Impact of Food Access on Nutrition
An important input into health at all stages of life is adequate nutrition. Children need the proper fuel to develop into healthy and productive adults. Working-aged adults need the proper food inputs to maintain their productivity at work and in the household. The elderly are the most vulnerable to health problems and need proper nutrition to maintain health. Health economists generally invoke the term “access” to mean availability of medical care. However, access to other inputs into health, such as healthy foods, is also important. The purpose of this session is to examine the impact of availability of affordable healthy foods on eating habits and adequate nutrition. The first paper examines the impact of “food deserts” on food insufficiency (including skipping meals) of low-income elderly individuals. The second paper examines the effects of food prices and availability of food stores and eating places on parental time investments in food preparation and their children’s food security. The third paper examines the impact of “big box” grocery stores (such as Sam’s Club or Costco) on nutrition and hunger, especially for low-income households in areas with few grocery options. All three of these papers investigate consequences of disparities in access to nutritious food, which have important implications for health and disparities at all stages of the lifecourse.