Opinion | A key ingredient of healthy living is often a struggle. Here’s how to fix that.

Efforts to help Americans eat healthier cannot end at food distribution. A 2019 study found that, while more than 1,000 supermarkets opened in food deserts between 2004 and 2016, residents of these neighborhoods often didn’t buy the fresher, healthier foods newly available to them. For households on limited incomes who need to buy in bulk to save, costlier, perishable fresh meat, fruits and vegetables can break the budget.

Yet there are ways to reduce these obstacles. A first step could involve encouraging more farmers markets and other purveyors of fresh produce to accept electronic benefits from food assistance programs. Government agencies, nonprofits and philanthropies can then run programs to “match” the benefits households spend in farmers markets, incentivizing them to shop there.

Benefits targeted at fruits and vegetables could help, as could sugar or soda taxes. Some have criticized these policies as paternalistic and ineffective. Yet the reality is that the United States has long subsidized unhealthy foods, with lasting consequences. That needs to change. Finally, nutrition education programs — including in schools — can help people develop healthier habits and become more familiar with cheaper, local produce.

For many Americans, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine were rude awakenings into fraught supply chains and skyrocketing food prices. But millions have endured these conditions for years with little recourse. Going forward, federal, state, local and nonprofit leaders should build on the momentum around food access that began during the pandemic. This is an unparalleled opportunity for communities to implement new policies, innovate and chart a better course.