Online Program

285908
Fruit and vegetable vouchers in a rural community: Implementation and outcomes


Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Meagan Hanbury, PhD, Center for Transnational Health, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA
Rosa Gomez-Camacho, PhD Candidate, School of Education, Center for Transnational Health, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA
Adela de la Torre, PhD, Center for Transnational Health, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA
Richard Green, PhD, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA
"Ninos Sanos, Familia Sana," is a multi-faceted childhood obesity intervention study in central valley of California. This presentation describes the process of implementing a fruit and vegetable voucher in a low-income rural community, and preliminary data analysis on changes in food expense distribution and food purchasing habits over time and across groups. The fruit and vegetable voucher is the main component of an economic intervention aimed at increasing consumption of healthy foods. The implementation process involved selecting community partners, developing relationships, choosing a payment mechanism, and pilot testing the system. We chose to work with a local market and found that retail store buy-in and close cooperation with store owners and employees was critical to success. We also found that an electronic payment mechanism provides participants with spending flexibility and has a low administrative burden on both the project team and retail store. Effects of the voucher program are analyzed using grocery store scanner data. Grocery store scanner data is combined with food purchase receipts from non-partner stores. This combination of data has significant advantages over recall data and provides a more comprehensive picture of food purchases made within the household, allowing for a complete analysis of voucher effects. The paper explores preliminary data on food purchases and presents an analysis of change in food consumption patterns by food categories and adjustment in food purchasing habits over time and across groups. Acculturation, socioeconomic and demographic factors are additionally studied to explore its relationship to the adoption of these changes.

Learning Areas:

Biostatistics, economics
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Other professions or practice related to public health
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe the implementation process and preliminary effect of a Food and Vegetable (F&V) vouchers among rural Mexican-origin communities. Offer lessons learned on implementation of large scale food purchasing instruments to promote healthy eating. Provide a preliminary analysis of the change in food consumption patterns and food purchasing habits after voucher implementation. Explore the impact of cultural and demographic factors on food consumption and food purchasing habits after the introduction of the F&V vouchers.

Keyword(s): Food and Nutrition, Obesity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Principal Investigator of the Project Niños-Sanos, Familia-Sana, a $4.8 million USDA NIFA grant focusing on addressing child hood obesity issues within the Mexican origin community. I am the Director of the Center for Transnational Health at UCDavis, which manages multiple federally and state funded grants to address health and education issues that affect Latino communities. My research primarily focus on social determinants of Chicano/Latino health issues, including border and binational health
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.