A Comprehensive Policy Approach for Improving Access to Healthy Food and Advancing Social Justice

Healthy foods are fundamental to good health and community vitality. The food system—from agricultural production and processing to transportation and marketing to grocery store sales—influences our ability to buy healthy foods and affects our society in profound ways. Yet in the United States today, access to healthy foods is marked by inequities. In many communities of color and low-income neighborhoods, particularly, it can be difficult to find fresh, affordable, high-quality fruits and vegetables and other nutritious foods. This disparity increases the risk of chronic disease for these residents.

Healthy people require healthy environments—neighborhoods, schools, childcare centers, and workplaces. Public policy at the federal, state, and local levels can improve the availability of healthy foods and create a more equitable food system. Policy must address the retail food environment, institutional settings, federal nutrition assistance programs, and regional food systems and agriculture production. These policies must be structured to improve health and equity by providing a healthy environment.

On behalf of the National Convergence Partnership, Prevention Institute identified organizational practices and policies to expand access to healthy foods. Strategies were based on interviews with practitioners and advocates from various fields and scans of policy and research reports. Prevention Institute identified strategies that aim to engage and facilitate stakeholders and partnerships, and address components of the entire system of food production, processing, transportation, marketing, and sales. Policy decisions regarding every step impact every field including environmental justice, anti-hunger advocacy, public health, agriculture, equity, regional planning, and community development.