Behavioral Economics Approach to Food Insecurity

Behavioral Economics for the Food Insecure

Food security is a term that refers to access to adequate food by all people at all times for a healthy, active life. Food insecurity is one of the major issues in New York City that has worsened due to the coronavirus pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, approximately 12% of NYC residents were reporting food insecurity fears (Chang par, 2). According to a publication by Food Bank for New York City, the city’s food distribution program provides nearly 80 million free meals annually to needy New Yorkers (par, 1). It is estimated that 50% of the 2.2 million New York State residents who are food insecure are from New York City. The rate of food insecurity in the city is 12% and 16% more than the national rate and the New York State rate respectively (Food Bank for New York City, par, 3). One of the most food-insecure areas in the United States is Bronx at 62.1% (Soni par, 4). It is estimated that 23.7% of residents in Morrisania, Bronx are food insecure (NYC Food Policy Editor, par 3).

Food insecurity in New York City has worsened because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has negatively affected livelihoods across the globe. Following the pandemic, food insecurity in NYC has increased to 32% as local food pantries are stretched to the limit (Chang par, 2). While various governmental and non-governmental stakeholders have initiated new food assistance programs, the rate of food insecurity has increased tremendously in NYC following COVID-19. This dramatic increase is an indicator of the need for urgent federal help and increased food stamp benefits for residents.

The concept of food security has been the subject of numerous studies in recent years as it has attracted the attention of various stakeholders including economists and policymakers. Economists contend that food insecurity in low-income countries is a by-product of socio-economic conditions and the performance of small scale farmers. However, for high-income countries, food insecurity is an issue of market stability, price volatility, and food waste (Saravia-Matus, Paloma & Mary, p.65). These factors combine to shape productivity and the use of resources, which in turn influences food insecurity. Rocha contends that food insecurity is influenced by the concept of market failure, particularly the ideas of public goods and market externalities (p.5). These ideas are utilized to examine and better understand the existing food system and government measures to develop market-based policies that improve food security. Additionally, the food benefit/income ratio plays an important role in shaping food insecurity (Chavas, p.58). Markets and income redistribution policies or food policies determine the level of individual access to food.

Food resource guides provide information on where people who are food insecure can access food within the community. While these guides are considered critical in efforts to help address food insecurity, they are not used by many people. One of the reasons why many people do not use the guides is that food pantry or food banks are not reliably open. Based on a study conducted in Bronx, NY, only half of food pantries are open when listed in an open directory (Ginsburg et al., p.16).

Secondly, many people do not use the Food Guides because they contain pre-selected handouts that do not cater to personal preferences. In essence, most of these guides are generalized and do not consider individual preferences. Consequently, many people do not feel that the guidelines will meet their individual needs and preferences.

The third bottleneck/reason is the perceptions of food insecure people regarding food pantries or food banks. These perceptions range from feelings of inadequacy to unreliability of food provision and insufficient food supply to meet their demands. The perceptions contribute to reluctance by food insecure people to use food resource guides to get food supply.

The bottleneck that will be the focus of this proposed project is the perceptions of food insecure people regarding using food pantries or food banks for food supply. This bottleneck relates to acceptability, which is one of the five dimensions of access to adequate food (Ginsburg et al., p.16). This bottleneck was selected because it can be easily addressed through behavioral modification. It is something within the control of the food insecure individual unlike the other bottlenecks, which are under the control of other stakeholders.

One of the potential solutions to this bottleneck/reason is creating a social support network to encourage food insecure people to utilize food resource guides and food pantries for food supply. A social support network would help shape the perceptions of these individuals and influence their food supply decisions.

Secondly, this bottleneck can be addressed by food choice nudges, which help to change people’s behaviors in a predictable manner. Food choice nudges would increase food choices among food insecure people and would promote the use of food resource guides for food access and supply.

Third, the bottleneck can be dealt with through incentivization, which involves creating expectations of reward for the use of food resource guides. Incentivization would increase the potential for use of the Food Guides because of the anticipated reward.

The most suitable solution for this problem is the use of food choice nudges, which have been found to effectively promote healthy eating behavior. Food choice nudges would be appropriate in this case since they will help alter the behavior of food insecure people in terms of acceptability and use of food resource guides. Food choice nudges basically entail providing information that would help shape people’s behavior on food choices and/or purchase decisions. This solution involves the use of trendy messages, colorful adverts, novel displays, and compelling store arrangements to provide information that affects people’s food choices and purchasing behaviors. The messages incorporate in the food guides are appealing to individuals and help enhance their decision-making process on food choices. The solution would involve ensuring food resource guides incorporate appealing messages that influence the decisions of food insecure people in terms of accessing food items in food banks or pantries.

Food choice nudges would help others recommend a food resource guide to their friends or acquaintances by providing appealing messages relating to available food items in food banks or pantries. Food insecure people are likely to find food resource guides more attractive and beneficial for food choice when they incorporate trendy or attractive messages. These food items displayed in the food choice nudges should be individualized to cater to the needs of specific. Individualization of food items in food choice nudges help enhance the attractiveness of food resource guides. When food insecure people find food resource guides attractive/appealing to them due to the use of food choice nudges, they are more likely to recommend them to their friends or acquaintances.

Additionally, food choice nudges help these people to recommend the guides to others by acting as constant reminders regarding food availability. Using food choice nudges, the various stakeholders catering to the needs of food insecure people would ensure that they have readily available information that helps improve their decision-making. As food insecure people become more aware of available, they increase their usage of food resource guides while recommending them to their friends or acquaintances.

As noted by Just & Gabrielyan, food choice nudges are alternative approaches in behavioral economics that help improve healthy eating behavior by recognizing the passive nature of food decisions (p.26). By recognizing that food decisions are passive, behavioral economics demonstrates that this strategy relies on subtle alterations in the food choice environment. Vecchio & Cavallo asserts that food choice nudges usually adopt similar interventions to those that seek to enhance healthier food choices. Therefore, they are likely to be characterized with little resistance from consumers as they utilize environmental triggers to provoke them to action. In essence, food choice nudges stimulate desirable behavioral responses that could help address food insecurity (Timmer, p.12315).

Food choice nudges would involve the use of novel displays, trendy messages, compelling store arrangements, and colorful adverts to inform food insecure people on where to get food. These strategies will be incorporated in the food resource guides and focus on enhancing their decision-making. To provoke deliberate and calculated food decision-making, the food choice nudges will incorporate messages that allow people to select their own food items as much as possible. They will incorporate information on individualized food items that cater to the needs and preferences of these people.

The effectiveness of this approach will be determined by examining whether the number of people using food resource guides and food pantries/banks has increased within a specific period of time. An increase in the number of people using the guides would imply that the solution has worked.

The treated group can be compared to a control group to help ensure that the probable increase in the number of people using the guides is attributable to the use of food choice nudges. The control group will incorporate individuals who are given the conventional food resource guides that do not incorporate the new trendy and innovative messages. The control group will be created through randomization in which a group of food insecure people is identified and given the traditional food resource guide and assessed after a specific period of time.