This is a scoping paper that addresses healthy food access in Melbourne. The investigation is premised the concept of ‘food deserts’, spaces within cities that lack ‘adequate access’ to affordable, healthy food.

This report presents key baseline data for monitoring mandatory folic acid and iodine fortification in Australia and New Zealand. Data are presented for each component of the fortification monitoring frameworks as follows: food composition; folic acid and iodine intake; folic acid and iodine status of the populations; and health outcomes.

The paper explores the structural issues – expressed through governance, urban design, social practices and economic arrangements – that are creating a continuum of spaces from gastronomic quarters for the few to good food deserts for the many.