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

Abstract

BackgroundTo 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.MethodsChanges 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.ResultsWe 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.ConclusionsThis 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.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-017-4942-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Fruit and Vegetable Incentive Programs for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Participants: A Scoping Review of Program Structure

“…In contrast, other FV incentive benefits could be used only to purchase locally grown FV [27,29,31,32,34,37,40,47]. In some cases, the foods included in the incentive program varied based on participant eligibility.…”

“…Steele-Adjognon et al (2017) [40] Loyalty card scanner data was acquired to assess: "FV expenditure; fruit expenditure; vegetable expenditure; FV expenditure share; FV variety; and FV purchase decision. FV expenditure is the aggregate dollar amount spent during the month on all fresh FV.…”

“…Among the remaining studies that reported some positive impact, limitations in the impact of the incentive programs were identified. Conclusions from the Michigan farmers' market-based Double Up Food Bucks program included that the impact of incentive programs was unsustainable and minimal [40], and a Washington, DC-based farmers' market evaluation noted that although participants reported higher FV consumption, their intake still fell below recommended levels [35]. Olsho et al [34], reported an increase in purchases but concluded that there was no observable difference in consumption between incentive program participants and non-participants, and similarly, Bowling et al [27] observed that while participants reported increased fruit and vegetable consumption, they did not change the amount of their WIC/SNAP budget spent on these foods.…”

“…Lastly, more research is needed to understand the long-term effects of incentives. Some evidence suggests that the increases in FV purchases resulting from incentive program participation are not sustained following program termination [40]. Additionally, few studies have investigated the capacity of incentive programs to influence long-term food consumption and purchasing behavior.…”

<p>Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): does receiving assistance impact food choices?</p>

“…However, the effect deteriorated on withdrawal of the financial incentives, thereby indicating that the program did not produce long-lasting effects on the food choices and purchasing behaviors of the participants. 104 Another suggestion is that an escalation in the total SNAP benefits would increase the spending on food in general. Greater spending on food is associated with higher consumption of fruits and vegetables for both SNAP participants and eligible nonparticipants.…”