Environmental determinants of food pricing

Environmental determinants of food pricing

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander store directors, other store owners and staff from retail, health, government, and research sectors are working together to help customers make healthy food choices.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander store directors, other store owners and staff from retail, health, government, and research sectors are working together to help customers access healthy food options.

Factors like high operating costs, supply chain issues, and weather can affect food prices. High food prices can lead to food insecurity and poor nutrition and health in remote communities. With permission from participating stores and partner organisations, this study is using environment and pricing data from the Benchmarking for Healthy Stores project to identify factors influencing higher food prices. The findings are being shared with organizations working in the field of remote stores and will help policymakers to support the needs of these stores and communities. Additionally, the data and information generated can be used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander store directors to support their ongoing advocacy in food security for their communities.

Study aim

To investigate environmental factors influencing higher food prices in remote food retail stores in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the Northern Territory, Australia.

Governance

This sub-study of Benchmarking for healthy stores project is in collaboration with its partner organisations, with a store advisory group, including Aboriginal-owned organisations, guiding the study. Approval to conduct this analysis was granted from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander partner organisations and store directors involved in this research. Data remain the property of the community and store directors/owners with investigators and partners being the data custodians.

Research team

  • Prof Julie Brimblecombe, Monash University
  • Emma van Burgel, Monash University
  • Dr Tingting Ye, Monash University
  • A/Prof Megan Ferguson, University of Queensland
  • Dr Emma McMahon, Menzies School of Health Research
  • Amanda Hill, Monash University
  • Prof Bronwyn Fredericks, University of Queensland
  • Dr Beau Cubillo, Menzies School of Health Research

Ethics

The study was approved under the broader Benchmarking Study’s approval by the Northern Territory Health and Menzies School of Health Research Human Research Ethics Committee [NTHREC 2021-4212].

Related publications

van Burgel, E., Fairweather, M., Hill, A. et al. Development of a survey tool to assess the environmental determinants of health-enabling food retail practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities of remote Australia. BMC Public Health 24, 442 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-17945-9

Contact

Emma van Burgel
Email – emma.vanburgel@monash.edu