Reassessing Food Insecurity In Melbourne's Outer East

In 2011 the NOURISH network commissioned this research project to follow their 2008 research in the Outer East. The research project mapped physical access and economic costs of an affordable, appropriate and nutritious food supply and provided a comparative analysis to previous documented data. Food prices were collected from 65 supermarkets and 34 green grocers, showing that purchasing fresh food at the greengrocers instead of supermarkets was a cheaper option.

The study compared the prices of ten different fresh fruit and vegetable items in greengrocers to those prices of the same in supermarkets; and also compared the prices of 46 products across a range of food groups, including fruit, vegetables, cereal, meat, dairy, confectionery and soft drinks, updating data from a similar study conducted in 2008.

Findings showed that the cost of fresh foods such as fruit and vegetables have not increased significantly in Melbourne's Outer East since 2008, whilst the cost of non-core food including oil, sugar, margarine and unhealthy food has increased significantly.

Organisation: Outer East Primary Care Partnership