A Cost-Benefit Analysis: How Accessibility Affects Your Pantry

Rising food costs and limited access to fresh food shape our diets. Discover how preferences and policy changes affect our health.

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After World War II, the baby boom inspired millions of families to embrace the new American dream marketed to them: emerging complexes called suburbs. Reshaping the structure of American society, suburban lifestyles and the rise of industrial food systems prompted  families to redirect their spending habits to align more closely with what our culture and corporations praised as the ideal American citizen: a devoted consumer. However, as more people are valuing their diet, state governments are turning to different strategies to help meet Americans’ aspirations to shift toward healthier food options. 

Accessibility in the Context of Our Diet

In 2022, food prices increased faster than any year since 1979. Supply chain delays and rising initiatives for healthy foods have left Americans spending more than they are used to on groceries than they have in decades. These issues, alongside many other factors, have also affected how accessible buying healthy foods can be. 

Farmers’ markets were once considered an essential means of accessing healthy food options. However, despite people’s desires for a better diet, the rise of grocery stores over the past 50 years has revealed that consumers put their money toward cheap and convenient foods over healthy alternatives.

While the demand for healthy foods has decreased, it is also true that people are losing access to more nutritious options because of our growing population, creating a misinformed idea of what Americans want regarding their eating habits. Larger populations are harder to feed because the food supply cannot meet growing demand.

How Governments Incentivize Americans’ Health

Since 2014, the government has poured billions of dollars into the development of direct-to-consumer purchasing (farmers’ goods sold to families), food safety programs for farmers, and maintaining grocery stores for low-income populations in food deserts. Additionally, strong policy efforts were made under the Obama Administration to make it easier for institutions to address the growing obesity rates in children and adults. Lastly, state governments continue to produce resources that incentivize the creation of farmers’ markets by providing direction and support to funders and local governments. 

However, despite these policies and actions toward changing the health of Americans, obesity and diabetes rates continue to increase. So, what can we do to change this epidemic? Additionally, if geographical accessibility has improved and Americans want to eat healthier, then why have Americans’ diets gotten worse?

What Policy Makers Can Do

A study done by The American Heart Association in 2024 proposes that increasing prices and a lack of knowledge about healthy foods are the driving factors in why consumers are choosing to buy cheaper, more processed foods. 

Given these increased prices, different consumers might be more averse to buying healthy foods. We can determine people’s willingness to buy healthier options by adding up all the benefits of eating a healthy diet and subtracting the costs of buying healthy foods. This cost-benefit analysis is important because it reveals the factors behind consumers’ decision-making and can help drive change. 

Low-income families will be more sensitive to expensive, healthy food, while high-income families will be less price-sensitive. Consumers might also be largely morally inclined to buy direct-to-consumer food because it is better for the environment and supports small businesses. According to The Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development (JAFSCD), 33% of consumers who attend farmers’ markets report environmental motivations as a major factor behind their attendance.

While geographical access to healthy food options has increased, affordability and knowledge about positive decisions for one’s health still remain a problem. To create lasting change for consumers, governments must address economic, educational, and policy-driven barriers that continue to cause the high prices of healthy foods and allow people to make misinformed decisions about their health. Subsidizing fresh produce, expanding nutrition assistance programs, and increasing the number of farmers’ markets to match our growing population can all make healthier options more affordable and increase Americans’ knowledge of eating to benefit their health.

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Take-Home Points

• While efforts to increase geographical access to healthy foods have improved, growing populations continue to prevent many Americans from being able to make healthier choices.

• Increasing prices for fresh produce push low-income consumers toward cheaper, more processed foods.

• Expanding farmers’ markets, subsidizing healthy food, and increasing public education of nutrition can make healthy eating more accessible for people of all income levels.