Food Insecurity
Conditions
Keywords
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Food insecurity, fruit and vegetable, healthy diet
Brief summary
The specific aims of this proposal are to implement SCNIP in 6 Northgate Gonzalez Markets across San Diego, Orange and LA counties (2 in each county), and determine which level of financial incentive rebate (specifically, $10/month, $20/month, or $40/month) optimally increases the purchase and consumption of SNAP eligible fruits and vegetables.
Detailed description
The University of California San Diego (UCSD) Center for Community Health, in collaboration with Northgate Gonzalez Markets and its regional partners, will implement a Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive program in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego Counties - the Southern California Nutrition Incentive Program (SCNIP). This program will develop, implement and evaluate a multi-tiered model that will enable low-income, SNAP-eligible consumers to make healthier food choices and purchase more fruits and vegetables. This model will include: tier 1) an innovative fruit and vegetable financial incentive rebate program that utilizes the consumer's Northgate Gonzalez Market customer loyalty card, electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card, and electronic wallet (e-wallet); tier 2) fruit and vegetable promotions that include discount pricing; and tier 3) SNAP-Ed programming (e.g., in-store cooking classes, tours, and healthy food self-labeling system) to educate and support the purchasing behaviors of SNAP-eligible families. Through the use of the customer loyalty card, EBT card, and e-wallet, the rebate program will be able to track the purchase of SCNIP eligible fruits and vegetables and provide a rebate at the point-of-sale that can be used to purchase additional fruits and vegetables, thus increasing the purchasing power of SNAP-eligible families for healthy food options. Earned and dispensed rebate dollars will be stored on the e-wallet enabling the tracking of purchasing behaviors and dollars spent on healthy fruits and vegetables in this program. With this data, we will be able to determine what level of financial incentive rebate ($10/month, $20/month, or $40/month) (tier 1) optimally increased SNAP families' per capita spending on fruits and vegetables in conjunction with the fruit and vegetable promotions (tier 2) and nutrition education activities (tier 3).
Interventions
OTHERFinancial Incentive: High
dlParticipants in this group will receive an additional $40/month to use towards the purchase of SNAP eligible fruits and vegetables. They will be able to access these dollars through an electronic wallet (e-wallet) that is tied to their customer loyalty card. They will also have access to the fruit and vegetable promotions that include discount pricing and SNAP-Ed programming (e.g., in-store cooking classes, tours, and healthy food self-labeling system) to educate and support the purchasing behaviors of SNAP-eligible families.
OTHERFinancial Incentive: Middle
Participants in this group will receive an additional $20/month to use towards the purchase of SNAP eligible fruits and vegetables. They will be able to access these dollars through an electronic wallet (e-wallet) that is tied to their customer loyalty card. They will also have access to the fruit and vegetable promotions that include discount pricing and SNAP-Ed programming (e.g., in-store cooking classes, tours, and healthy food self-labeling system) to educate and support the purchasing behaviors of SNAP-eligible families.
OTHERFinancial Incentive: Low
Participants in this group will receive an additional $10/month to use towards the purchase of SNAP eligible fruits and vegetables. They will be able to access these dollars through an electronic wallet (e-wallet) that is tied to their customer loyalty card. They will also have access to the fruit and vegetable promotions that include discount pricing and SNAP-Ed programming (e.g., in-store cooking classes, tours, and healthy food self-labeling system) to educate and support the purchasing behaviors of SNAP-eligible families.
Sponsors
The California Endowment
The Ecology Center
Center for Good Food Purchasing
Northgate Gonzalez Markets
Latino Health Access
California Department of Health Services
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
University of California, San Diego
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Northgate Gonzalez Market customer who currently receives SNAP benefits and has a valid EBT card * 18 years of age or older * Speaks and reads in English or Spanish * Shops at the selected Northgate Gonzalez Market regularly, at least two times per month
Exclusion criteria
* Does not receive SNAP benefits * Unable to complete surveys in English or Spanish * Another immediate family member living in the same household is already recruited into the study
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Dollars spent on Fruits and Vegetables | 1 year | Total amount of incentive dollars spent on Fruits and Vegetables per month |
| Quantity of Fruits and Vegetables | 1 year | total quantity of fruits and vegetables purchased per month with incentive dollars |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Dietary intake | 1 year | Change in self-reported fruit and vegetable consumption during the intervention |
| Six-item short form of the Food Security Survey Module | 1 year | Change in food insecurity score at the end of the intervention period |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed