Introduction

As a university student eating fast food is the ideal meal; it’s quick, it’s cheap, and it tastes good. However, this convenience can easily be the cause of overlooking the negative aspects of fast food. The choices one makes in terms of their diet can be reliant on a plethora of factors including occupation, bills, transportation, etc.

Food choices are often framed as a matter of personal responsibility, but one’s environment heavily dictating these choices tell a different story. Across the United States, the balance between fast food and grocery access varies dramatically by income, geography, and economic conditions. At the same time, the cost of food, both at home and away from home, has changed in ways that reshape what one might define as practical, affordable, and convenient.

This project examines how these forces interact. By combining data on restaurant and grocery locations, county-level income and poverty, national food expenditure trends, and household survey behavior, I explore a central question: Are Americans choosing fast food, or are they being nudged toward it by the structure of the food environment?

Rather than relying on a single data set or perspective, this analysis brings together multiple layers of evidence. The intention is to depict that food decisions are not isolated but rather they are shaped by availability, affordability, and economic pressure.

Big Picture Behavior: To What Extent Is Fast Food Unhealthy and How is It Dispersed in the United States?

We always hear that fast food is unhealthy; but in what ways? Fast food has a stigma of being an infectious, cancerous part of our society but there are several options at fast food restaurants which are nutritious or decent choices for a once in a while choice. Below is a dashboard link outlining only a sample of some common fast food restaurants in the United States. We can already begin to notice there is more prevelance of these industries on the coasts of the US rather than the middle states. The graph on the right ranks and sorts items from highest to lowest calories. Out of the 6 restaurants we see that the item with the most calories is a singular burger, the “Triple Whopper” from Burger King at 1,220 calories. Some of the lower calorie items tend to just be sauces and soft drinks rather than actual food. If you are curious about the nutritional value of an order or curious about the different combinations you may get at a fast food place, consider evaluating these questions with the calorie calculator app below!

If you are curious about the nutritional value of an order or curious about the different combinations you may get at particular fast food places, consider evaluating these questions with the calorie calculator app below! When you truly look at the calculator and pick a few items of substance you might notice that exceeding the limit or getting a warning in nutrition is easy.

The visual below encapsulates a general idea of all these food items together. As expected, there is a positive correlation between the total fat and calories in an item. However, based on the marker size, it is noticeable that some of the higher calorie options have less protein, making an item nutritionally weak.

Overall, fast food is not always the best choice to make nutritionally, unless one is truly intentional about what they order and what other items are consumed throughout the day. Sparing time and energy to consider all of these factors could be seen as challenging, time-consuming, or even easier said than done. The arguments for fast-food are credible but why is fast food such an influential aspect of American culture compared to other countries. Is eating out or fast food just something that is promoted or expected of Americans to do?

##Food Environment: How does the availability of fast food compare to grocery access across different regions of the United States?

Does the easy accessibility of fast food lead to its prominence in our society today. I’ve compared the proximity and locations of grocery stores in relation to common fast food locations in order to see their spread. I compared 5 leading grocery stores and 5 fast food locations that tend to have numerous locations all across the United States. The conveneince of fast food is heavily advertised, even in the name.

It is safe to say that naturally there has been an expansion of industires as tim goes on. FAFH_share = eating-out spending / total food spending That means:

A larger proportion of food spending is going to food away from home A smaller proportion is going to food at home

We can see there is a more stark increase in states with bigger cities or more population such as California, Florida, and New York. Additionally, Hawaii is higher in ratio as well which comments on the increasing tourism and urbanization crisis claimed by the residents. The midwest seems to see the least increase in this ratio compared to both the east and west coasts.

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The ratio of fast food to grocery store access varies across U.S. states. Several states exceed the national average, indicating a higher concentration of fast food outlets relative to grocery stores. These regions may reflect more convenience-driven or less balanced food environments. In contrast, states below the national average exhibit more grocery-dense environments, suggesting better access to fresh food options. Overall, the distribution highlights significant geographic disparities in food accessibility across the United States.

General proximity of each county could also be an influential factor in the decisions one makes. Higher income neighborhoods and lower income neighborhoods will naturally prioritize different aspects. The visual below answers whether economically struggling vs economically sufficient counties have differences in the actual geographies of the fast food locations and grocery stores.

The ratio of fast food to grocery store access varies significantly across U.S. states, revealing clear geographic imbalances in the food environment. Several states exceed the national average, indicating a higher concentration of fast food outlets relative to grocery stores. These states tend to represent environments where convenience-based food options dominate, potentially shaping dietary behavior simply through exposure and availability. In contrast, states below the national average exhibit more grocery-dense environments, which may better support access to fresh and home-prepared meals. What stands out is not just the variation itself, but the degree to which fast food outnumbers grocery access in many regions, suggesting that unhealthy or convenience-driven food environments are not isolated occurrences but a widespread pattern. This uneven distribution reinforces the idea that food choice is not purely individual—it is heavily influenced by the structural makeup of the places people live, where in many states, fast food is simply more present than its healthier alternatives.

How does the spread of Grocery Stores and Fast Food Locations overlap with certain areas?

As a county’s poverty rate increases, access to grocery stores declines, reinforcing the idea that healthier food options are not equally available across communities. The relationship shown above highlights a clear downward trend: higher-poverty counties tend to have fewer grocery stores per capita, limiting residents’ ability to rely on food prepared at home. At the same time, county size plays an important role in shaping this dynamic. Smaller counties often appear to have higher grocery store availability relative to their population, suggesting that access is easier to accommodate when populations are lower and less dense. In contrast, larger counties—despite having more total stores—struggle to maintain the same level of access per person, making grocery shopping less convenient and potentially more time-consuming. Together, these patterns suggest that both economic disadvantage and population structure contribute to uneven food environments. When fewer grocery options are available—especially in higher-poverty areas—the feasibility of cooking at home diminishes, making fast food not just a convenient alternative, but in many cases, a necessary one.

#viz 5

##The financial aspect of groceries and fast food; Personal Decisions of the consumer

A common benefit of getting fast food is the financial aspect. Although in the long term maybe fast food is a weaker long term financial decision compared to groceries, in the moment fast food items are typically cheaper. Based on percent change in the price of eating food at home and eating food away from home, food away from home has gotten more expensive:

#Visualization 6

At first glance, one might assume that fast food dominates because it is cheaper—but the data tells a more complicated story. Over time, the cost of eating food away from home has increased at a faster rate than food prepared at home, creating a widening gap between the two. This means that, in relative terms, eating out has become more expensive. Yet, Americans continue to spend a growing share of their food budget on fast food. This contradiction is critical: if fast food is becoming less economically attractive, then its continued rise cannot be explained by price alone. Instead, it points to deeper structural forces—such as convenience, accessibility, and time constraints—that make fast food a more viable option in practice. Even during economic recessions or periods of hardship, when households might be expected to cut back on discretionary spending, the persistence of this trend suggests that fast food is not simply a luxury, but increasingly a default choice shaped by the modern food environment.

Other factors such as employment hours, members per household. and transportation can also influence the reasoning behind choosing fast food restaurants. As a result, the stigma and negative commentary on fast food should be more open-minded. Although fast food may be unhealthy, it is also true that sometime it is the better option based on circumstantial instances.

Planning and preparing for grocery prices of common household items can be extremely difficult. Below is a visual depicting the changes in grocery prices throughout the years.

If you would like to see more about the changes through out time and see how different states behaved in terms of Food at home and Food away from home, checkout this dashboard that allows for interaction and provides insight on the states

While fast food is often criticized for being unhealthy, the alternative of buying groceries and cooking at home is not as stable or predictable as it may seem. The figure above shows that grocery prices across major food categories have not followed a smooth or consistent path over time. Instead of aligning with a steady 2% inflation benchmark, prices for essential of cooking like meat, dairy, and produce fluctuate significantly and often rise faster than expected. This introduces uncertainty into everyday decision-making: planning meals, budgeting for the week, and ensuring affordability become more difficult when prices are inconsistent. Many people, espeically those from low to medium income have to consider many aspects of affordability at one point. In contrast, fast food offers a fixed, known price upfront, requiring less planning and reducing the risk of unexpected costs. As a result, even if groceries may be cheaper in theory, their unpredictability can make fast food the more practical and reliable option in the moment—reinforcing the idea that food choices are shaped not just by price, but by stability and convenience.