Accessible and affordable grocery store brand, format and location selection in food deserts of triple cities area of Broome County, New York

Food insecurities and disparities have become major drawbacks for social economic development. Limited research has been completed regarding food retailing distribution and accessibility in an area with declining population, expanding food desert areas and increasing number of grocery stores. In this research, distribution of major chain grocery stores was assessed by their locations, trade and service areas in the triple cities area of Broome County, New York. The study generated a local customer's profile especially for people living in food insecure areas. Fieldworks were completed on major chain grocery stores to conduct a comparison between store brands and formats. The findings demonstrated that the existing grocery stores retail structure of triple cities area is creating food disparity and insecurity in Broome County and there are viable market niches for locating the selected grocery stores with specific brand, format and location to fulfill the demands from food insecure areas.