Mandate, Subsidize, Market, and Tax: An Approach to Redressing Urban Food Deserts through Convenience Stores

Abstract

Since convenience stores are a primary source of food in many urban neighborhoods and these stores typically have low volumes of “healthy” foods, I propose using these stores to address urban food deserts. There have recently been a few voluntary efforts at the local level to reach out to convenience stores to improve their selection of healthy foods, and some of these efforts have involved funding to subsidize expenses that stores incur in implementation. There have also been some efforts to market healthier food choices. A combination of mandates on what stores carry, subsidies of store expenses, and marketing of healthy food would enable a substantive battle to eliminate urban food deserts. Since an independent revenue stream would secure funding over time, a small sales tax on food and beverages would make the program feasible.