Food costs and nutrition of aborigines in remote areas of northern Australia.

A locally-relevant "market basket" has been devised to help to assess the cost of usual food purchases for Aborigines who live in the Kimberley region. The range of foods in the market basket is relatively restricted, especially for fresh vegetables. In some communities, basic food items cost over 40% more than they would in the Perth metropolitan area. Price differentials and other difficulties encourage unsatisfactory dietary patterns for Aborigines in the region. A food-voucher system is proposed as one possible way to help to overcome serious nutritional imbalances for pregnant women and their infants and young children who are especially vulnerable to nutritional deficiencies. This proposal is likely to be politically unpopular, so other ways should be sought to help to improve the health of Aboriginal mothers and their children.