Abstract While several studies have explored geographic relationships within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), results have been mixed. Findings have revealed an imbalanced SNAP participation rate among eligible populations in both suburban and rural areas. Studies on SNAP accessibility have often focused on store locations, but few have examined issues of traveling to SNAP offices. In this study, we focused on SNAP office accessibility and its association with rurality. Using Google Map API, we calculated road travel time and distance to the most conveniently located SNAP office for each block group in the conterminous United States. We investigated the degree to which the SNAP office accessibility is linked to rurality, participant demographics, socioeconomic characteristics, and the program's overall participation rate. Results showed that at the block-group level, the SNAP-eligible average driving time to the most convenient SNAP office is 15.28 min, while the SNAP-eligible average distance is 8.57 miles. More than 75% of the SNAP-income eligible population lives within a 20-min drive to a SNAP office, and 91.8% lives within 30 min. Every ten percentage points of increase in rurality decreases SNAP office accessibility by one additional minute of car travel time. We designed a Rurality-Travel Clock (RTC) visualization tool to provide a graphic description of the urban-rural setting and SNAP office accessibility. Other observations include a noticeable cross-relationship between population concentration (e.g., white or black) and SNAP office accessibility. The findings help us to understand the dynamic relationships between SNAP participation rate and SNAP accessibility factors, including eligibility, employment status, population, and rurality at the county and state levels.

中文翻译：

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SNAP 办公室的可访问性及其与农村的联系

摘要 虽然多项研究探索了补充营养援助计划 (SNAP) 内的地理关系，但结果喜忧参半。调查结果显示，郊区和农村地区符合条件的人群的 SNAP 参与率不平衡。关于 SNAP 可访问性的研究通常集中在商店位置，但很少有人研究前往 SNAP 办公室的问题。在这项研究中，我们关注 SNAP 办公室的无障碍性及其与农村的联系。使用谷歌地图 API，我们计算了美国本土每个街区组到最方便的 SNAP 办公室的道路旅行时间和距离。我们调查了 SNAP 办公室可访问性与农村、参与者人口统计、社会经济特征和计划的总体参与率之间的联系程度。结果显示，在街区组级别，符合 SNAP 条件的到最方便的 SNAP 办公室的平均驾驶时间为 15.28 分钟，而符合 SNAP 条件的平均距离为 8.57 英里。超过 75% 的符合 SNAP 收入条件的人口居住在距 SNAP 办公室 20 分钟车程内，91.8% 居住在 30 分钟内。农村人口每增加 10 个百分点，SNAP 办公室的可达性就会减少一分钟的汽车旅行时间。我们设计了一个 Rurality-Travel Clock (RTC) 可视化工具，以提供城乡环境和 SNAP 办公室可访问性的图形描述。其他观察结果包括人口集中（例如，白人或黑人）和 SNAP 办公室可达性之间的显着交叉关系。