary Location Category” and “Location Type” filters to further explore the data.

Data Sources:

Refreshed:

  • Grocery and Restaurant Locations: Annually

  • Low-Income, Low Food Access Areas: Every 4-5 years 

  • Dashboard last updated January 2024

SNAP-Authorized Retailers

Due to stocking requirements from the USDA, stores that accept SNAP and WIC tend to offer a greater amount and variety of nutritious foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and low-sodium prepared foods.

The maps below show where SNAP-authorized retailers are located in comparison to the percentage of households receiving SNAP benefits, as well as sites participating in Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB), which doubles the purchasing power of SNAP. Across Central Texas, 8.1% of the population receives SNAP benefits. What is not shown on the maps are locations where SNAP recipients can use their benefits online. This practice became more common during the COVID-19 pandemic and has increased equitable access to home delivery and curbside pickup options.

Highlights: The first map below shows that throughout Central Texas, there are many census tracts with few or no SNAP-authorized retailers and a relatively high percentage of the population using SNAP benefits. This means that neighbors receiving SNAP in these areas must travel further to be able to use their benefits. These areas include northeast and southwest McLennan County, eastern and central to central-west Williamson County, eastern and northwest Travis County, and south-central and southwest Hays County. The Double Up Food Bucks map shows that Hays and Caldwell Counties do not have any participating locations.

To remove or add layers, click on the “eye” icons in the “Layers” box on the top right. View legends for each layer by selecting the “>” arrows on the left-hand side of the legend to expand the information for that particular layer.

Data Source: USDA Food and Nutrition Service, December 2022

Refreshed: Annually. Dashboard last updated January 2024.

Data Source: Sustainable Food Center, updated through December 2023. For the most up-to-date list of locations, visit www.doubleuptexas.org/find-a-location.

Refreshed: Annually. Dashboard last updated January 2024.

Farmers Market and CSA Locations

Farmers markets and community supported agriculture (CSA) programs are key elements of food environment infrastructure for accessing locally grown food. Since farmers and ranchers sell their products directly to customers at these outlets, they are also important channels for financially supporting the small- and mid-sized local farms and ranches that are more likely to sell through these channels.

CSAs grew in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic but it is unclear whether they will sustain that growth into the future. Nationwide, growth in the number of farmers markets has plateaued since experiencing consistent growth year-over-year from 1994-2011. One contributing factor is that other retail outlets (grocery stores, restaurants, and distributors) have increased the amount of local food they sell over the past several years.

The pressure to develop agricultural land due to population growth is putting farmers markets at risk through reducing the number of farmers and ranchers who regularly attend these markets and the variety of products sold. Development pressures are also reducing potential sites that are easy to access; have free, ample parking; and/or are well-connected to public transportation. (See the Food Production dashboard for more on how land access and climate change influence what and how much it is possible to produce locally.)

Additionally, many farmers markets are operated by nonprofit organizations or run by volunteers. Funding for costs like staff salaries and maintenance or operating expenses can be difficult for a farmers market to sustain.

Despite these challenges, farmers markets remain important local food outlets, particularly for helping farmers and ranchers connect face-to-face with customers and grow their businesses by making connections with restaurants and institutions (e.g., hospitals and schools). CSAs can also build relationships between farmers and consumers and serve as important educational tools for consumers to learn about seasonal variability and the production uncertainties farmers face.

The following map displays the number of farmers markets, CSAs, food hubs, and on-farm markets by county.

Highlights: The map below shows that most direct-to-consumer outlets are concentrated in Travis County, followed by Williamson and Hays counties, though each county has some direct-to-consumer outlets. Note that 2023 data were not pulled for food hubs or on-farm markets. Additional locations have been added based on partner feedback and internet searches; the increase in overall locations from year to year should be interpreted with caution due to this change in methodology.

There are likely more markets than those shown on the map due to limitations of the dataset used. The directories this data is drawn from rely on self-reported data and, although any market can be included in the directory for no fee, many do not submit or update their information. Encouraging existing markets to submit their information to these directories would ensure more robust data are easily accessible. Projects like Central Texas Food Bank’s Food Access Community Needs Assessments (CNAs), which engage directly with neighbors, have the ability to gather information on food assets available in a given community that are not entered in nationwide directories or do not have an online presence.

There are three food hubs listed in Central Texas, though the definition of “food hub” can vary widely and companies listed as food hubs might not consider themselves to be food hubs, but rather food aggregators. This map does not include food hubs headquartered outside of Central Texas that serve markets and source from farmers and ranchers located in Central Texas, like The Common Market in Houston.

To access more information about each layer in the map, click on the “eye” icons in the “Layers” box on the top right. View legends for each layer by selecting the “>” arrows on the left-hand side of the legend to expand the information for that particular layer. Toggle between years using the year filter.

Data Source: USDA Local Food Directories (CSA, Farmers Market, Food Hub, and On-Farm Market), accessed December 2023

Refreshed: USDA directories are updated on a rolling basis. Additional locations added as available through partner feedback and internet searches. Dashboard last updated January 2024.

Direct-to-Consumer Sales

The dashboard below displays direct-to-consumer agricultural sales, which include sales from farmers markets, farm stands located on- or off-farm, online markets, and CSAs. In direct-to-consumer transactions, a farmer or rancher sells their own products to their end consumer without involving an intermediary, like a retail outlet or manufacturer. Across the state of Texas, only 3% of farms sell directly to consumers.

Nationwide, farmers and ranchers receive $0.14 of every dollar spent by consumers on food, as the remaining share of that dollar goes to processing, wholesaling, distribution, marketing, and retail costs. Direct-to-consumer sales give farmers and ranchers a larger share of that dollar since there are fewer steps along the journey from the farm to the end consumer. Additionally, CSA customers typically prepay for a season’s share, which can provide more financial stability to farmers and ranchers offering CSAs. Farmers’ share data is currently only available at the national level, presenting an opportunity to research the Central Texas farmers’ share. However, a 2013 analysis found that the multiplier effect of local food sales in Austin was 1.86, meaning that, per dollar, an additional 86 cents of economic activity in the form of added value and wages, are generated.

In addition to direct-to-consumer sales, the 2017 Census of Agriculture for the first time asked about local and regionally branded product sales to retailers, institutions, and food hubs, which are also included in the visualization below.

Highlights: Direct-to-consumer agricultural sales more than doubled in Central Texas from 2017 to 2022. This far outpaces the 16% increase seen nationwide but is in line with Texas trends. More research is needed to understand this increase, but it may show that direct-to-consumer marketing channels that surged during the pandemic have some staying power.

Central Texas direct-to-consumer sales represented around 15% of all direct-to-consumer agricultural sales in Texas and 0.05% of all agricultural sales in Texas in 2022. Travis and McLennan counties have the highest direct-to-consumer sales. All counties experienced an increase except for Hays County, which, in 2017, had the highest direct-to-consumer sales in the region and had experienced a dramatic increase from 2012 to 2017. The number of farms doing direct-to-consumer sales increased only slightly. Bastrop and Williamson counties were responsible for nearly all of the increase.

Combining direct-to-consumer sales with locally and regionally branded products sold directly to retailers, institutions, and food hubs, Central Texas farmers contribute more than $27 million to the local economy. Local and regionally branded product sales also more than doubled from 2017 to 2022, and the number of farms doing these kinds of sales increased more than 700%. Whereas in 2017, Travis County accounted for half of these operations, numbers were spread more evenly across the region in 2022. McLennan County now has the highest number and Travis County has the lowest number in the region. Travis and Bastrop counties account for 60% of these sales, and Travis County still has the highest sales overall.

Click on a county name in the list below the charts to filter by county.

Data Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2012, 2017, and 2022 Census of Agriculture

Refreshed: Every 5 years. Dashboard last updated May 2024.

Values-Based Procurement

Values-based procurement has risen in popularity in recent years, as institutions such as schools, hospitals, and correctional facilities seek to purchase food that reflects the values they want to see guiding the food system. These values often include environmental sustainability, fair labor practices, animal welfare, nutritional quality, and supporting the local economy, as well as transparency and equity related to each of these areas. Perceived high price of local and sustainably produced food, as well as perceived low demand among customers, can inhibit the adoption of values-based procurement policies.

Some models for values-based procurement are farm-to-institution and farm-to-school, which aim to provide locally grown, nutrient-dense food. An established values-based procurement program is the Good Food Purchasing Program (GFPP). The metrics and standards GFPP puts forth are meant to help guide purchasing decisions and track progress towards purchasing goals. There are currently 14 organizations involved in promoting GFPP in the Austin area. The GFPP dashboard for the Austin area shows the performance highlights of the four institutions—all school districts or institutions of higher learning—that have participated in the program thus far since 2017, including their total food spend and the percentage of their purchasing dollars spent on foods that are locally and sustainably produced, using fair practices, preserving animal welfare, and maintain nutritional value through minimal processing.

Another framework for measuring the impact of values-based procurement is Farm to Institution Metrics. The Farm to Institution Metrics Collaborative developed a set of shared metrics around food procurement that highlight health, economy, and environment. These metrics track whether the food was purchased directly from a local farm, whether the product can be traced back to the farm where it was produced, whether the business is minority- and/or women-owned, and other values. There is no comprehensive list of institutions using Farm to Institution metrics or their collective impact using this framework, but it has been implemented in Central Texas by Sustainable Food Center.

Food Retail Workforce

The chart below shows the number of people employed in grocery and food retail in Central Texas.

Highlights: Nearly 130,000 neighbors are employed in the food retail and restaurant sector—nearly 100,000 of them in restaurants alone. Most are employed in Travis and Williamson counties. Note that the most recent data available are from 2021, which may not accurately reflect current workforce numbers due to effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on these sectors.

Select a county from the list on the bottom right to filter by county.

Data Source: US Census Bureau – All Sectors: County Business Patterns, 2021

Refreshed: Annually. Dashboard last updated January 2024.

Food Markets and Retail Reports and Articles