The federal government has confirmed the Low-Cost Essentials Subsidy Scheme — which cuts the cost of basic groceries — will be expanded to an estimated 225 remote stores nationwide.

First announced last week, the $27.4 million investment will lift the subsidy cap and reduce prices on 30 essential grocery items — including canned fruit, tinned vegetables, rice and pasta, along with everyday necessities such as nappies, soap and toilet paper — bringing prices closer to those in urban areas.

An additional $32.7 million will fund freezer equipment for 75 stores to improve food storage during periods when access is cut off.

Since the scheme opened in July last year, demand has been strong, said federal Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy.

"113 remote stores have already signed up to the scheme in the Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland," she said. "Now, even more remote stores will be able to sign up and pass on lower prices to their communities."

At present, 113 stores have joined the scheme, which requires eligible retailers to adopt the new National Code of Practice for Remote Store Operations. The government says the expansion will lift coverage to an estimated 225 stores across the country.

Independently managed outlets make up around half of all remote stores and are considered essential services for their communities, they added.

Announcing the funding in Parliament last week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: "We all know what it means to be able to put healthy food on the table; the difference it makes for mums expecting a baby, for a child's health and growth, even for their ability to concentrate at school."

Labor's Special Envoy for Remote Communities, Marion Scrymgour, said the expansion demonstrated the government was "committed to building up communities", noting that people cannot thrive if they cannot afford quality food.

"This program has made a huge impact out bush and I am delighted that we will be expanding it so more people can access the essentials their families need at a price that is affordable," she said.

The subsidy has been a key focus for Senator McCarthy since taking on the portfolio, alongside the 10-year National Strategy on food security in remote First Nations communities, launched last year and backed by states and territories to introduce a national code on food pricing.

"I needed the states and territories to be on board with me so that it was a collective approach to wanting to reduce the costs of food, and I was very pleased with that," Senator McCarthy told National Indigenous Times last year.

She has also pushed for 100 nutrition workers to be employed in stores to support healthier choices.

"They have to be based around food," she said. "It's about awareness in language; making it understandable about what foods are healthy for you, what foods are not; what's the better choice.

"So, these nutrition workers are also about assisting. If you do have Mob who come in with kidney dialysis issues or with heart issues, they have a sense of how they can guide customers as well."

Earlier this month, Ms Scrymgour told National Indigenous Times the government was focusing on building local capability, pointing to practical examples of self-determination during a visit to Christmas Island.

"When we went to Christmas Island, they've got this hydroponic project — because they get isolated from the mainland — so they're growing. This is stuff that we could do in communities," she said.

"Communities have talked for a long time about market gardens, so why aren't we working with remote communities and with industry partners to make this stuff happen.

"Food security isn't just about having a store there with good, subsidised food. It's also giving people the capacity to grow their own food."

More information on the scheme and a full list of discounted items can be found online.