Double Up Food Bucks program effects on SNAP recipients' fruit and vegetable purchases

Abstract Background To encourage the consumption of more fresh fruits and vegetables, the 2014 United Sates Farm Bill allocated funds to the Double Up Food Bucks Program. This program provided Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program beneficiaries who spent $10 on fresh fruits and vegetables, in on...

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Main Authors: Marie Steele-Adjognon, Dave Weatherspoon
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2017-12-01
Series:BMC Public Health
Subjects:
Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-017-4942-z
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spelling doaj-dbd67927996c47d9b44db4ec122d98922020-11-25T02:00:07ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582017-12-011711710.1186/s12889-017-4942-zDouble Up Food Bucks program effects on SNAP recipients' fruit and vegetable purchasesMarie Steele-Adjognon0Dave Weatherspoon1Agriculitural, Food and Resource Economics Department, Michigan State UniversityAgriculitural, Food and Resource Economics Department, Michigan State UniversityAbstract Background To encourage the consumption of more fresh fruits and vegetables, the 2014 United Sates Farm Bill allocated funds to the Double Up Food Bucks Program. This program provided Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program beneficiaries who spent $10 on fresh fruits and vegetables, in one transaction, with a $10 gift card exclusively for Michigan grown fresh fruits and vegetables. This study analyzes how fruit and vegetable expenditures, expenditure shares, variety and purchase decisions were affected by the initiation and conclusion, as well as any persistent effects of the program. Methods Changes in fruit and vegetable purchase behaviors due to Double Up Food Bucks in a supermarket serving a low-income, predominantly Hispanic community in Detroit, Michigan were evaluated using a difference in difference fixed effects estimation strategy. Results We find that the Double Up Food Bucks program increased vegetable expenditures, fruit and vegetable expenditure shares, and variety of fruits and vegetables purchased but the effects were modest and not sustainable without the financial incentive. Fruit expenditures and the fruit and vegetable purchase decision were unaffected by the program. Conclusions This study provides valuable insight on how a nutrition program influences a low-income, urban, Hispanic community’s fruit and vegetable purchase behavior. Policy recommendations include either removing or lowering the purchase hurdle for incentive eligibility and dropping the Michigan grown requirement to better align with the customers’ preferences for fresh fruits and vegetables.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-017-4942-zFruits and vegetablesProgram evaluationDetroitScanner dataSupplemental nutrition assistance program
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Marie Steele-Adjognon
Dave Weatherspoon
spellingShingle Marie Steele-Adjognon
Dave Weatherspoon
Double Up Food Bucks program effects on SNAP recipients' fruit and vegetable purchases
BMC Public Health
Fruits and vegetables
Program evaluation
Detroit
Scanner data
Supplemental nutrition assistance program
author_facet Marie Steele-Adjognon
Dave Weatherspoon
author_sort Marie Steele-Adjognon
title Double Up Food Bucks program effects on SNAP recipients' fruit and vegetable purchases
title_short Double Up Food Bucks program effects on SNAP recipients' fruit and vegetable purchases
title_full Double Up Food Bucks program effects on SNAP recipients' fruit and vegetable purchases
title_fullStr Double Up Food Bucks program effects on SNAP recipients' fruit and vegetable purchases
title_full_unstemmed Double Up Food Bucks program effects on SNAP recipients' fruit and vegetable purchases
title_sort double up food bucks program effects on snap recipients' fruit and vegetable purchases
publisher BMC
series BMC Public Health
issn 1471-2458
publishDate 2017-12-01
description Abstract Background To encourage the consumption of more fresh fruits and vegetables, the 2014 United Sates Farm Bill allocated funds to the Double Up Food Bucks Program. This program provided Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program beneficiaries who spent $10 on fresh fruits and vegetables, in one transaction, with a $10 gift card exclusively for Michigan grown fresh fruits and vegetables. This study analyzes how fruit and vegetable expenditures, expenditure shares, variety and purchase decisions were affected by the initiation and conclusion, as well as any persistent effects of the program. Methods Changes in fruit and vegetable purchase behaviors due to Double Up Food Bucks in a supermarket serving a low-income, predominantly Hispanic community in Detroit, Michigan were evaluated using a difference in difference fixed effects estimation strategy. Results We find that the Double Up Food Bucks program increased vegetable expenditures, fruit and vegetable expenditure shares, and variety of fruits and vegetables purchased but the effects were modest and not sustainable without the financial incentive. Fruit expenditures and the fruit and vegetable purchase decision were unaffected by the program. Conclusions This study provides valuable insight on how a nutrition program influences a low-income, urban, Hispanic community’s fruit and vegetable purchase behavior. Policy recommendations include either removing or lowering the purchase hurdle for incentive eligibility and dropping the Michigan grown requirement to better align with the customers’ preferences for fresh fruits and vegetables.
topic Fruits and vegetables
Program evaluation
Detroit
Scanner data
Supplemental nutrition assistance program
url http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-017-4942-z
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