Shaping Healthier Food Environments

Availability of and accessibility to healthy food is influenced by the neighbourhoods in which we live. 

The built environment can support healthy eating if healthy food (both availability and accessibility) is incorporated as part of the planning and design of a community.

• Food availability refers to the adequacy of the food supply within a community, such as outlet density and variety. 
• Food accessibility refers to the location of food outlets (proximity) and ease of getting to the food outlet. 

A built environment that supports healthy eating:

• ensures access to a range of affordable healthy food and beverages via supermarkets/fresh produce within close proximity to residences;
• Creates healthy food environments around schools to encourage healthy eating behaviours;
• Ensures healthy food is accessible through a variety of transport modes such as public, community and active transport;
• Makes use of existing facilities/spaces (e.g. schools) for local food production/provision of fresh produce such as through farmers’ markets;
• Safeguardes local healthy food access and economic viability of local producers through peri-urban agriculture.

Access to healthy food outlets has significant potential to positively influence the health of communities. Healthy food outlets located near residential areas have been shown to increase availability, access, purchasing and consumption of healthy food such as fruit and vegetables.

Unfortunately, in Australia, there is unequal access to affordable, good quality healthy food, with access largely influenced by socio-economic profile. 

Higher socio-economic locations have been shown to have a greater density of healthy food outlets per 10,000 residents and to be closer to the nearest supermarket or fruit and vegetable store. This has resulted in higher consumption of fruit and vegetables among children in these locations.  In contrast, residents in lower socio-economic areas or minority populations have poorer access to stores selling healthier foods and to supermarkets,  which has been associated with poorer diet quality and increased risk of obesity. 

Our recently released new module 'Walkability in Less Advantaged Areas' provides further guidance on designing for heart health in areas of lower socio-economic advantage.

Governments, planners and other built environment professionals are well placed to facilitate the creation of an environment that is supportive of good health, through increasing access to healthy food.

Through zoning and land use regulation, the built environment can be shaped to support or inhibit healthy eating options:

• Locating markets near residential areas;
• Establish markets on public transport routes;
• Well-located markets are particularly important in under-served areas, where low-income residents may have difficulty accessing healthy food;
• Peri-urban agriculture can contribute to local food security and safeguard local access to healthy food;
• Opportunities for local food production could also facilitate local food processing and distribution;
• Food hubs could be considered;
• Facilities that encourage breastfeeding, including in the design of shopping centres, commercial areas and workplaces;
• Providing public water fountains in locations such as parks, playgrounds and schools can increase accessibility and consumption of water;
• Community gardens can increase availability and access to fruit and vegetables, particularly for urban residents and low-income families;
• Kitchen gardens can be located on school sites;
• The establishment of urban orchards and edible landscapes on vacant public land, streets and in parks can form attractive and functional ‘community focal points’;
• In locations with poor access to healthy food, designing housing estates and individual lots to ensure sufficient sunlight hours for vegetable production can help.
  

You can find out more about shaping healthy food environments, and the references for this blog, through our Healthy Food design feature.