Pricing Strategies

RWJF Priority: Use pricing strategies—both incentives and disincentives—to promote the purchase of healthier foods

Prices can significantly affect family food choices and are emerging as an important strategy in the movement to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic. For example, when healthy foods like fruits and vegetables are more affordable, children are less likely to gain excess weight. And leading health authorities, including the Institute of Medicine, recommend new policies to reduce overconsumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, which are one of the top sources of calories in the American diet.

The resources below, from RWJF grantees and partners, explore the possible health and economic impacts of using pricing strategies to promote consumption of healthy foods and beverages and discourage consumption of unhealthy products.

Childhood Obesity Policy Priorities

Featured

A Penny-Per-Ounce Tax on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Could Have Big Impact

Such a tax could prevent unnecessary, potentially life-threatening conditions—and help avoid billions of dollars in medical costs over a decade—according to a recent study.

Read the study

From the Food Trust

Harnessing the Power of Supermarkets to Help Reverse Childhood Obesity

A report from The Food Trust examines in-store promotions and pricing strategies that may encourage people to buy healthier foods and beverages.

Read the report

From Bridging the Gap

Taxes on Soda and Snack Foods

Bridging the Gap (BTG) examines how changes in price affect consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. BTG also has the latest research about state-level taxes on snacks and sugar-sweetened beverages.

Learn more

More Research and Resources on Pricing Strategies

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Faith & Food

August 4, 2011 | Program Result

The Center for Closing the Health Gap in Greater Cincinnati, in partnership with three Avondale neighborhood churches, mobilized a faith-based coalition to advance policies to improve the availability of healthy, affordable foods.

Buffalo Residents Work to Increase Access to Healthy Food, Exercise

September 7, 2011 | Story

Winning Strategies in the Fight Against Childhood Obesity.

Re/Storing Nashville

May 9, 2011 | Video/Story

In Nashville, a coalition of faith leaders seeks to improve health and prevent obesity by ensuring access to healthy foods in three underserved neighborhoods without quality grocery stores.

Re/Storing Nashville

August 25, 2011 | Program Result

Re/Storing Nashville sought to address lack of access to healthy foods and childhood obesity in three Nashville neighborhoods by increasing residents' access to full-service grocery stores.

Community Food Environments May be Contributing to Obesity

October 1, 2010 | Program Result

This project developed the Nutritional Environment Measures Surveys (NEMS), pilot tested the measures in four Atlanta neighborhoods and developed a training program on using the measures.

Principles for Framing a Healthy Food System

July 1, 2009 | Journal Article

A healthy food system is one in which everyone has daily access to a diet that allows for a full life, that does not deplete natural resources and allows for a sustainable livelihood by those involved with all aspects of food production. The author suggests seven principles that could be used in moving the United States toward a markedly improved food system.

Physical, Consumer, and Social Aspects of Measuring the Food Environment Among Diverse Low-Income Populations

April 1, 2009 | Journal Article

This article examines the food environment in low-income settings ranging from urban to very remote. It identifies challenges of measuring food environments across these settings and lays out solutions to assess food environments in a robust and practical manner.

Work Group I

April 1, 2009 | Journal Article

This article presents the conclusions of a work group charged with improving instrumentation to assess food and activity environments. The paper identifies key challenges and makes recommendations to improve instrumentation in this field.

A New Light Rail Line with Stops in Low-Income Neighborhoods

August 4, 2010 | Program Result

ISAIAH, a faith-based community organization of 90 congregations, mobilized community activists to promote the links between transportation and access to healthy foods and to bring light-rail stops to low-income neighborhoods in the Twin Cities.

University of Buffalo Professor Encourages Planners to Create Communities That Facilitate Healthy Food Systems and Healthy Eating

February 22, 2010 | Story

Samina Raja's active living research includes a National Institutes of Health grant to study how well an effort to increase physical activity in youth works among children living in areas with high access and in areas with low access to parks.