Report library

This is a repository for the various research and project reports concerning healthy food access. It’s a good place to begin if you wish to deepen your knowledge. Much of it is Tasmanian focused, though there are some interesting studies from further afield.


Healthy food access basket study

The University of Tasmania, as part of the Healthy Food Access Tasmania project, conducted a price and availability survey for healthy food across Tasmania. The Healthy Food Access Basket (HFAB) survey collected data on 44 foods that are consistent with the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (AGHE), which provides recommendations for how we should eat for good health across our lifespan. HFAB has been used widely in Australia as a measure of the cost of eating well.

PDF: Healthy Food Access Basket study


Food for all Tasmanians

This report addresses food security from a social inclusion perspective, focusing on vulnerable people and places, access to food, affordability, good nutrition, and building resourcefulness and resilience in communities.

PDF: Food for all Tasmanians


Dishing up the facts

This report brings together information about food insecurity in Tasmania and challenges some of the commonly held myths about why people are going without healthy food.

PDF: Dishing up the facts


Why choosing healthy foods is hard, and how to help

It might at first seem obvious that if you buy and consume a bucket of popcorn at the movies, you must have preferred it to no popcorn, and to all other potential alternatives. In this paper the authors question the assumptions that underlie this assertion, and explain how positive behaviour might be influenced.

PDF: Choosing healthy foods is hard


Tasmanian food and nutrition policy

This broad food and nutrition strategy is unique to Tasmania. It considers nutrition and the food system together in a single strategy. This is consistent with how we believe future action to support community food security should be considered. See our Healthy Tasmania strategy submission for the rationale.

PDF: Tasmanian food and nutrition policy 2004
PDF: Tasmanian food and nutrition policy progress report 2009


Healthy Tasmania strategy submission

The Healthy Food Access Tasmania project along with its cross-sectoral partners responded to the call for submissions to the draft Healthy Tasmania 5 Year Strategy with a ‘shovel ready’ project. This report explains what we think the future should look like if we’re to improve access to healthy food for all Tasmanians.

PDF: Healthy Tasmania discussion paper


Policies for tackling obesity

Outlines the need for a commonwealth and state government response to poor health arising from unhealthy diets and obesity.

PDF: Policies for tackling obesity


Scoping a food policy coalition

What model might work? It is now commonly understood that working collaboratively and cross-sectorally can help build better policy and solutions to ‘wicked’ problems such as food insecurity. This research provides a summary of the various models of food policy coalitions, and was done by Monash University in Melbourne for VicHealth.

PDF: Scoping a food policy coalition


Improving access to food systems

A paper from the journal Nutrition & Dietetics that compares the perspectives of low socioeconomic individuals with those of food system representatives to identify ways of increasing access to community-based food systems.

PDF: Improving access to food systems


Food security consultation 2016

The Tasmanian Government’s report on future directions in food security in Tasmania. It looks at what is working well and what could be done better.

PDF: Food security consultation 2016


Institutional capability report

Outlines the logic for a more systematic and focused approach to food security in Tasmania based on a ‘social determinants of health’ approach.

Download PDF: Institutional capability report


Tasmanian local food supply project

This was a crucial piece of applied research for the Healthy Food Access Tasmanian project. It contributed towards building a detailed picture of the current food system in Tasmania.

Download PDF: Tasmanian local food supply project


Food sensitive planning and urban design

Sets out to identify new ways of tackling city planning in Australia, adding food to the core elements of planning and design with the hope of delivering a more sustainable food system. It describes practical examples of what can be done to make our cities more food productive, healthier, better and more equitable.

Download PDF: Food sensitive planning and urban design

Tasmanian healthy eating resilience evaluation

A picture of the social networks and relationships established between community-based food programs in Tasmania.

PDF: Tas healthy eating resilience evaluation