Nudging healthy food consumption and sustainability in food deserts

The purpose of this paper is to set forth a theoretical model of consumer decision-making in food desert regions, where healthy food is in short supply. Our model enables theoretical comparison of multiple policy approaches to mitigating food deserts that have heretofore been considered separately: taxing less healthy food, subsidizing healthier food, correcting misperceptions of the cost of food choices, and subsidizing creation of community and home gardens. This latter policy approach enables consumers to achieve higher rates of food security and health benefits, while strengthening the sustainability and resiliency of local urban ecological-economic systems. © 2015, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.