Abstract: Cornell + r4 Applied AI Initiative Data Science Seminar Series In this talk we use empirical analysis to identify the effectiveness of various government policies to address the challenge of food deserts (i.e., areas with lack of access to fresh food). We then used the empirical insights to develop an analytical model that explains consumer choices and can be used as a building block in an optimization model to decide on resource allocation across available interventions. Several policy insights are discussed. Joint work with Elisabeth Paulson and Georgia Perakis. Bio: Retsef Levi is the J. Spencer Standish (1945) Professor of Operations Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Levi is affiliated with the MIT Operations Research Center and is the MIT Sloan Co-Director of the Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) Program. This seminar series is sponsored by the Cornell-r4 Applied AI Initiative, a partnership between Cornell and r4 Technologies that focuses on addressing business and societal problems holistically. cis.cornell.edu/cornell-r4/seminarseries