Nudging Urban Food Pantry Users in Utah Toward Healthier Choices

Abstract

Purpose. To evaluate the impact of a nudge program on food pantry clients’ self-reported selection and use of healthy foods. Method. A convenience sample of clients of six urban food pantries in Utah were surveyed about their experience with the Thumbs Up for Healthy Choices nudge program. Chi-square tests were used to identify associations between demographic characteristics and self-reported program impact. Results. Ninety-four percent (n = 158) of respondents agreed that the program made it easier to make healthy choices. Sixty-five percent reported healthier diets since its implementation. Additionally, Hispanic respondents were more likely to report positive impacts than non-Hispanic respondents. Conclusions and Implications. Nudge programs are effective in increasing the selection of healthy foods among pantry clients in Utah. Impacts seemed to be particularly positive for Hispanic pantry users in Utah. Nutrition programs should consider implementing these low-cost strategies to improve dietary quality of pantry users.

Healthy Food Environments in Food Pantries: Lessons Learned from a Sodium Reduction Intervention

“…Behavioral economics is the “study of social, cognitive, and emotional factorswhich aims to understand and influence economic decisions or purchasing behaviors” [ 25 ] (p. 4). Changes based on behavioral economics have been shown to increase the selection of targeted food items in experimental and real-life settings including food pantries [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ]. The HFE intervention aimed to promote access to and appeal of healthy, lower-sodium items by encouraging pantries to employ strategies, such as: increasing the visibility or convenience of the items; placement of such items early or repeatedly in the shopping experience; use of signage, recipes, cooking demonstrations, or nutrition information to highlight the items; communicating the normalcy or popularity of such items; and bundling such items with other ingredients to promote selection.…”

Improving Healthy Food Choices in Low-Income Settings in the United States Using Behavioral Economic-Based Adaptations to Choice Architecture

“…These nudges successfully applied the convenience and attractiveness aspects of the "CAN" approach to increase patrons' selection of targeted foods. Another study evaluated changing shelf signage and posters in urban food pantries in Utah (10). Highly visible shelf labels with colorful "thumbs up" images that said "Healthy Choice" in English or Spanish were placed under targeted healthy foods, and bilingual posters were displayed in the pantry to raise awareness about the shelf tags and target foods.…”

“…Also, these studies tend to rely heavily on self-reported and observational data, thus, more standardized and objective measurements of changes in diet quality in lowincome food pantry patrons are also needed (20). Additionally, given potential differences in food choices attributable to cultural preferences (10), future research is needed to better understand how cultural appropriateness can be incorporated into choice architecture across diverse populations.…”

“…Dietary choices are largely shaped by the food environment, or the availability, affordability, and convenience of food (6). In retail settings such as supermarkets, grocery stores, and convenience stores, efforts informed by behavioral economics are currently underway to leverage the food environments at food retailers to promote and enable healthy dietary choices (7)(8)(9)(10)(11).…”

“…Examples of changes to choice architecture include changing store layouts to make healthy foods more accessible, grouping food to showcase healthy options, and providing quick, easyto-understand information. Evidence suggests that strategic manipulation of the food environment has the potential to influence food choices in a variety of environments, including grocery stores, convenience stores, and food pantries (8)(9)(10)(11). A "CAN" approach in nutrition interventions has also been suggested, which aims to make healthier food choices more Convenient, Attractive, and Normal to select (12).…”